Around the ABL: June 24-July 7

Scott Andrews

June 24: Montreal 7, Carolina 11. In a possible playoff preview, the Crush out-slug the Bandits. Scott Andrews leads the Carolina hitters, going 4-for-5 with a grand slam.

Jim Thompson

June 24: Ann Arbor 7, Washington 0. Jim Thompson (6-7) strikes out 10 over 8 1/3 shutout innings of work, walking none while allowing five hits. Roberto Guzmán and Ki-moon Pak homer for the Barn Owls.

June 25: San Diego 3, Montgomery 5. Welsh has a flair for the dramatic this season. One month ago, he hit for the cycle. With the Cats trailing the Hops, 3-1, Victor Welsh comes to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the bases full. Welsh hits a walk-off grand slam.

June 26: South Carolina 5, Georgia 0. Jeremy Rogers (4-3) and reliever Mark Thompson combine to shutout the Ghost Busters. Rogers, one of the Bombers' many promising young pitchers, goes 7 2/3 innings, striking out five while walking one.

June 26: Ann Arbor 7, Washington 8. Bottom of the ninth. Two outs. Barn Owls lead, 7-5. Runners on first and second. Chance Everett crushes a three-run homer, his 20th of the year, and the Capitalists steal one from the Barn Owls.

June 26: San Diego 1, Montgomery 2. For the second night in a row, the Cats win with a walk-off homer. This time, Chris Collins leads off the bottom of the ninth with a home run..

June 26: Las Vegas 5, Boston 13. Cardinals John White goes 4-for-4 with a home run and a double, scoring four runs and driving in three. All is not well for Boston, however, as ace Norm Jackson continues to struggle, allowing five runs over 3 2/3 innings: his 4.32 ERA is more than a run greater than his 2.97 ERA of last year's 20-win season.

Alberto
Rodríguez

June 27: Dallas 10, Washington 8. The Texans battle the Capitalists in a see-saw affair. With the Texans leading, 5-4, in the eighth, Ron Hamm singles in Ben Kessler for the tying run, and Luis Rocha singles in Joe Leftwich to put Washington ahead, 6-5. Dallas ties the game again in the top of the ninth: Bobby Smith singles in Alberto Rodríguez. The game goes to extras. In the 11th, Texan Ken Hines hits a two-run homer, but that doesn't end things. Iván Ruíz matches him in the bottom half of the inning, hitting a two-out two-run homer of his own. Finally, in the top of the 12th, Rodríguez destroys a Bill Carpenter offering, lining the ball 424 foot to dead-center field.

June 27: Nottinghamshire 10, Seattle 9. In the seventh, Juan Soto and Marlon Bentley each hit a two-run homer, tying the game at eight runs apiece. The teams swap runs in the eighth, and the game heads to extras. In the 12th, backup infielder Jim Hurst hits a solo home run to win the game for the Outlaws.

Tom Wagner

June 28: Las Vegas 8, South Carolina 0. Tom Wagner (7-3) shows that Maurice Gould isn't the only Joker who can pitch. He shuts down the Bombers for eight innings, striking out five.

June 28: Mile High 6, San Francisco 7. The Mustangs come back in the seventh inning—aided by a hit-batsman, error, and wild pitch. But the Quakes win it in the bottom of the 11th when Ignacio Villarreal singles in John House.

June 29: New York 5, So Cal 6. Jeffrey Hensley ties the game, 5-5, with a solo home run in the bottom of the ninth. In the 10th, Willis Parks wins the game by singling in Bob Osborn.

June 29: San Diego 12, Carolina 1. The game was over practically before it began as the Hops score 10 in the top of the first: double, double (Bryan Caldwell, 1), walk, single, sac fly (2), single, single (3), single (4-5), single (6), single (7), home run (Caldwell again, 8-10), double, walk, ground out, ground out. Mike Joyce (10-6) strikes out 11 over 7 1/3 shutout innings.

June 30: Jersey 2, Georgia 0. Jorge Mendoza (5-6) tosses seven shutout innings, striking out five. Patrick Goff and Jack Johnson hit solo home runs.

Nathan Wilson

June 30: Kansas City 0, Boston 3. Nathan Wilson (4-0), the Cardinals bullpen workhorse, finally gets a chance to show what he can do in the rotation. Based on tonight's performance, he'll be getting a lot more starts. Wilson pitches 8 2/3 shutout innings, giving up three hits and two walks while striking out five.

