Around the ABL: May 5-May 31

May 6: Kansas City 11, Minnesota 10. Bryan Gardner hits a two-run homer in the sixth, and gives the Bersekers the lead, 6-5. In the seventh, Jesús Cruz hits a three-run home run and the Tornadoes re-take the lead, 9-6. The Berserkers tie the game back up, with backup catcher Juan Carlos Carillo hitting a solo home run in the eighth and a sac fly in the ninth. In the 10th, Armando Rodríguez singles in two runs, and Kansas City wins the see-saw battle.

Blake Reynolds

May 6: Seattle 11, Boston 1. Blake Reynolds goes 5-for-5 with a home run and three RBIs, and Kent Rose (5-0) pitches a complete game, allowing one unearned run.

May 7: Kansas City 6, Minnesota 7. Another day, another crazy game in Minneapolis. Kansas City takes the lead when Bob Watkins and Jesús Cruz hit back-to-back home runs. Minnesota strikes back quickly: Joe Booth singles in a run in the first, then doubles in a pair of runs in the second, and the Berserkers take the lead, 4-3. Kansas City re-takes the lead behind two-run home runs by Jorge Rivera and Ricardo Marquis. Trailing in the eighth, 9-5, the Berserkers single and walk their way to four runs, tying the game, 9-9. Finally, in the bottom of the ninth, Jorge Rodriguez hits a walk-off home run.

May 9: Eureka 10, Washington 8. With two outs in the bottom of the second, the Capitalists score seven runs: P.J. Baker and Tom Becker each hit three-run home runs. The Hornets come back. Joe Sharpe ties the game with a three-run home run, and Mike Bergeron wins it with a three-run home run in the top of the ninth.

May 10: Jersey 7, Dallas 8. The Texans go into the bottom of the ninth, trailing by four runs. After a ground ball to second and a fly ball to center, they trail by four with two outs and the bases empty. Ken Kelly takes a ball, then fouls off two pitches, leaving the Texans just one strike away from defeat.

Kelly works a full count, then singles to left. Two pitches later, Jesse Clark singles. The Jesters bring in closer Cisco Sánchez to pitch, and Jeffery McDonald takes his very first pitch and doubles to deep center field, driving in Kelly and Clark. Brandon Farmer singles, and Francisco García doubles in two runs, tying the game. Matt Welch doubles, driving in García, and rewarding the Dallas faithful with a miracle comeback!

May 12: Texas 11, Cabo San Lucas 3. Curt Dempsey ignites the Gunners offense by slugging home runs in his first two at-bats. Each blast comes with two outs, and together they give Texas a five-run lead.

Larry Smiley

May 12: Nottinghamshire 11, Jersey 0. Larry Smiley (5-1) gave the Nottinghamshire ultras something to smile about today. Supported by Nottinghamshire's strong defense, he pitches a two-hit shutout while facing the minimum number of batters. Smiley retires the first 15 Jersey batters: Jack Johnson breaks up the no-hitter with a bunt single. Bill Parker also singles in the ninth, and both baserunners are erased on double plays. Leslie Whitney leads the Outlaw offense by going 4-for-4 with a double, home run, and four RBIs.

Aurelio Ramírez

May 12: Boston 1, Carolina 6. Aurelio Ramírez (3-3) had his splitter working against the Cardinals tonight. Boston batters waved wildly as Ramírez's splitter dove into the dirt. The southpaw strikes out nine en route to a complete game victory.

Dan Smith

May 13: Texas 3, Cabo San Lucas 15. Dan Smith becomes the first player in ABL history to get six hits in a nine-inning game. (Tim Shields went 6-for-7 last year in a 14 inning game.) Smith hits four singles, a double, and a two-run home run.

