Royals Minor League Report (5/17): Storm Chasers Salvage System Win As Mozzicato And Shields Get Roughed Up

The Omaha Storm Chasers earned the lone Royals system win Saturday, holding off Toledo 6-3 behind Brett Squires' 3-for-4 night with a home run and three RBI. Ben Sears earned the win with 2 2/3 hitless innings, and Hunter Owen logged seven strikeouts over five frames in Northwest Arkansas' 9-5 loss. Frank Mozzicato gave up seven runs and David Shields six, while Hiro Wyatt took the loss in Columbia's 10-0 defeat at Hickory.

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Squires Powers Storm Chasers Past Mud Hens

The Omaha Storm Chasers held off the Toledo Mud Hens, 6-3, behind a big day from Squires. The first baseman finished 3-for-4 with two doubles, a home run, two runs scored, and three RBI as the cleanup hitter.

Omaha jumped on Toledo in the home half of the first. Tyler Tolbert worked a leadoff walk and came around to score on a Luca Tresh RBI double. Tresh then came home when Squires followed with an RBI double of his own, giving the Storm Chasers a 2-1 lead after one.

The third inning provided the decisive blow. Tolbert again drew a walk, John Rave singled, and Kameron Misner walked to load the bases. A Tresh grounder turned into a run-scoring double play that brought Tolbert in, and Squires followed by lifting a two-run home run to center field that scored Rave. Gavin Cross added an insurance run in the sixth with an RBI double that scored Squires.

Starter Henry Williams labored through 3 1/3 innings, allowing three runs on six hits with three walks and three strikeouts. He surrendered two home runs and was charged with all of Toledo's damage. Ben Sears collected the win in relief, working 2 2/3 hitless innings with four strikeouts and no walks to improve to 2-0. Beck Way, Eli Morgan, and Jose Cuas combined to bridge the game to Mason Black, who closed it out with a clean ninth for his third save.

Mozzicato Tagged Early In Naturals' Loss To Travelers

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals fell to the Arkansas Travelers, 9-5, on a day when Mozzicato struggled to keep the ball in the yard. The left-hander was charged with seven runs on six hits over three innings, walking three and striking out three, and surrendered two home runs in a four-run first.

Sam Kulasingam led the offense, finishing 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. He answered the early deficit with a solo home run in the first, then added an RBI single in the fifth.

Spencer Nivens reached safely all four times he came to the plate, going 3-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBI. His two-run double in the fifth, which also scored Kulasingam and Jorge Alfaro, pulled the Naturals within three.

Colton Becker chipped in a 2-for-4 line with an RBI single in the second that scored Daniel Vazquez. Vazquez added a walk, a stolen base, and a run scored, and Rudy Martin Jr. also swiped a bag in his 1-for-5 night.

Mozzicato exited after three innings and was tagged with the loss to fall to 0-2. Brandon Johnson allowed a two-run home run in his lone inning of work. Owen provided the staff's lone bright spot, working five innings of one-run baseball with seven strikeouts, no walks, and a home run allowed. Cleanup hitter Alfaro went 1-for-4 with a run scored, while Carson Roccaforte went 0-for-5 with three strikeouts.

Shields Struggles As River Bandits Fall To Lugnuts

The Quad Cities River Bandits dropped an 8-2 decision to the Lansing Lugnuts, with Shields taking the loss. The left-hander allowed six runs on six hits over three innings, walking two and striking out one. He surrendered a solo home run in the second and was tagged for five more in the third on four straight hits, including a two-run double, before exiting after 65 pitches. Shields fell to 3-3.

The damage piled up quickly in the third, when four consecutive one-out hits put five on the board. Quad Cities was held off the scoreboard through four innings before breaking through in the fifth, when Tyriq Kemp lined an RBI double to left that scored Derlin Figueroa. Lansing answered in the bottom half with a two-run home run off Mason Miller, who allowed two runs on two hits over 2 1/3 innings while walking three.

Trevor Werner provided the final tally for the visitors in the eighth, lifting a solo home run to right.

Figueroa reached three times in his 2-for-3 night, also drawing a walk and scoring a run. Asbel Gonzalez added a 2-for-4 effort with a stolen base. Top prospect Blake Mitchell went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, and Ramon Ramirez was held hitless in four trips.

Yimi Presinal contributed an inning of hitless relief, and Kamden Edge struck out one over 1 2/3 scoreless frames to finish the game.

Fireflies Shut Out By Crawdads

The Columbia Fireflies were blanked by the Hickory Crawdads, 10-0, mustering five hits but never crossing the plate. Brooks Bryan and Stone Russell each finished with two hits, and Connor Rasmussen added a single. The lineup combined to leave five runners on base.

Hickory broke through in the second against Wyatt. The Crawdads loaded the bases on a single, a walk, and a hit by pitch, then plated runs on a bases-loaded walk, a hit by pitch, and a two-RBI double, putting four on the board in the frame. Wyatt was charged with the loss after three innings, allowing four runs on two hits with three walks and one strikeout to fall to 1-2.

The fifth inning unraveled similarly. Yeri Perez allowed a bases-loaded hit by pitch and a two-RBI single before Andy Basora entered with the bases loaded. Basora walked in a run and gave up a two-run single, completing a six-run inning. Perez was tagged with six runs in 1 2/3 innings.

Basora settled in to finish his 2 1/3 innings without allowing a run, striking out two and walking three. Randy Ramnarace tossed a scoreless frame, and Max Martin closed the game with a clean ninth.

Top prospects Sean Gamble, Josh Hammond, and Yandel Ricardo combined to go 0-for-12, with Gamble striking out twice. Bryan's double in the eighth accounted for Columbia's lone extra-base hit.

Top-20 Prospect Performance

1. Kendry Chourio: DNP
2. David Shields: three IP, 6 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 HR
3. Sean Gamble: 0-for-4, 2 K
4. Blake Mitchell: 1-for-4, 2 K
5. Josh Hammond: 0-for-4, 1 K
6. Ramon Ramirez: 0-for-4, 2 K
7. Drew Beam: DNP
8. Asbel Gonzalez: 2-for-4, SB, 1 K
9. Ben Kudrna: DNP
10. Carson Roccaforte: 0-for-5, 3 K
11. Yandel Ricardo: 0-for-4
12. Felix Arronde: DNP
13. Blake Wolters: DNP
14. Michael Lombardi: DNP
15. Luinder Avila: DNP
16. Steven Zobac: DNP
17. Frank Mozzicato: three IP, 6 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
18. Daniel Vazquez: 0-for-3, BB, R, SB
19. Warren Colcano: DNP
20. Shane Panzini: DNP

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