Moosic, PA - Another less than stellar outing for Ricky Romero. He was whacked for a run an inning over five frames by the Yankees affiliate. The lefthander gave up four earned runs on nine hits and threw a couple of pitches to the backstop. He struck out four, walked nobody and threw 58 of 96 pitches (60 percent) for strikes. Austin Bibens-Dirkx gave up two hits but whiffed three batters over two shutout innings. Ryan Tepera (0-1) set down the side in the eighth and retired the first two hitters in the ninth but a single and a double by the next two batters plated the walk-off run.
The Herd were down 3-0 after three but got two runs back in the fourth thanks to an error and a wild pitch. A Dan Johnson sacrifice fly in the fifth kept the Bisons within two. A Kevin Nolan triple and a Munenori Kawasaki sac fly in the sixth drew Buffalo even in the sixth. The Bisons best chance to break the tie came when they had runners at the corners with nobody out. However, Johnson grounded into a 3-2-5 double play ball and Matt Tuiasosopo struck out to cap off a 0-for-5 night for the former Mariner and Tiger.
Chris Getz had a three-hit game and stole a base. Steve Tolleson also reached base thrice with a hit and two walks while swiping a bag. Johnson had two hits while Nolan and Mike Nickeas had a hit and a walk apiece. Anthony Gose was 1-for-5, struck out twice and was caught stealing. Kevin Pillar doubled and Kawasaki singled.
New Britain 2 New Hampshire 1
New Britain, CT - Casey Lawrence (1-1) was one out away from a complete game of the eight-inning variety. He put up zeros against the Twins affiliate over the first four frames before giving up a run in the fifth and another in the eighth. He matched the seven hits allowed with seven K's and zero walks while eight of his 14 outs in play were on the ground. He threw 69 strikes over 102 pitches for a 68 percent strike rate. Wil Browning retired the final hitter in the eighth inning and stranded a runner in the process.
The Fisher Cats broke through for their only run in the eighth to tie the game at 1-1 when Jonathan Jones doubled home a Mike Crouse double. Jones had two of New Hampshire's six hits. Andy Burns, Andy Fermin and Jack Murphy had the other base raps. Jon Berti had the only walk. Crouse and Ryan Schimpf both took one for the team.
Dunedin 4 Lakeland 3
Lakeland, FL - The Flying Tigers snatched one away from Dunedin by scoring twice in the bottom of the ninth off Arik Sikula (0-1), who sandwiched a strikeout with a single and a triple. One of the runs was unearned as shortstop Emilio Guerrero was called for interference. Ben White pitched the first seven innings, mostly to contact. He scattered eight hits, struck out one and walked no one. Just five of his 16 outs in play were recorded on the ground. Justin Jackson pitched a scoreless eighth, giving up a hit but striking out one.
The D-Jays took flight in the third inning thanks to run-scoring base hits from Dalton Pompey and K.C. Hobson. Dunedin broke a 2-2 tie in the ninth when Pompey worked a two-out, bases-loaded walk.
Hobson had two walks to go with his RBI single but the hit leader was Gustavo Pierre, who singled three times in four at-bats. Dwight Smith Jr. was 0-for-3 but drew a pair of walks.
Lansing 6 Lake County 1
Lansing, MI - The Lugnuts bunched up their runs evenly in the third and fourth innings against the Indians affiliate. Jason Leblebijian cashed in a Santiago Nessy double with a double of his own to open the scoring. Matt Dean would later double in a pair to put Lansing up by three. The double continued to be the weapon of choice for Lansing in the fourth when D.J. Davis cleared the bases with one to make it 6-0.Nessy and Carlos Ramirez had two hits apiece. Dickie Thon Jr. had a double to give Lansing five two-baggers on the evening. Dawel Lugo had a hit in four trips to the plate. Mitch Nay was 0-for-3 but he walked and stole his first base of the season.
Jeremy Gabryszwski (1-2) had his mojo working by yielding just one eighth-inning run over eight complete. He allowed just six hits while striking out six and walking nobody. The infielders were kept busy as they handled 10 of his 16 outs in play. Jimmy Cordero struck out two and walked one in the ninth. Lefty Alonzo Gonzalez walked a batter but got a strikeout to end the game.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
3. Ben White, Dunedin - Despite a 6-4 K-BB total in three starts, he has not allowed more than two runs in any outing and has a 2.70 ERA.
2. Casey Lawrence, New Hampshire - Has a 17-3 K-BB total in 23.1 innings along with a 1.93 ERA.
1. Jeremy Gabryszwski, Lansing - Earned his first Midwest League victory by nearly doubling his season strikeout total. His 6-0 K-BB mark raises his season total to 13-5 over 23.2 innings.
Wednesday's Schedule & Probable Starters...
Buffalo @ Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, 10:35 am ET - RHP Kyle Drabek (1-1, 7.07).
Dunedin @ Lakeland, 6:30 pm ET - Jesse Hernandez (0-1, 2.70).
New Hampshire @ New Britain - 6:35 pm ET - RHP Aaron Sanchez (1-1, 2.29).
Lake County @ Lansing - 7:05 pm ET - RHP Adonys Cardona (0-2, 5.63).
Extra Innings - Quote of the Day...
"Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets" - Yogi Berra.