Royals Minor League Report (7/3): Roccaforte Powers Naturals; Rain Suspends Two Royals Affiliates

[Kevin O'Brien]

 

Carson Roccaforte homered and drove in three as the Northwest Arkansas Naturals beat Corpus Christi, 8-3, behind five innings from Hunter Patteson. Michael Lombardi struck out six over five sharp innings for Columbia, though the Fireflies bullpen faltered in a loss. Blake Wolters fanned four as Quad Cities raced to a 13-2 lead before rain suspended play, and rain also halted Omaha's game with the Storm Chasers trailing early.

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Rain Suspends Storm Chasers' Game With Omaha Trailing

Rain suspended the Omaha Storm Chasers' game against the Indianapolis Indians in the top of the fourth inning, with Omaha trailing 1-0. The only run to that point came on a solo home run in the second inning.

Starter Mason Black was otherwise sharp across 3 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and no walks while striking out two, with that home run the lone blemish. Andrew Pérez took over on the mound before play was stopped.

 

 

Omaha's offense had little going, managing just one hit, a single from leadoff man Rudy Martin Jr., who also stole a base. Brett Squires drew the team's only walk.

The game is scheduled to resume at 4 p.m. on the Fourth of July. Saturday's scheduled game will be a 7-inning game and take place after the conclusion of the first game.

 

 

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Rudy Martin Jr.	2	0	1	0	0	1
Matthew Lugo	2	0	0	0	0	1
John Rave	1	0	0	0	0	1
Abraham Toro	1	0	0	0	0	0
Brett Squires	0	0	0	0	1	0
Peyton Wilson	1	0	0	0	0	0
Gavin Cross	1	0	0	0	0	0
Elih Marrero	1	0	0	0	0	0
Andrew Velazquez	1	0	0	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Mason Black	3 1/3	4	1	1	0	2	1
Andrew Pérez	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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Roccaforte Homers As Naturals Roll Past Corpus Christi

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals answered an early deficit with a big first two innings and cruised past the Corpus Christi Hooks, 8-3.

After the Hooks pushed across a run in the top of the first, leadoff man Roccaforte tied the game with a home run, and Jack Pineda followed with a home run of his own to give the Naturals a 2-1 lead.

 

 

In the second, Roccaforte lined a two-run single to score Omar Hernandez and Alberto Rodriguez, and Pineda added a run-scoring single that plated Canyon Brown, stretching the lead to 5-1.

Daniel Vazquez doubled home a run in the fifth, and Brown launched a two-run homer in the sixth to make it 8-2.

 

 

Roccaforte finished 3-for-4 with a home run and three runs batted in, Pineda went 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, and Brown drove in two.

Starter Patteson earned the win, working five innings and allowing two runs on four hits and four walks while striking out three. Anthony Simonelli, Chase Jessee, and Augusto Mendieta combined to finish the game.

The Naturals left six runners on base and went 5-for-10 with runners in scoring position. With the victory, Northwest Arkansas improved their record to 32-45. 

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Carson Roccaforte	4	1	3	3	1	0
Colton Becker	3	0	0	0	0	0
Jack Pineda	4	1	2	2	0	0
Spencer Nivens	4	1	1	0	0	1
Daniel Vazquez	4	0	2	1	0	1
Connor Scott	4	0	0	0	0	3
Omar Hernandez	3	2	2	0	0	0
Alberto Rodriguez	4	1	1	0	0	0
Canyon Brown	3	2	1	2	1	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Hunter Patteson	5	4	2	2	4	3	1
Anthony Simonelli	1 1/3	0	0	0	1	0	0
Chase Jessee	1 2/3	3	1	1	2	1	0
Augusto Mendieta	1	1	0	0	0	1	0

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River Bandits Race To 13-2 Lead Before Rain Suspends Play

The Quad Cities River Bandits piled up runs in a hurry before rain suspended their game against the Cedar Rapids Kernels with Quad Cities ahead 13-2.

The River Bandits scored seven times in the first inning, capped by a three-run home run from Erick Torres and fueled by a two-run double from Tyriq Kemp, a bases-loaded hit by pitch, and an error.