Dave McNuir

June 30: New York 1, So Cal 4. Rookie Dave McNuir (4-4) holds the Mafia scoreless for 8 1/3 innings. He allows only two hits and one walk, and he strikes out five. Willis Parks doubles in a run in the third, then singles in a run in the seventh.

July 1: Jacksonville 4, Las Vegas 3. Someone remind the Jokers that Jacks can be wild too. With the bases loaded in the top of the ninth, Las Vegas closer Rich Barrett hits John Kinnult, forcing in one run. Jacksonville's Corbin Butler then singles through the left-side hole, driving in the tying and winning run.

Mike Bergeron

July 2: San Francisco 4, Eureka 10. Northern California rivals face off, and Mike Bergeron leads the Hornets over the Quakes. Bergeron goes 3-for-3 with a three-run homer and four RBIs. Eureka takes the season series, five games to two.

July 2: Boston 3, Jersey 1. Will Bauer hits a two-run homer in the 10th to win it for the Cardinals.

July 2: Montreal 2, Seattle 3. Ray Clay shuts out the Sasquatch for eight innings. In his eight innigns of work, Al Boyd allows the Bandits only one run, a Tom Becker homer. But Bandit closer Joe Lowry can't shut the door. Cromawm Faherty scores Seattle's only runs of the game on the game's final swing: a three-run home run.

July 3: Ann Arbor 14, Carolina 11. Greg Beard gets the Crush out to a fast start by hitting two early two-run homers. The Barn Owls strike back in the seventh: they score eight, capped by a Stu Barnes three-run homer.

July 3: Dallas 9, Montgomery 5. With the game tied, 5-5, in the ninth and the bases loaded, Kin Hines crushes the baseball 424 feet. The grand slam gives the Texans the win.

Evan Warner

July 4: Georgia 6, Las Vegas 0. Maurice Gould faces off against Evan Warner on the Fourth of July! Gould (13-2) loses just his second game of the season, giving up four runs over seven innings. Warner (8-7) rises to the occasion and pitches 8 2/3 innings of shutout baseball.

Peter Blanchard

July 4: Nottinghamshire 0, Minnesota 19. The English not only lose on Independence Day but get their asses handed to them by the American representative, Minnesota. Peter Blanchard hits a two-run homer and a grand slam. Marvin Welch and Dale Watson hit three-run homers of their own. Jack Hughes (4-4) pitches seven shutout innings

Cornel Pîrcalab

July 5: San Diego 6, New York 2. With the Mafia ahead, 2-1, in the ninth, the Hops load the bases with one out for Cornel Pîrcalab. He doubles, clearing the bases.

July 5: Cabo San Lucas 19, Jersey 3. The Toreros gore the Jesters. Boring Dan Smith hits a boring grand slam. Dennis Crawford hits five singles in six at-bats, driving in six. Dave Carlisle goes 4-for-6 with a triple, three RBIs, and three runs scored.

July 6: Cabo San Lucas 9, Jersey 8. Jersey leads, 8-5, in the eighth inning when Stan Cheslin loses a Clarence Sutton fly ball in the lights and allows two runs to score. Johnny Nelson (who goes 3-for-5 on the day with a home run and four RBIs) singles in Sutton, tying the game. In the 10th, Dan Smith doubles and Clarence Sutton singles him in, giving the Toreros the win.

Javier García

July 6: So Cal 6, Ann Arbor 11. Republican Peter McCormick hits a pair of home runs. Barn Owl Javier García goes 3-for-5 with two doubles and drives in six.

July 6: Seattle 6, Dallas 7. In the seventh, Sasquatch Edgar Johnson hits a solo home run and Sam Eaton doubles in Oliver Davis, tying the game at four runs apiece. Neither team scores again until the 14th inning, when—déjà vu!—Johnson hits a solo home run and Eaton singles in Steve Frend. But in the bottom of the 14th, the Texans rally. An error, a double, and two infield singles ties the game. Another single and a double from Brandon Farmer wins the game for Dallas.

July 7: San Diego 1, New York 2. Miguel Angel Ortíz homers in the first, his 31st, which leads all of baseball going into the All-Star break. Roberto Campos, Sixto Lavio, and Lyle Arnold hold the Hops scoreless the rest of the night. In the 11th, with both clubs' players itching to start their vacation, Ashton Finley singles in Jorge Mora to give the Mafia the win.