May 17: San Francisco 8, Georgia 11. Late-arriving fans miss a wild pair of innings. The Quakes score seven runs in the second: Austin McCabe leads off with a solo home run, and later that inning he walks with the bases loaded. But the Grays score three in the first and five in the second—Terry Sterling hits a three-run homer—and Georgia takes a one-run lead, 8-7. San Francisco bats go quiet, and Georgia hangs on for the win. Sean Bowman goes 5-for-5, singling twice, doubling twice, tripling, and scoring three runs.

Tom Becker

May 18: Dallas 4, Washington 10. Here comes Tom Becker! Last year's MVP goes 4-for-5 with two doubles and a home run. He drives in seven—giving him 43 RBIs already this season—and raises his batting average to .396. There is no doubt that Becker has provided a huge boost to what was, in 2012, the league's worst offense, but can Washington find a way to improve their moribund pitching staff?

Brian Caldwell

May 23: Washington Capitalists 4, San Diego Hops 9. Brian Caldwell leads the Hops to victory. In the third, he hits a two-out grand slam. In the fourth, he hits a two-run home run.

May 25: Eureka 4, Mile High 5. The Hornets take a lead, 4-1, into the ninth, but the Mustangs storm back. Tommy Harris doubles off the left-center-field wall, driving in two runs. With two outs and runners on second and third, Danny Hardy, who came into the game batting .189, singles to left. Callum Ritchie scores, and Francisco Morales huffs and puffs his way around third and to home plate, giving the Mustangs the walk-off win.

May 27: Montreal 11, Washington 7. Playing against his old team, Tom Becker goes 0-for-5. It's his worst game performance of the year. Meanwhile, the Bandits send 12 men to the plate in the top of the first, scoring eight runs. Despite losing the MVP, Montreal stands in first place once again.

May 28: South Carolina 0, Maple 7. Pat Sellers (3-2) takes a no-hitter into the ninth inning, but Martin Evans doubles down the first-base line. Sellers stays in the game and completes a one-hit shutout. The veteran Sellers, 33, is having a strong year, posting a 1.62 ERA over his first nine games of 2014. (Thanks to Gary for directing me to this game.)

May 28: Minnesota 5, San Diego 0. Peter Blanchard slugs a grand slam, and Bob Rudyard (3-4) and two relievers combine on a shutout as the Berserkers defeat their division rivals.

May 30: Ann Arbor 8, Seattle 9. Z-Rod has quietly been having himself another exceptional Z-Rod year: .352 batting average, 15 home runs, and 40 RBIs. Tonight, he homers to right in the seventh to give the Barn Owls a two-run lead. The Sasquatch tie it in the ninth: Oliver Davis hits a two-run homer of his own. In the 11th, Tim Duncan (batting .468 in 13 games this season) hits a solo home run to deep right to win the game for Seattle.

Ratko
Mladjenovic

May 31: Jacksonville 8, Eureka 0. Rah, rah, Ratko! The junkballer from our nation's capital,—the son of Bosnian immigrants who grew up listening to Baltimore Orioles games on the radio,—the man whose name is worth 35 points in Scrabble—the one and only Ratko Mladjenovic (4-4) pitches eight shutout innings to lead the Jacks to victory. Never given much of a chance with Washington (neé Greenville), Mladjenovic signed a two-year contract with Jacksonville this off-season. The investment seems to have payed off as he is giving Jacksonville decent innings and quickly becoming a fan favorite.

May 31: Boston 11, Kansas City 10. The Cardinals enter the top of the ninth trailing by three runs, 10-7. Their first two batters ground out, and the game appears over.

But God works in mysterious ways.

José Escobar singles to left. Jesús Álvarez works the count full, then gets jammed on a pitch and taps a slow roller past the pitcher's mound towards third—an infield hit! John White lines a single to right. With the bases full, Alex Austin laces a single that brings home Escobar and Álvarez. George White walks, loading the bases once more. José González steps to the plate, and bloops a single to center. John White comes home to tie the game, and Austin races home for the lead. Brock Maddox closes out the game in the bottom half of the ninth, and the Cardinals steal a win from the Tornados.