Royals Minor League Report (7/17): Storm Chasers Edge Lehigh Valley, Naturals Walk Off Midland

Omaha edged Lehigh Valley 2-1 on solo home runs from Kameron Misner and Brett Squires, with Mason Black striking out seven over 5 1/3 innings. Carson Roccaforte homered in the ninth and singled home the winning run as Northwest Arkansas walked off Midland 7-6 in 10 innings. Quad Cities outslugged Wisconsin 13-10 on Luke Pelzer's five RBI, and Columbia edged Charleston 5-4 behind Yandel Ricardo's two RBI and Andy Basora's save.

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Squires, Misner Homer As Storm Chasers Edge Lehigh Valley

The Omaha Storm Chasers rode two solo home runs to a 2-1 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Saturday. Misner and Squires each homered, and Black struck out seven over 5 1/3 innings before the bullpen finished with 3 2/3 scoreless innings.

Misner, just recently optioned to Omaha before the All-Star Break, opened the scoring with a solo home run to right center in the first inning.

Lehigh Valley tied it in the sixth on a Dylan Moore solo homer, but Squires answered in the bottom of the seventh, driving a solo shot to right center that held up as the winning run.

Matthew Lugo, Gavin Cross, and Andrew Velazquez had Omaha's other hits, and Velazquez stole a base.

Black, who's made the transition back to the rotation in Omaha, started and allowed one run on two hits with no walks and seven strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings.

The Storm Chasers relied on a trio of veteran arms to carry them to a victory over the Iron Pigs on Friday. Dan Altavilla worked around two walks in 1 1/3 scoreless innings, and Jose Cuas retired all four batters he faced to earn the win. Justin Topa pitched a perfect ninth for the save.

Omaha managed five hits and left four runners on base. They went 0-for-2 with runners in scoring position. The Storm Chasers are now 41-52 this season. 

Roccaforte Walks It Off As Naturals Edge Midland In 10

The Northwest Arkansas Naturals walked off the Midland RockHounds 7-6 in 10 innings on Saturday. Roccaforte, the Royals' No. 8 prospect, homered in the ninth to tie the game and singled home the winning run in the 10th, finishing 2-for-6 with two RBI. Omar Hernandez and Alberto Rodriguez each added two hits, and Colton Becker reached base three times with three walks and two steals.

Northwest Arkansas scored in each of the first two innings, with the first run of the game being driven in by No. 18 prospect Daniel Vazquez.

The Naturals pushed the lead to 5-2 in the sixth on a Jorge Alfaro run and a Rodriguez double-play grounder.

Midland answered with a four-run seventh to take a 6-5 lead, and the game stayed there into the ninth, when Roccaforte homered to right field to force extra innings.

In the 10th, Midland stranded its zombie runner at third without scoring. Northwest Arkansas then won it in the bottom half, as Alfaro was hit by a pitch and Roccaforte lined a single to right that scored zombie runner Becker.

Former Kansas City Monarchs pitcher Grant Gambrell started and allowed two runs over five innings with three strikeouts and a home run. Anthony Simonelli was charged with four runs in the seventh without recording an out, but Dennis Colleran Jr. and Brandon Johnson steadied the bullpen, and Augusto Mendieta worked a scoreless 10th to earn the win.

The Naturals stranded 11 runners on base and went 4-for-16 with runners in scoring position. Northwest Arkansas improved their record to 37-49 with the victory. 

Pelzer Drives In Five As River Bandits Outslug Wisconsin

The Quad Cities River Bandits outslugged the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers 13-10 on Saturday. Pelzer drove in five runs on two hits, including a three-run double, No. 9 prospect Asbel Gonzalez scored four times with two hits and two stolen bases, and Jose Cerice homered and drove in three.

Trailing 3-1, Quad Cities got a two-run homer from Cerice in the third and then blew the game open with a five-run fourth, sending 10 men to the plate.

No. 4 prospect Blake Mitchell, No. 6 prospect Ramon Ramirez, Pelzer, and Erick Torres each drew a bases-loaded walk or reached to force in a run, and Cerice was hit by a pitch that plated another.

Wisconsin clawed back to tie it 8-8, but the River Bandits pulled away with a run in the seventh and a decisive four-run rally capped by Pelzer's three-run double. Mitchell added an RBI single in the ninth for insurance.

Tanner Jones earned the win with three innings of two-run relief and six strikeouts. Blake Wolters started the game with two innings, struggling with control in his first outing after the All-Star Break. The Royals' No. 15 prospect allowed three runs on four hits and four walks. Aiden Jimenez and No. 20 prospect Kamden Edge each worked two innings as Quad Cities held on despite Wisconsin's 14 hits.

The River Bandits left nine runners on base and went 4-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Quad Cities is now back to .500 at 42-42. 

Ricardo, Hammond Lead Fireflies Past Charleston

The Columbia Fireflies collected 13 hits and held on to beat the Charleston RiverDogs 5-4 on Saturday. No. 3 prospect Josh Hammond went 3-for-4 with two doubles and two runs, No. 10 prospect Ricardo went 2-for-3 with a triple and two RBI, and Hyungchan Um homered.

Columbia struck first in the opening inning when Ricardo singled home Hammond.

Charleston briefly went ahead with a two-run first, but the Fireflies retook the lead in the third on a No. 5 prospect Sean Gamble run-scoring single. Um provided the eventual difference in the fourth, launching a solo home run to left center for a 4-3 lead.

Ricardo added an insurance run in the seventh, tripling home Roni Cabrera for a 5-3 lead.

Charleston pushed a run across in the eighth, but the Fireflies closed it out from there. Hammond and Stone Russell each had two hits to go with Ricardo's and Gamble's pair of base knocks.

Jose Gutierrez earned the win with five innings of three-run, two-earned ball and three strikeouts. Henson Leal followed with two scoreless innings and two strikeouts. After Dash Albus allowed a run in the eighth, Basora recorded the final 1 1/3 innings without a hit to earn the save.

The Fireflies went 4-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded five runners on base. Columbia is back to .500 after the victory, with their record now 44-44. 

Top-20 Prospect Performance

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

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