Around the minors - 5/17/13

Norfolk Tides 7, Lehigh Valley IronPigs 8

Just as the Orioles did last night, the Tides fell behind early then rallied in the 8th inning but couldn't come up with the win.

Steve Johnson had a tough night on the mound, pitching just 3 1/3 innings. He gave up 4 runs on 4 hits and 5 walks. Ouch. He did strike out five, so...that's something? Mike Belfiore relieved him and wasn't too hot either. Belfiore pitched 3 2/3 innings and gave up three runs himself. Adam Russell pitched the final two innings without giving up a run.

IronPigs' starter Ethan Martin befuddled the Tides for seven innings. They worked him for 8 hits and 2 walks over but could only score 2 runs. They knocked around Martin's replacement for 5 runs in 1/3 of an inning.

L.J. Hoes went 2-for-3 with a a triple and two walks. Buck Britton was 2-for-5 with a grand slam. Russ Canzler, Trayvon Robinson, and Brandon Wood also had two hits each.

Bowie Baysox 2, Trenton Thunder 1

Kevin Gausman was brilliant last night, striking out 10 in 6 innings pitched with just four hits, three of which were singles. The only run he allowed scored on a ground out after Slade Heathcott tripled. Gausman has now pitched 46 1/3 innings for Bowie and has 49 strikeouts and just 5 walks.

Jason Gurka replaced Gausman in the 7th inning and had another impressive night. He pitched three perfect innings to finish the game and struck out 4.

The Baysox only got 4 hits on the night, so there isn't much offense to talk about. Caleb Joseph hit his 7th home run of the year. Ty Kelly scored the second run after he walked and then came in to score on an error.

Frederick Keys 2, Salem Red Sox 10

Zach Petersime was bad last night, pitching just 2 1/3 innings and giving up 7 runs (6 earned) on 9 hits. He got doubled to death in the third inning and couldn't recover. He was replaced by Jesse Beal, who stopped the bleeding. Beal went 3 2/3 innings and gave up just one hit while striking out three. The final three runs came with Tom Winegardner on the mound. He was the victim of an 3 RBI home run.

The Keys had 9 hits on the night, but only one, a double by Brenden Webb, was for extra bases. Allan de San Miguel had to hits, as did John "Rudy" Ruettinger. Nicky Delmonico had a single and walked twice.

Delmarva Shorebirds 5, Hickory Crawdads 2

The Crawdads scored two runs in the top of the first off of Brandon Kline, but that was the only damage they did on the night. Kline hit a batter with a pitch and the next hitter, Ryan Rua, blasted a two-run homer. Other than Kline was simply fantastic. He struck out 13 batters in 5 2/3 innings. According to the box score on MiLB.com, all 13 were swinging strikeouts, which is borderline unbelievable.

The Shorebirds scored 4 runs in the seventh inning thanks to a double from Joel Hutter, a triple by Lucas Herbst, and two errors by the Crawdads' pitcher.

Herbst had three hits on the night, the only Shorebird with more than one.