Snake Stars:
3 Stars: Reno 2B Ildemaro Vargas 4 for 5, 2B, GS (5), 5 RBI, 3 R
2 Stars: Visalia RHP Justin Donatella 6 2⁄3 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 K, GS 75, W (2-7)
1 Star: Kane County RHP Sam McWilliams 6 2⁄3 IP, 5 H, 2 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 4 K, W (7-2)
0 Stars: Reno LHP Aaron Laffey 2 1⁄3 IP, 8 H, 9 R (8 ER), 1 BB, 1 K, GS 4
Reno Aces 12, Tacoma Rainiers 9: This game started off as a race to the bottom between a rehabbing Felix Hernandez and Aaron Laffey. Both pitches gave up a combined 13 runs in the first 3 innings of the game. The Aces bullpen did an amazing job to prevent any further scoring as the Reno bats went to town on the Rainiers bullpen. Ildemaro Vargas started the scoring with a Grand Slam off Hernandez in the 2nd, followed by a 3-run homer by Ketel Marte in the 4th, and a solo shot by Zach Borenstein in the 7th. The offensive barrage was enough to put the Aces on top. Vargas had the big day, falling a triple short of the cycle and Socrates Brito’s rehab continues to go well with a 3 for 5 game with a stolen base. The back end of the bullpen was fantastic with scoreless innings from Kaleb Fleck, Rubby De La Rosa, Silvino Bracho, and Jimmie Sherfy to close things out.
Jackson Generals 4, Chattanooga Lookouts 2: This game took 14 innings, but the Generals outlasted the Lookouts. Kevin Cron had two hits, including his 13th homer of the year. Joel Payamps allowed 2 runs on 6 hits and 1 walk in 5 innings with 2 strikeouts. Cron’s 2-run shot was the only scoring for the Generals until the 14th, when they rallied for a pair of runs. The bullpen was outstanding with Miller Diaz, Joey Krehbiel, Jared Miller, Gabe Moya, and Yuhei Nakaushiro combining for 9 scoreless innings to give the bats a chance to win it. In other news, Taylor Clarke, Kevin Cron, Rudy Flores, Joey Krehbiel, Gabe Moya, and Colin Walsh were named Southern League All-Stars.
Visalia Rawhide 6, Inland Empire 66ers 1: The Rawhide picked up their first sweep of the season thanks to early offense and strong pitching. Henry Castillo hit a 2-run triple and Grant Heyman followed that up with an RBI double to give the Rawhide a 3-0 lead and that’s all Justin Donatella needed. He pitched 6 2⁄3 innings of scoreless baseball with 5 strikeouts and 1 walk. In the 3rd, Castillo and Heyman drove in another run each to make it 5-0 and Galli Cribbs drove in the 6th run of the game in the 6th inning. The bullpen got the job done for a nice, easy win.
Kane County Cougars 3, Peoria Chiefs 2: It took a while for the bats to get going despite 7 of 9 hitters each recording at least 1 hit, but they did enough in the 6th inning to walk away winners. That was enough run support for Sam McWilliams, who allowed 2 runs in 6 2⁄3 innings with 4 K vs. 3 BB. The Cougars pounded out 12 hits, which could have done more damage on the scoreboard if not for strong RF play by Peoria that led to two Cougars being erased on the bases. Wei-Chieh Huang contributed an inning and Tommy Eveld picked up a 4-out save to cap things off.