Joe Leonard homered while Zeke Spruill had a solid start for Mississippi, Braeden Schlehuber continued his tear for Lynchburg, while Navery Moore hurled a gem for Rome.
Gwinnett Braves - OFF
Jacksonville Suns 6, Mississippi Braves 3
- Joe Leonard, 3B: 3-4, HR(3), .265
- Joey Terdoslavich, 1B: 1-4, 2B, RBI, .233
- Keenan Wiley, RF: 1-4, 3B, R, .259
- Zeke Spruill, SP: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 8 K, 3.54 ERA
- Billy Bullock, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K, 3.60 ERA
Zeke Spruill had a great start for Mississippi tonight, but his defense really let him down. Spruill went 7 strong, allowing only 6 hits and 2 walks while punching out 8. Unfortunately, his defense collapsed behind him, committing 3 errors that lead to 3 unearned runs. Mississippi scored three tonight, and one came off a Joe Leonard solo shot, his third of the year. The M-Braves' third baseman had a 3 hit day for the second day in a row; hopefully he can build on this to jump start what has been a slow year for him up to this point. Joey Terdoslavich had an RBI double, and while his average is not what it was last year, his power is showing signs of rebounding in Mississippi. After having only 4 doubles in 194 AAA at-bats, Terdoslavich already has 3 in his 30 at-bats with the M-Braves.
Gary Moran takes on the Suns in the second game of the series tomorrow.
Carolina Mudcats 7, Lynchburg Hillcats 2
- Nick Ahmed, DH: 2-4, 2B, .258
- Matt Lipka, CF: 2-3, R, .264
- Braeden Schlehuber, C: 2-3, HR(7), .321
- Edward Salcedo, 3B: 1-4, 2B, RBI, .261
- Chris Masters, SP: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 6 K, 7.20 ERA
- Cody Martin, RP: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 3.67 ERA
Braeden Schlehuber has been on absolute tear for the Hillcats lately, and he continued it tonight, hitting his 7th homer of the season as part of a 2-3 day. Over his last 10 games, Schlehuber is hitting .500 (16-32) with 3 doubles, a triple, two homers, 8 runs, and 6 RBI. Matt Lipka had a two-hit day on his second game back from injury, as did Nick Ahmed, who DH'ed tonight. Edward Salcedo drove in the other Hillcat run with an RBI double. Salcedo is currently sporting an ISO of .155, a fairly impressive mark for someone who is still growing into his frame and refining his game. Chris Masters had a pretty bad game, getting bitten by long ball twice. Really the only positive to Masters' start was the 6 strikeouts.
Aaron Northcraft goes tomorrow as Lynchburg opens a 4 game set with the Frederick Keys. He will match up against top prospect Dylan Bundy.
Rome Braves 1, Augusta GreenJackets 2
- Elmer Reyes, SS: 1-2, R, 2 BB, .246
- Kyle Kubitza, DH: 1-3, BB, .249
- Will Skinner, RF: 1-3, BB, .261
- Navery Moore, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K, 3.90 ERA
Rome only managed 5 hits on the day in a pretty lackluster offensive showing. Elmer Reyes, Kyle Kubitza, and Will Skinner each reached base 2 or more times. Reyes was the only R-Brave to reach 3 times, and the only one to score a run as well. On the other side of the ball, Navery Moore rebounded from his worst start of the year by hurling a gem. Moore only allowed 3 hits across 6 innings, giving up 1 run. He struck out 8 and didn't walk a man, setting his season high in Ks.
Greg Ross takes the mound for Rome tomorrow.