Buffalo and New Hampshire were nearly shutout to guarantee another losing Tuesday on the farm. However, the good news was Vancouver pulled off a one-run victory in Game 1 of the Northwest League Championship Series.
Austin Smith steps on second base after hitting a grand slam for Vancouver on Tuesday.
Charlotte 4 Buffalo 1
Harrisburg 11 New Hampshire 1
Vancouver 8 Eugene 7 (Vancouver leads Northwest League Championship Series 1-0)
Boxscores
Austin Smith is greeted by Jaxson West at home plate after his grand slam.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
1. Austin Smith, Vancouver
2. Jaxson West, Vancouver
3. JoJo Parker, Vancouver
Notes
The Bisons were nearly blanked but a Yohendrick Piñango RBI groundout in the ninth saved the day.Rhylan Thomas, Josh Kasevich, Davis Schneider and Nick Goodwin all registered a hit with Kasevich getting a double and Schneider drawing a walk. Josh Stephan served up two home runs, accounting for three of the four runs he gave up. He surrendered eight hits and two walks and struck out five over six innings. Yondrei Rojas worked around two walks for a scoreless seventh and Sam Gardner worked a one-hit frame in which he fanned the side.
Peyton Williams prevented a shutout for New Hampshire FC with a two-out home run in the bottom of the ninth. Victor Arias had two hits and Alexis Hernández had the other. Tucker Toman walked twice. Johnny King allowed 10 runners on base with seven hits, two walks and a hit by pitch, which resulted in four runs in 3⅓ innings. He struck out five and both outs in play were on the ground. Alex Amalfi permitted just an unearned run on two hits and a walk and struck out six in 3⅔ innings. His pitches must have been really moving because he uncorked three wild pitches. Jonathan Todd was pummeled for six runs in 1⅔ innings. Devereaux Harrison struck out the only batter he faced to end the ninth.
The C's overcame a costly miscue in the outfield and a couple of baserunning gaffes to earn a one-run victory in their playoff opener. Monty's Mounties trailed 3-0 in the early going. A dropped ball by Jean Joseph near the right field line and his throwing error in the second inning resulted in the runner reaching third. That led to an unearned run for Dasan Hill in the second inning. Hill gave up two runs in two innings on three hits but struck out four with no walks. Holden Wilkerson took over in the third inning and gave up a run in the frame.
The C's left four men on base in the first two frames. A JoJo Parker leadoff walk was stranded at third and Parker flied out to left in the second to strand the bases loaded. The home side got on the board in the third when Ryan Sprock doubled to lead things off. Jake Casey singled Sprock over to third but was later picked off at first. Sprock came home on a Maddox Latta sacrifice fly.
Vancouver then took the lead with an Austin Smith grand slam with two outs in the fifth to go ahead 5-3. Smith homered off Nate Nabholz, the nephew of former Montreal Expos hurler Chris Nabholz. The Emeralds fought back with four runs of their own in the sixth with a three-run homer off Wilkerson, who lasted 3⅔ innings and was ripped for five runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Jack Eshleman got the final out of the inning but not before giving up a run-scoring single on an 0-2 pitch.
The Nat Bailey boys answered back in the sixth with a leadoff pinch-hit triple off the center field wall from reigning Northwest League Player of the Week David Calabrese, who took over for Joseph in right field in the previous half-inning. Consecutive doubles by Jaxson West and JoJo Parker would tie the game at 7-7. Parker tried to advance to third on a groundball to short but was thrown out. Eshleman settled things down for the C's by retiring the last seven hitters he faced after giving up a hit to the first batter he faced, striking out a pair.
The Canadians pushed ahead in the eighth when West reached on a one-out infield single to short. Parker followed with a base hit that dropped in front of the Eugene center fielder, who booted the ball to allow the runners to advance another 90 feet. Sprock nearly left the yard with a deep drive to the left field fence but it was plenty deep enough to score West with the go-ahead run. Bradley Wilson survived a leadoff walk and struck out two of the final three batters he faced to save the win for Eshleman. Parker helped Wilson with a nice diving catch of a sinking liner at short for the penultimate out of the ninth. Wilson, a teammate of Trey Yesavage at East Carolina, was also a teammate of Nabholz with the Pirates. Of note, Wilson struck out Kaeden Kent, the son of former Toronto Blue Jay Jeff Kent, who had a 4-for-4 night going up until that point.
West had a perfect night at the plate with two hits, two walks and three runs scored. Parker had two hits and a walk and Smith had a single to go with his salami. Sprock was on base twice by drawing a walk.
Austin Smith goes through the victory line after the C's Game 1 win at Nat Bailey Stadium on Tuesday. David Calabrese (#24) is behind Smith and is greeted by JoJo Parker (#13).
Game 2 of the Northwest League Championship Series goes Wednesday night at Nat Bailey Stadium, with Game 3 in Eugene on Friday. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, are also in Oregon on Saturday and Sunday.
