Around the ABL: April 21-May 4

Joe Frost

April 21: Minnesota 10, So Cal 14. Über-prospect Joe Frost is off to a blistering start. Crayon is batting .377, slugging .672, and he's gotten a hit in 14 of 15 games this season. This afternoon, he kicks off a seven-run rally in the eighth inning with a two-run home run. A few batters later, Ron Hutchins gives the Republic the lead with his first major league home run, a three-run fly down the line in right.

Rich Bussell

April 23: Ann Arbor 4, Dallas 6. Few things in baseball are as pretty as Rich Bussell's changeup—unless you're trying to hit it, that is. Texan Bussell (3-1) strikes out 15 Barn Owls over 7 2/3 innings, including striking out the side in the first, third, and sixth innings. He joins Raúl Pérez, Aurelio Ramírez, and Maurice Gould as the only pitchers to accomplish the feat.

April 25: Maple 4, Las Vegas 17. Colin St. John continues his amazing comeback season. He goes 4-for-5 with a grand slam and a two-run home run, leading the Jokers to a landslide victory.

Dan Smith

April 26: Boston 5, Cabo San Lucas 6. Boring Dan Smith goes 5-for-5 with two walks, a two-run home run, and a walk-off single in the 13th. Cabo goes on to sweep division rival Boston; the Cardinals, meanwhile, have lost six in a row.

Jorge Mora

April 26: Ann Arbor 2, New York 9. Jorge Mora hits for the cycle! He doubles in a run in the first and singles and scores in the second. In the fourth, he hits a two-run homer deep to right field, and he caps the cycle with a fifth-inning triple. With a .375 average and 17 RBIs, he's solidifying his reputation as one of the best young hitters in the game.

April 29: So Cal 2, Seattle 21. Dave McNuir (2-1), the young Republic ace, hits Oliver Davis with a pitch. Davis charges the mound, and the benches clear. Both McNuir and Davis get ejected, but the real blows come via the Sasquatch bats. Seattle proceeds to score 10 in the third, with George Sanders hitting two home runs, a two-run and three-run homer. Davis's replacement, Kent Pearson, hits a double, a bases-loaded triple, and a two-run homer.

April 29: Maple 1, South Carolina 2. In his five starts this season, Jeremy Rogers has a 2.43 ERA but has yet to win a game. Tonight, Rogers pitches nine innings, strikes out eight, and allows one run. But Pat Sellers and the Marauder bullpen match him, and the game goes into extra innings. In the 10th, with two outs and the bases loaded, Bomber third-baseman Gunner Smart lines a hit to right-center. South Carolina wins, but Rogers still seeks his first victory.

May 1: New York 8, Dallas 7. Division rivals hook up in an exciting game. The Texans takes a lead, 2-0, into the seventh, where the Mafia score four: Joe Herman triples in two runs and then scores himself. Dallas ties the game in the eighth, and the game goes into extra innings. In the 10th, Mafia shortstop Bob Fry singles in Herman Campbell; in the bottom half of the inning, down to their last out, Bodil Larsen singles in Francisco García, re-tying the game. In the 12th, Dave Olson hits a sac fly and Jorge Mora singles in Campbell, giving the Mafia the lead, 8-6. Dallas doesn't go quietly: García scores, and, with the tying run on third and the Texans again down to their last out, Larsen steps to the plate and grounds out to end the game.

May 1: San Francisco 10, Jersey 13. With the Quakes ahead, 10-8, in the eighth inning, Jersey's Stan Cheslin hits a grand slam. Patrick Goff follows with his second home run of the evening, and the Jesters slug their way to victory. As they begin the second month of the season, Jersey leads the Billy Martin division.

Nathan Wilson

May 2: Texas 0, Boston 6. The Cardinals enter today with an 11-game losing streak, but Nathan Wilson (2-3) shuts down the Gunners. Formerly Boston's rubber-armed bullpen ace (in 2012, he appeared in 98 games while recording a 2.30 ERA), Wilson was converted to the rotation last season and has since proven to be a standout starter. Today he holds Texas to three hits, all singles, and two walks while striking out seven.

May 2: So Cal 0, Jacksonville 1. So Cal brings up 24-year-old Luis López. In his first major league game, he pitches eight shutout innings, allowing three hits and two walks. The Republic fare no better against the well-traveled Ratko Mladjenovic and reliever Christopher Green (2-0). In the bottom of the ninth, Jacksonville's Mark Reid (playing in only his fifth major league game) singles to right: lead-footed catcher Cal Godleman huffs and puffs his way from second, around third, and awkwardly slides beneath the tag for the walkoff win.

Charles Luce

May 4: Cabo San Lucas 8, Carolina 0. Charles Luce (5-0) and Tom Bray (1-3) hurl dueling shutouts for eight innings, between them allowing five singles and two walks. The ninth inning flips the script as the Toreros score eight runs. Dan Smith hits a grand slam, Keiran Simmons follows with a solo shot, and Michael Anderson triples with the bases loaded. Luce completes the shutout, giving him his fifth win of the young season and lowering his ERA to 2.35.