Around the ABL: September 1-6

What happened in the ABL this week? Pitching duels and slugfests. A walk-off grand slam and back-to-back-to-back home runs. One pitcher wins his 20th game; another loses his 20th. Let's get to it!

Rich Bussell

September 1: Dallas 1, Minnesota 0. Chris Wine (7-6) almost kept up with the best  pitcher in the Clemente League, allowing just one run on two hits and two walks. The run scores when, in the fifth, Matt Welch walks, advances to second on a wild pitch, advances to third on a ground out, and scores on a William Mayfield single. Rich Bussell (17-3) and Alex Martin shut out Minnesota. Bussell pitches 8 1/3 innings, allows three hits and one walk, and strikes out 10.

September 1: Mile High 1, Boston 0. The Cardinals get handed a rare loss. Mañuel Rúiz (12-11) scatters six hits over eight scoreless innings. Adam Thomas (9-8) loses despite allowing only one unearned run: first baseman José Gonzáles flubs a ground ball in the second, letting Len Brewer score.

September 1: Montreal 2, Seattle 15. The Sasquatch hit eight home runs. Sam Eaton, Oliver Davis, and Steve Frend hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the seventh.

David Rivera

September 2: San Francisco 3, Eureka 8. Young David Rivera has struggled in his rookie season, coming into the game batting .190 with one home run over 268 at-bats. Today he shows why scouts think so highly of him, hitting two home runs, driving in five, and leading the Hornets to a win against the division-leading Earthquakes.

Danny Burris

September 2: Nottinghamshire 11, Montgomery 10. The offenses explode out of the gate, as the Mountain Cats and Outlaws combine to score 19 runs in the first three innings. Danny Burris goes 4 for 4 with a double, two walks, two runs scored and four RBI—and don't look now, but Burris has an 11-game hitting streak.

September 4: Greenville 12, Montreal 9. It's a see-saw slugfest in Quebec. Greenville goes ahead, 3-0, behind home runs from Armando Pérez and Iván Ruíz. Montreal scores four in the fifth and two in the sixth, taking a 6-3 lead. Greenville wrests it back, scoring six runs in the eighth—Ted King hits a solo shot, and Ron Hamm hits a three-run homer—but, in the bottom half of the inning, Bandit home runs from Tim Shields and Tom Becker tie the game. The game goes to extras, and the 84's take the lead for the third and final time in the 13th: Dallas Crowley singling in Hamm proves to be the winning run.

September 4: Carolina 6, Montgomery 7. George Gilliam hits a three-run homer in the fourth, then doubles and scores in the ninth. The Crush take a 6-2 lead into the bottom of the ninth, but the Mountain Cats roar back. Chris Collins singles in a run, Craig O'Day hits a three-run homer to tie the game, and Ryan Taylor singles in Francisco Concepción to win the game for Alabama.

September 4: Maple 5, San Francisco 3. Keiran Simmons doubles in two runs to give the Quakes the lead, 3-1, but the Marauders come back in the ninth. With two outs, Greg Hammond and Michael Anderson each single in a run, tying the game. In the tenth, Derek Beimer triples and drives in two, and the Canucks steal a victory from their division rivals.

Norm Jackson

September 5: Cabo San Lucas 2, Boston 12. Hello, Norm! Norm "Cheers" Jackson (20-5) becomes the first pitcher to win 20 games. He stifles division-rival Cabo, allowing one run over 7 1/3 innings, striking out eight. The Cardinals sweep the series—outscoring the Toreros 30-7 in the process—and have won 19 of their last 21.

September 5: Greenville 13, Montreal 17. It's another slugfest! On a rainy night in Montreal, Greenville's Ron Hamm goes 4 for 5 with a pair of two-run homers. The Bandits score eight in the fourth, hitting five singles and two doubles, walking twice, and being gifted two errors.

Mike Bergeron

September 5: Eureka 6, Kansas City 5. Mike Bergeron goes 3 for 5 with two home runs and a stolen base, but it's Gary McLernon who wins the game for the Hornets with a solo home run in the 10th.

September 5: San Diego 1, Minnesota 20. The Tomcats, reeling from injuries, get pummeled by the Berserkers. Will Johnson leads off by homering on the second pitch he sees, and Minnesota bats around in both the first and the fourth innings. Peter Blanchard goes 4 for 6 with a double and a home run, Dale Watson goes 3 for 5 with a three-run home run, and Marvin Welch scores four runs.

Eric Ware

September 5: Maple 5, San Francisco 8. The Quakes enter the bottom of the ninth down by one run, 5-4. Their first two batters quickly fly out, but two singles and a walk load the bases. Cleanup hitter Eric Ware comes to the plate and ratchets up the tension by working the count full. Millard Marshall's cutter gets too much of the plate, and Ware slugs a 424-foot walk-off grand slam.

September 6: Montgomery 15, So Cal 3. Chris Collins goes 5 for 5, Juan Ramírez hits his 30th home run, and the Mountain Cats hand Mark Carver his 20th loss of the season.

September 6: Las Vegas 6, Eureka 7. Vic Jennings and Colin St. John homer as the Jokers score six in the sixth. Eureka chips away at the lead. Mike Bergeron gets three hits, drives in three, and steals bases number 29 and 30. With the game tied in the ninth and the bases loaded, Rich Barrett uncorks a wild pitch, and Bergeron races home for the win.