They tacked on four more in the second, including a run-scoring double from Derlin Figueroa and a solo home run from Kemp.

 

 

In the fourth, a fielder's choice and a run-scoring single from Diego Guzman pushed the margin to 13-2.

Wolters turned in four solid innings on the mound, allowing two runs on four hits and one walk with four strikeouts. Kemp finished with a home run, a double, and three runs batted in; Torres also drove in three, and Ramon Ramirez reached base three times and scored three runs.

 

 

The game is scheduled to resume on the Fourth of July at 4 p.m. Saturday's game will begin 40 minutes after the completion of game one and will be a 7-inning contest. 

 

 

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Asbel Gonzalez	3	1	1	0	0	1
Nolan Sailors	3	0	0	0	0	1
Blake Mitchell	3	2	1	0	0	0
Ramon Ramirez	1	3	1	0	2	0
Derlin Figueroa	2	2	1	1	1	1
Jose Cerice	1	2	0	2	0	0
Tyriq Kemp	2	2	2	3	1	0
Erick Torres	3	1	2	3	0	1
Diego Guzman	3	0	1	1	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Blake Wolters	4	4	2	2	1	4	0

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Lombardi Sharp, But Fireflies Bullpen Unravels In Loss

Michael Lombardi gave the Columbia Fireflies a strong start, but the bullpen could not hold a late lead in an 8-3 loss to the Fredericksburg Nationals.

 

 

Lombardi struck out six over five innings, allowing just one run on three hits and two walks, and handed off a 2-1 lead. He now leads all Single-A pitchers in strikeouts. 

 

 

Columbia had scratched out its runs on an unearned tally in the second inning and a run-scoring single from Jhosmmel Zue in the fourth that brought home Yandel Ricardo.

The lead disappeared in the sixth, when Fredericksburg connected for a two-run home run to move ahead 3-2, a blown save charged to Jhon Reyes, who took the loss.

The Nationals kept pouring it on, adding two runs in the seventh, one in the eighth, and two more in the ninth against a bullpen that struggled to find the strike zone. 

Luis Valdez walked five in a single inning. Josh Hammond led the offense with a 2-for-4 night, and Zue added two hits and a run batted in, but Columbia struck out 11 times and could not recover. The Fireflies went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position. They are now 39-40 this season. 

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Josh Hammond	4	0	2	0	0	1
Sean Gamble	3	0	0	0	1	1
Yandel Ricardo	4	1	1	0	0	2
Hyungchan Um	3	2	1	0	1	0
Jhosmmel Zue	4	0	2	1	0	0
Roni Cabrera	4	0	0	0	0	2
Connor Rasmussen	2	0	0	0	1	2
Josi Novas	3	0	0	0	0	1
Ivan Sosa	3	0	0	0	0	2

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Michael Lombardi	5	3	1	1	2	6	1
Jhon Reyes	1	2	2	2	0	2	1
Randy Ramnarace	1 2/3	3	3	3	0	0	1
Luis Valdez	1	2	2	2	5	3	1
Hunter Alberini	1/3	0	0	0	0	1	0

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Top-20 Prospect Performance

1. Kendry Chourio: DNP
2. David Shields: DNP
3. Josh Hammond: 2-for-4, K
4. Blake Mitchell: 1-for-3, 2 R
5. Sean Gamble: 0-for-3, BB, K
6. Ramon Ramirez: 1-for-1, 2B, 3 R, 2 BB
7. Drew Beam: DNP
8. Carson Roccaforte: 3-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, R, BB
9. Asbel Gonzalez: 1-for-3, SB, R, K
10. Yandel Ricardo: 1-for-4, R, 2 K
11. Michael Lombardi: 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
12. Ben Kudrna: DNP
13. Justin Lamkin: DNP
14. Felix Arronde: DNP
15. Blake Wolters: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K
16. Steven Zobac: DNP
17. Austin Charles: DNP
18. Daniel Vázquez: 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K
19. Kamden Edge: DNP
20. Warren Calcano: DNP

 

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