Around the ABL: May 27-June 9

Pat Everhart

May 28: Georgia 1, So Cal 0. Pat Everhart (3-7) has been pitching well this season (his ERA is 3.70), but he's had precious little run support this season. Tonight he gets only one run to work with, but Everhart makes that run count. He dominates the Republic, tossing eight shutout innings and allowing two hits while striking out eight.

May 28: San Francisco 10, New York 0. The Quakes score their first run when, on the game's third pitch, shortstop Bill Conway singles in Doctor Watson. Meanwhile, The Mafia hitmen see 154 pitches but can't score a run. Pete Barrett (3-3) only strikes out two over 6 2/3 scoreless innings, but his splitter gets plenty of ground outs.

Melvin Brown

May 28: Cabo San Lucas 1, Montgomery 2. Orlando Hernández goes to third when Victor Welsh singles to center and then comes home when center-fielder Dave Carlisle lets the ball get by him. A few innings later, Welsh triples and scores when Ryan Taylor grounds out. That proves enough for Melvin Brown (3-4) who gives up one run over eight innings. Stephen Lawrence (4-5) allows only the one earned run over seven innings of work but gets the hard-luck loss.

May 29: Cabo San Lucas 5, Montgomery 4. The two teams hook up in another close game, and this time the Bullfighters tame the Cats. Down 3-2, Cabo rallies in the ninth to score three off feared closer Johnny Tiller. A Dave Carlisle single scores the tying run, and a Max Abrams double drives in a pair for the win.

Maple 29: Maple 1, Dallas 0. Last year's runaway Cy Young winner, Rich Bussell, falls to 3-3 despite allowing only one run and striking out 10 over 6 2/3 innings. Pat Sellers (2-0) and four relievers combine to shutout the Texans. Rookie catcher Greg Hammond doubles in Derek Beimer for the game's only run.

May 29: Las Vegas 12, Montreal 5. In a rematch of last year's ABL Championship, Las Vegas sweeps a two-game set at Montreal. The Joker offense, so strong a year ago, has been less than spectacular this season—partly due to the loss of their best hitter, Colin St. John, to a concussion. Today, however, they break out for 19 hits and 12 runs. Kevin Carey, Bob Reece, and Troy Tracy all homer.

Ed Hill

May 31: Georgia 10, Carolina 7. Ed Hill is known for his glove, but tonight it's his bat that leads the Ghost Busters to victory. He scores five times, twice on solo home runs and three times after reaching on a walk and twice on solo home runs.

Lawrence Fox

June 1: Kansas City 6, Montreal 5. The fastest man in the ABL, Lawrence Fox, singles in the third, then steals second and third and scores on ground out. In the eighth, Fox singles, steals second and third, and puts the Tornadoes ahead when he scores on a Ricardo Marquis single.

Salvador
Salgado

June 2: Cabo San Lucas 12, Seattle 15. The Sasquatch slug their way to a comeback victory. Edgar Johnson and Salvador Salgado hit solo home runs in the bottom of the seventh. Trailing in the eighth, 12-9, Salgado hits a three-run homer to tie it, and rookie Tim Duncan follows his lead, hitting a three-run homer to win it. Cabo's Keiran Simmons goes 5-for-5 with three RBIs in a losing cause. Johnson goes 5-for-5 and scores four times. Salgado goes 3-for-4 with seven RBIs.

Jeffrey Hensley

June 2: Boston 4, So Cal 6. Jeffrey Hensley takes center stage. With two outs in the bottom of the ninth and the Republic trailing, 4-3, Hensley bloops a ball down the right-field line—a double that drives in pinch-runner Colt Smith for the tying run. In the 11th, Hensley once again comes to bat with Smith on board. This time, Hensley homers, and the Angelinos celebrate a walk-off win.

Tom Klein

June 3: San Francisco 12, Ann Arbor 9. With the Barn Owls ahead, 5-0, in the fifth inning, Tom Klein hits a grand slam bringing the Quakes back into the game. In the ninth, the Quakes still trail, 7-6, when Klein hits another homer—this time with two on—giving San Francisco their first lead of the night. But the game is not over. In the bottom of the ninth, Ki-moon Pak and Michael Myer hit solo home runs, tying the game. In the 10th, Quake pinch-hitter Bill Watson wins it with a three-run home run.

Juan Fernández

June 3: Maple 0, Nottinghamshire 3. Juan Fernández (5-5) has not pitched like the ace that the Outlaws thought they had acquired, but today he leads the English to victory over the Canadians. "Chump" goes eight shutout innings, scatters eight hits, and strikes out eight.

Erik Bennett

June 3: Las Vegas 10, Washington 5. Mild-mannered Erik Bennett, Joker shortstop, has the game of his life. In the second, he comes to bat with the bases loaded and triples to right-center. In the fourth, he again comes to bat with the bases loaded. This time he homers. All in all, Bennett goes 4-for-5 with eight RBIs.

