Sunday looked to be a promising day with both Hurston Waldrep and Spencer Schwellenbach making their season debuts, though one was excellent and the other struggled. A pair of guys in centerfield stood out at the plate, in Eli White and Kevin Kilpatrick, but more often than not it was the pitching that was worth paying attention to on Sunday.
Gwinnett Stripers 8, Louisville Bats 2
- Eli White, CF: 2-5, R, 3 RBI, 2 2B, 2 SB, .345/.457/.483
- Ken Giles, RP: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K, 0.00 ERA
- Brooks Wilson, RP: 2.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K, 0.00 ERA
Gwinnett had a bullpen game and saw the results turn out well for them. Brian Moran got the start and allowed a run over three innings. He was followed by two scoreless innings from Grant Holmes and one from Ken “100 Miles” Giles. Ben Bowden allowed a solo homer during his two thirds of an inning, but he was followed by the final two and a third innings of scoreless baseball from Brooks Wilson. Combined the five pitchers allowed two runs on four hits and two walks, striking out 11 hitters.
The star at the plate was Eli White, who doubled twice, batted in three runs, and added a pair of stolen bases on the day. White was joined by Leury Garcia and Sebastián Rivero with a multi-hit game, while David Fletcher and Luke Williams each reached base multiple times in the win. Besides the White doubles, Garcia and Fletcher doubles were the only extra base hits during this route of Louisville that saw seven players in the starting lineup reach base.
Pensacola Blue Wahoos 9, Mississippi Braves 1
- Nacho Alvarez, DH: 1-4, SB
- Keshawn Ogans, 2B: 2-4
- Hurston Waldrep, SP: 2.2 IP, 11 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 4 K
Top arm Hurston Waldrep made his season debut and it was one to forget right from the start. Waldrep allowed seven runs on 11 hits and a walk over two and a third innings, getting tagged for three runs in the first and two apiece in the second and third innings. It wasn’t a good day for Waldrep, but the fact he managed to still miss bats enough to pick up four strikeouts is a tiny positive to take from an otherwise forgettable outing. Jake McSteen followed and went two and two thirds scoreless before the trio of Parker Dunshee, Hayden Harris, and Peyton Williams each went an inning in relief.
Offensively there wasn’t much positive in this one as the Braves managed just one run on five hits and a walk. Keshawn Ogans was two for four with a pair of singles, and Nacho Alvarez singled and stole a base. Add in a Geraldo Quintero double and Cal Conley single, and that was all of the hits on the day, along with a Cade Bunnell walk.
Rome Emperors 3, Hickory Crawdads 0
- Kevin Kilpatrick, CF: 2-3, BB, 2 R, 3 SB
- Sabin Ceballos, DH: 0-3, BB, SB
- Spencer Schwellenbach, SP: 6 IP, 3 H, 0 B, 0 BB, 3 K
Spencer Schwellenbach’s season debut went very well for Rome, as he combined to shutout Hickory. Schwellenbach went six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and no walks, while striking out three. It was about as good as a season debut could go, although you would like to see him pick up a few more strikeouts at the A-ball level. After the six from Schwellenbach, Landon Harper went two hitless innings and then Ryan Bourassa picked up the save with a scoreless ninth to complete the shutout. Combined the trio allowed three hits and no walks over nine innings, completely shutting down the Hickory offense.
The Rome offense was led by leadoff hitter Kevin Kilpatrick Jr., who recorded a pair of singles, a walk, and got hit by a pitch to reach base four times. Kilpatrick took advantage of being on the bases often, stealing three bases and scoring two of the three Rome runs. Ethan Workinger singled and walked twice, picking up an RBI, while a Nick Ward double was the lone extra base hit. Among the notable prospects Sabin Ceballos was hitless in three at bats, but walked and got hit by a pitch, stealing a base. Ambioris Tavarez was hitless in his four at bats with a pair of strikeouts.
Columbia Fireflies 4, Augusta GreenJackets 1
- Isaiah Drake, DH: 0-3, BB
- Mitch Farris, SP: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K
- Adel Dilone, RP: 2.2 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K
Mitch Farris got the start and had a mixed effort, allowing three runs on five hits and a pair of walks while finishing one out shy of four innings. However on the positive he struck out six batters in his three and two thirds. Zack Austin followed and allowed a run over an inning and two thirds, before two and two thirds scoreless from Adel Dilone and one final inning from William Silva.
Offensively this wasn’t a great showing from Augusta as the team combined for one run on two hits and two walks. Singles from Luis Sanchez and Pier-Olivier Boucher, and walks from Isaiah Drake and Cam Magee amounted to all the offense that the Jackets were able to mount in this loss.
