Royals on the Farm 6/15

AAA -- Omaha: Nashville 6, O-Royals 5 (10)

CF Maier 4-6, 2B (13), HR (5), RBI (30), 3 RS -- .289
1B Butler 1-1, 3 BB, SF, 2 RBI (46), RS, E (7) -- .284
DH Brazell 2-5 -- .325
3B Brewer 2-4, BB, K, RS -- .261
LF McCarthy 1-5, RBI (1) -- .222
C Tupman 0-4, BB -- .311
*Omaha left 12 on base.

Shiell 5 2/3 IP, 5 ER, 8 H, 2 BB, 2 K, 2 HRA, WP -- ND, 3.76 ERA
DeHoyos 2 1/3 IP, H, BB -- 3.52 ERA
Markray 1 1/3 IP, ER, 2 H, K, HRA -- L, 3-2, 3.86 ERA

Omaha forced extras with a 9th inning rally but the game ended abruptly in the 10th on a walkoff shot. Billy Butler hit a sac fly in the 1st to give Omaha a 1-0 lead. A walk, wild pitch, Billy Butler throwing error and ground out helped Nashville tie the game without a hit off SP Jason Shiell and a homer by 3B Joe Dillon made it 2-1 Nashville. The O-Royals left the bases full in the 3rd but scored twice in the 5th on a wild pitch and a Butler RBI single to take a 3-2 lead. The lead was short-lived as Nashville scored 3 in the bottom of the inning on a leadoff homer by DH J.R. Hopf, a sac fly and RBI single to make it 5-3 Sounds. Omaha left the bases full again in the 7th as Angel Berroa got picked off (classic Angel right there) at second to end the inning. Seriously, where are you going with 2 outs and the bases loaded? Unreal. The O-Royals left the bases loaded a third time in the 8th as Richie Lewis and Jace Brewer K'd to end the threat. Mitch Maier hit his 5th homer of the season to lead off the 9th and newest Royal Bill McCarthy hit a 1-out RBI single to tie the game. Thad Markray pitched the 9th and got 1 out in the 10th before Dillon ended the game with his 2nd homer of the game. Omaha is 33-35 and 6 1/2 games back. Dillon was 3-5 with 2 errors (5), 2 HR (12) and 2 RBI (40) to move to .276, CF Laynce Nix was 2-5 with 2 RBI (20) to move to .260 and RP Greg Aquino got the win with an IP of a walk and K to improve to 1-0 with a 4.66 ERA.

Game 2 of the set is tonight. Probable starters: Omaha RH Matt Wright (3-3, 3.92) vs. Nashville RH Chris Oxspring (6-3, 2.50).

AA -- Wichita: Springfield 7, Wranglers 3

CF Greenberg 3-5, K -- .259
3B Sandberg 2-4, HR (1), RBI (1), K, RS -- .250
C Espino 2-3, BB, RS -- .265
RF Valentin 1-5, RBI (20), K -- .293
1B Stodolka 0-4, BB, RBI (26), K -- .259
SS Arce 0-4, 2 K -- .000, first Wichita start, wasn't hitting at Wilmington
*Wichita left 10 on base.

Rosa 4 IP, 6 ER, 10 H, BB, 6 K, 2 WP -- L, 3-4, 5.66 ERA, nice K/BB, but he's getting pounded (like Hochevar)
Nunez 4 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 3 K, HRA -- 1.20 ERA
Plummer IP, K -- 3.72 ERA

Wichita was down 4-0 before they could get on the board and squandered chances as Springfield clinched the first-half playoff berth. The Cardinals rallied for 2 runs on a walk and 2 hits to take a 2-0 lead. A 2-run single in the 3rd made it 4-0 Springfield. Jared Sandberg clubbed his first homer as a Wrangler in the 4th to cut the lead to 4-1 and the Wranglers stranded 2 in the inning. Rosa started the 5th by giving up 3 hits for a run and got pulled for Leo Nunez, who gave up another RBI single to make it 6-1 Springfield. A homer in the 6th made it 7-1 before Wichita scratched out 2 in the 7th on a Geraldo Valentin RBI single and Mike Stodolka bases-loaded walk but Sandberg struck out to end the rally. The Wranglers got the first 2 batters on in the 9th but didn't capitalize. Wichita is 25-42. Cards 3B Juan Richardson was 4-5 with his 13th double and 9th HR with 2 RBI (40) and 3 RS to move to .282, 2B Jarrett Hoffpauir was 4-5 with 2 doubles (10) and 4 RBI (24) to move to .324 and SP Mitch Boggs got the win with 6 2/3 IP of 3 ER on 8 hits, 2 walks and 6 Ks to improve to 6-3 with a 4.22 ERA.