Elvis Sharp

June 3: Kansas City 1, San Diego 3. How has this blog not yet celebrated San Diego southpaw Elvis Sharp? (Is that the best name ever or what?) The Hound Dog (3-3) pitches seven perfect innings today, until Ricardo Marquis leads off the eighth with a double.

Dave McNuir

June 4: Cabo San Lucas 1, So Cal 3. Dave McNuir (1-2), one of the Republic's many promising young arms, earns his first big-league win, pitching eight innings and allowing just one unearned run. He out-pitches the much-older Andre Younger (0-2).

June 4: Eureka 13, Montreal 14. Mike Bergeron's two home runs power the Hornets to a big lead, 12-2. Montreal's hitters rally in the fifth, peppering eight singles and a double around the ballpark and scoring nine runs. In the seventh, the Bandits complete their improbable comeback when Jordan Borlase singles in Tim Shields and Robert Carr.

Jorge Cruz

June 5: Montgomery 2, Jersey 0. Jorge Cruz (5-4) has struggled in this his comeback season, but he was in his best form today. Cruz cruises through the Jester lineup and takes a perfect game into the ninth inning. Bill Parker leads off with a shot down the line just beyond the glove of third baseman Eric Williams. The double proves to be the Jesters' only hit, and Parker their only baserunner. Closer Johnny Tiller comes in and retires the side. Juan Ramírez drives in both Mountain Cat runs, homering in the first and later singling in Ryan Taylor.

Leslie Whitney

June 5: Nottinghamshire 17, Las Vegas 7. The Outlaws score 13 runs in the fourth inning. Leslie Whitney unleashes the scoring by hitting a grand slam—and if that wasn't enough, he comes to bat a second time in the inning and crushes a two-run home run. For the record, the inning proceeds thus: hit-by-pitch, ground out, walk, walk, grand slam (runs 1-4), single, single, double (5 & 6), single (7), walk, single (8), double (9 & 10), two-run homer (11 & 12), walk and stolen base (courtesy of  Peter Kelly), single (13), and ground out.

June 5: Carolina 3, Maple 4. Carolina's Justin Wallace grounds to short for what should be the final out of the game, but Maple first-baseman Don Strickland bobbles the throw, allowing Martin Bryan to score and tie the game, 3-3. Toronto fans get to celebrate five innings later. In the 14th, Cale Hines doubles, advances to third on a single, and scores when Michael Anderson (with the outfield playing in) hits a fly ball to deep right-center.

Kent Rose

June 6: Seattle 5, South Carolina 0. Recent Sasquatch acquisition Kent Rose (6-3) pitches a shutout, striking out eight while walking only one. All five Seattle runs come via the long-ball, with Steve Frend, Dane Moore, and Blake Reynolds providing the fireworks.

Earl Cook

June 7: New York 5, Las Vegas 4. Vic Jennings goes 3-for-4 with two walks and two solo home runs for the Jokers, but it's not enough. The teams stay locked in a tie, 4-4, from the sixth inning until the 13th, when New York's light-hitting shortstop, Earl Cook, decides to hit his first home run of the season. Fun fact: Cook's homer comes on his 197th at-bat of the season.

Dave Nicholson

June 8: So Cal 0, South Carolina 2. Dave Nicholson is a man on a mission. After going 4-10 last season, Nicholson began 2013 in Triple-A. By mid-May, he had earned another chance in the majors—and boy is he making the most of it. In his first four starts, Nicholson (2-1) allowed only one unearned run over 23 innings of work. Today Nicholson (2-1) pitches seven more shutout innings, lowering his ERA to a microscopic 0.30.

Joe McDowell

June 8: Dallas 8, Kansas City 1. Joe McDowell (3-3)—a 6'4" junk-baller from Indiana—pitches a complete game. "Big Red" allows the Tornadoes only one late run. Leadoff-man Ryan Erickson goes 3-for-4 with a double, a triple, and four RBIs.

Jimmy Ethridge

June 9: Montreal 0, Jacksonville 4. The Jacks snap an eight-game losing streak. Despite striking out only one batter, Jimmy Ethridge (4-5) tosses eight shutout innings. Bandit hitters just couldn't get solid wood on his knuckle curve. Cal Godleman doubles in a pair of runs.

Dave
Hutchinson

June 9: New York 21, Las Vegas 6. The Mafia unload on the Jokers. Dave Hutchinson hits two home runs, including a grand slam that caps an eight-run fifth inning. Bob Fry, in just his seventh major league game, goes 5-or-6 with two triples, driving in three runs while scoring four.

June 9: Dallas 1, Kansas City 2. The Texans nearly eke out a win behind 7 2/3 innings of shutout pitching from star Rich Bussell, but closer Alex Martin can't slam the door. With the Tornadoes trailing 1-0 in the ninth, Bob Watkins doubles and Doug Taylor homers for the walk-off win.

Alfredo Yánez

June 9: So Cal 14, South Carolina 1. Alfredo Yánez hits a pair of moonshots—two 450-feet home runs—and drives in five. Dave McNuir (2-2), the 21-year old rookie who many expect to be among the best starters in the game, looked like an ace. He allows only one run in 7 2/3 innings of work.