Austin Smith steps on second base after hitting a grand slam for Vancouver on Tuesday.
Charlotte 4 Buffalo 1
Harrisburg 11 New Hampshire 1
Vancouver 8 Eugene 7 (Vancouver leads Northwest League Championship Series 1-0)
Boxscores
Austin Smith is greeted by Jaxson West at home plate after his grand slam.
*** 3 Stars!!! ***
1. Austin Smith, Vancouver
2. Jaxson West, Vancouver
3. JoJo Parker, Vancouver
Notes
The Bisons were nearly blanked but a Yohendrick Piñango RBI groundout in the ninth saved the day.Rhylan Thomas, Josh Kasevich, Davis Schneider and Nick Goodwin all registered a hit with Kasevich getting a double and Schneider drawing a walk. Josh Stephan served up two home runs, accounting for three of the four runs he gave up. He surrendered eight hits and two walks and struck out five over six innings. Yondrei Rojas worked around two walks for a scoreless seventh and Sam Gardner worked a one-hit frame in which he fanned the side.
Peyton Williams prevented a shutout for New Hampshire FC with a two-out home run in the bottom of the ninth. Victor Arias had two hits and Alexis Hernández had the other. Tucker Toman walked twice. Johnny King allowed 10 runners on base with seven hits, two walks and a hit by pitch, which resulted in four runs in 3⅓ innings. He struck out five and both outs in play were on the ground. Alex Amalfi permitted just an unearned run on two hits and a walk and struck out six in 3⅔ innings. His pitches must have been really moving because he uncorked three wild pitches. Jonathan Todd was pummeled for six runs in 1⅔ innings. Devereaux Harrison struck out the only batter he faced to end the ninth.
The C's overcame a costly miscue in the outfield and a couple of baserunning gaffes to earn a one-run victory in their playoff opener. Monty's Mounties trailed 3-0 in the early going. A dropped ball by Jean Joseph near the right field line and his throwing error in the second inning resulted in the runner reaching third. That led to an unearned run for Dasan Hill in the second inning. Hill gave up two runs in two innings on three hits but struck out four with no walks. Holden Wilkerson took over in the third inning and gave up a run in the frame.
The C's left four men on base in the first two frames. A JoJo Parker leadoff walk was stranded at third and Parker flied out to left in the second to strand the bases loaded. The home side got on the board in the third when Ryan Sprock doubled to lead things off. Jake Casey singled Sprock over to third but was later picked off at first. Sprock came home on a Maddox Latta sacrifice fly.
Vancouver then took the lead with an Austin Smith grand slam with two outs in the fifth to go ahead 5-3. Smith homered off Nate Nabholz, the nephew of former Montreal Expos hurler Chris Nabholz. The Emeralds fought back with four runs of their own in the sixth with a three-run homer off Wilkerson, who lasted 3⅔ innings and was ripped for five runs on six hits and three walks with five strikeouts. Jack Eshleman got the final out of the inning but not before giving up a run-scoring single on an 0-2 pitch.
The Nat Bailey boys answered back in the sixth with a leadoff pinch-hit triple off the center field wall from reigning Northwest League Player of the Week David Calabrese, who took over for Joseph in right field in the previous half-inning. Consecutive doubles by Jaxson West and JoJo Parker would tie the game at 7-7. Parker tried to advance to third on a groundball to short but was thrown out. Eshleman settled things down for the C's by retiring the last seven hitters he faced after giving up a hit to the first batter he faced, striking out a pair.
The Canadians pushed ahead in the eighth when West reached on a one-out infield single to short. Parker followed with a base hit that dropped in front of the Eugene center fielder, who booted the ball to allow the runners to advance another 90 feet. Sprock nearly left the yard with a deep drive to the left field fence but it was plenty deep enough to score West with the go-ahead run. Bradley Wilson survived a leadoff walk and struck out two of the final three batters he faced to save the win for Eshleman. Parker helped Wilson with a nice diving catch of a sinking liner at short for the penultimate out of the ninth. Wilson, a teammate of Trey Yesavage at East Carolina, was also a teammate of Nabholz with the Pirates. Of note, Wilson struck out Kaeden Kent, the son of former Toronto Blue Jay Jeff Kent, who had a 4-for-4 night going up until that point.
West had a perfect night at the plate with two hits, two walks and three runs scored. Parker had two hits and a walk and Smith had a single to go with his salami. Sprock was on base twice by drawing a walk.
Austin Smith goes through the victory line after the C's Game 1 win at Nat Bailey Stadium on Tuesday. David Calabrese (#24) is behind Smith and is greeted by JoJo Parker (#13).
Game 2 of the Northwest League Championship Series goes Wednesday night at Nat Bailey Stadium, with Game 3 in Eugene on Friday. Games 4 and 5, if necessary, are also in Oregon on Saturday and Sunday.