Class A Games

Express vs. Mudcats — The Express played exceptionally well as they shut out the Mudcats 8-0. The offense was led by Armando Marquez, who hit a solid double while going 3-for-3 with an RBI, and Jacob Lusk, who also banged out three hits on three trips to the plate with an RBI.

Also contributing were Cooper McGuire, Coleman Blakeley, Patrick Lenihan and Aaron Klein, each going 2-for-2 on the day. The standout performance on defense came from Kevin Gaston, who contributed to five defensive outs — three of which were unassisted. The Mudcat bats were led by Claire Joseph (2-for-2), along with Jay Nesson, Katherine Striker and James Gogal, each of whom had hits.

Raptors vs. Muck Dogs — For the third time in as many games, the Raptors squeaked by with a one-run victory when they edged the Muck Dogs, 12-11, on April 26. The Muck Dogs led for the first two-and-half innings, but after the Raptors' C.T. Dodge fielded all three outs in the third, the Raptors' bats came alive, led by sluggers Peter McComb and Alexander Savinski. However, the Muck Dogs matched the Raptors run for run, and the game was tied 11-11 in the bottom of the fifth when Nick Haddock blasted home the winning run.

Raptors vs. Bees — Led by Ethan Crawford and Joey Handley, the Bees scored 10 unanswered runs against the napping Raptors on April 23. However, the Raptors woke up in time to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth and bring home the winning run in the fifth. The Raptors' comeback was led by the swinging bats of Quinn Lipetz and brothers Khavren and Dylan Hoyer.

AA

Sand Gnats vs. Rockhounds — The Sand Gnats beat the Rockhounds, 10-6, on Saturday, April 26, at Jefferson Village Park. Rockhound Jack Goggin struck out three and got two key hits, including a triple. Peter Byman also struck out three and got a single. Louis Klarfeld got two key hits for the Rockhounds. For the Sand Gnats, Sam Whitaker struck out four and got a key single. Carter May struck out two and got two hits. Garrett Gibson got two hits, including an RBI double, and Raphael Laurito got a key hit and scored twice.

Storm vs. River Dogs — In a closely fought contest on April 26, the Storm held the River Dogs scoreless in the last inning to hold on to a 6-5 lead in a tough early season rematch, having lost to the River Dogs the first time they met. Noah Galvin had an excellent pitching game, with four strikeouts and an in-field pop-up snag in the first and second innings. Rapid fire singles by Tommy Ritter, Anthony Cantanio, David Gartner and Lucas Hertzog combined with steady team running production led a strong five-run third inning. The River Dogs' three up/three down pitching by Nick Lillis in the bottom of the fifth challenged the Storm's resolve, but first baseman Tommy Ritter fielded two outs in a row to end the top of the fifth, setting up for the sixth inning shut-down that clinched the game.

AAA

Mets vs. Cardinals — An unassisted double play by Jonathon Hoyns of the Mets was the highlight of this game on April 26, helping to give the Mets a 14-10 win. The double play was early in the game. Hoyns, playing at first, caught a pop fly and tagged the first base runner for the dramatic play.

Other highlights included a number of exciting plays from both teams. The Cards started the action with two breathtaking catches in a row. Logan Nesson snagged a high pop to second base and Matthew Livingston repeated the feat at shortstop. Hoyns' double-play in the second helped slow the Card's early lead. A string of Mets hits in the third inning by Sam Madison, Nathaniel Scheinman, Harry Slonim, Nicholas Armour and Johnny Peterson put the Mets ahead by two runs. Despite some great hits by the Cards and excellent defense, including an impressive catch deep in centerfield by Thomas Betto, the Cards were unable to regain their early lead.

Majors

Cubs vs. Red Sox — The April 21 late night game at Westgate Park proved to be worth staying for, as the Cubs’ Ryan Leonard singled up the middle to score Jacob Eye from third base for the game-wining run in the bottom of the sixth inning and an 8-7 Cubs victory. Wesley Coupard, after singling, scored the game-tying run, aided by singles by Eye and Daniel Anderson. The Red Sox never quit, moving ahead of the Cubs twice during the game with timely hitting from outfielder Beau Butts, pitcher Richard Marsh, first baseman Lucas Cherry and catcher Sam Selby, who closed the evening with two doubles and a triple.

The game was close early as the Red Sox' Marsh used five strikeouts to silence the Cubs' bats, until key hits by Ben Torpey and David McAllister got them on the board. The Cubs' pitchers threw well also, as Leonard finished with nine strikeouts and Daniel Schlitt closed with four over two innings. Both pitchers were bolstered by a great job behind the plate from Cubs catcher Vincent Kanyan.

Yankees vs. Nationals — The Yankees took a close pitching contest over the Nationals on Saturday, April 26, 4-3. The Nationals struck the first blow in the top of the first, posting two runs when Ethan Anderson notched one of only two Nationals' hits on the day. Yankees’ hurler JP DeFranco settled down to hold the Nats close and struck out seven over the first four innings. The Nats added a run in the top of the fourth.

The Yankees were quiet until their half of that inning, leveraging a couple of walks with singles from Paul Abbraciameto and Jon Strader to score three and tie the game. The Yankees added the go-ahead run in the fifth on a single by Anthony Wagner and a double by DeFranco. The Nationals made things exciting in the top of the sixth, facing relief pitcher Strader. They loaded the bases before DeFranco, who had moved to centerfield, snagged Andrew Williamson's deep line drive for the final out.

From earlier action …

In the season's second week, the Single-A Raptors and Ironbirds pounded each other relentlessly in a furious four-inning showdown that ended with Raptors holding on for a 20-19 win. Doubles by Raptors C.T. Dodge in the first inning and Aidan Freeman in the second were crucial to the win. Earlier in the week, the Raptors survived a nail-biter against the Rattlers, 9-7. Raptors’ pitcher Peter McComb fielded a sharp shot to the mound and fired to third baseman Aidan Gray for the out at third, leaving the Raptors up 9-0 at the end of the second inning. But the Rattlers roared back, scoring seven unanswered runs over the next two innings and coming within three runs of stealing the win from the Raptors.