The series ends tonight. Probable starters: Springfield RH Cory Rauschenberger (5-4, 5.97) vs. Wichita LH Dusty Hughes (1-2, 3.63).

A-Adv. -- Wilmington: Winston-Salem 9, Blue Rocks 5

3B Lisson 2-5, 2B (15), RBI (38), 3 K, E (7) -- .289
RF McFall 1-3, BB, HR (4), 2 RBI (21), K, RS, E (5) -- .244
DH Kaaihue 1-4, BB, RBI (41), RS -- .245
CF Duarte 1-5, K, RS -- .297
2B Maddox 0-3, 2 BB, K, 2 RS -- .256
SS McConnell 0-4, K -- .000, A-Adv. debut
*LF Brett Bigler had 2 OF assists.

B. Johnson 6 IP, 5 R (4 ER), 7 H, 3 BB, 4 K, pickoff -- L, 3-6, 4.78 ERA
D'Amico 2 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB, K, WP -- 3.48 ERA
Haltiwanger IP, ER, 2 H, BB, WP -- 3.45 ERA

The Blue Rocks' chances at a first half title got dimmer Friday as Winston-Salem took the series opener. Three walks and a 2-run double got the Warthogs a 1st inning lead off Blake Johnson but Brian McFall tied the game in the 2nd with a 2-run homer for his 4th of the season. The Warthogs moved back ahead with a run on 3 hits in the 4th and 2 runs on 2 hits and a Mario Lisson throwing error in the 5th. Lisson hit a 2-out RBI double in the 6th but RP Yovany D'Amico gave up a run in the 7th and 2 in the 8th on a double, walk and wild pitch to make it 8-3. Kila Kaaihue hit an RBI single in the bottom of the inning but the Rocks left the bases juiced. A Russ Haltiwanger wild pitch scored a run in the 9th to make it 9-4 before the Rocks scored 1 in the 9th on a Warthog throwing error but left 2 stranded to end it. Wilmington is 29-37 and 1 1/2 games back with 2 games left in the half. C Cole Armstrong was 4-5 with his 9th error, 3 doubles (10) and 4 RBI (25) to move to .275, LF Aaron Cunningham was 3-3 with 2 walks, his 22nd SB and 4 RS to move to .294 and SP Kyle McCulloch went 6 2/3 IP of 3 ER on 6 hits, a walk and 7 Ks to improve to 5-5 with a 3.55 ERA. RP Israel Chirino picked up his 1st save of the season.

The series continues tonight as Wilmington needs a win to stay alive in the first half. Probable starters: Rocks left-hander Rowdy Hardy (7-1, 1.62) makes his final first-half start vs. Warthogs right-hander Matt Zaleski (3-1, 3.86).

A -- Burlington: Kane County 8, Bees 1

LF Dickerson 1-4, RBI (21), K -- .262
SS Bianchi 1-4, 2B (11), K -- .248
CF Robinson 1-4, 2 K -- .260
1B Everett 1-4, 2B (13), 2 K, RS, E (8) -- .287
RF Peralta 1-3, BB, 2 K, E (1) -- .333, Burlington '07 debut

Cribb 4 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 9 H, BB, 3 K, 2 WP -- L, 1-6, 6.52 ERA
Chambliss 3 2/3 IP, 5 R (1 ER), 4 H, 3 BB, 2 K, 3 WP -- 2.41 ERA

Things started to go wrong in the 5th as the Bees collapsed in the 8-1 loss. With 2 out in the Bees 4th, Brady Everett doubled and scored on a Joe Dickerson single to give Burlington a 1-0 lead. SP Josh Cribb got through 4 innings unscathed but, with 1 out in the 5th, gave up 2 doubles, a wild pitch, another double and a single before being pulled for Tyler Chambliss. Chambliss allowed a 3rd run to score but got out without further damage. The Bees stranded 2 in scoring position in the 6th and 2 more runners in the 7th. Kane County put it away in the 8th with 5 runs on 4 hits, 3 wild pitches and 3 Bees errors. Burlington is 29-38. Cougars C David Castillo was 3-4 with his 2nd RBI to move to .333, 1B Greg Dowling was 2-4 with his 12th double, 3 RBI (38) and 2 RS to move to .288 and SP James Heuser went 6 2/3 IP of an ER on 6 hits, 2 walks and 11 Ks to improve to 5-2 with a 2.85 ERA. RP Jason Fernandez picked up his 2nd save.

The series continues tonight. Probable starters: Bees LH Ryan DiPietro (3-3, 4.75) vs. Cougars RH Trevor Cahill (2-1, 5.16).