Sydney and Jerusalem duked it out and the Sharks came out victorious.
Enrique Mendoza was a major factor in the 7-4 Sydney win over Jerusalem. The Sharks catcher was 2-3 with a home run and was hit by a pitch. He drove in 3 runs and scored once. The win has Sydney at 32-49.
Mendoza had a game-changing home run in the top of the sixth. On a 1-2 fastball from Pedro Nieves, he banged a 3-run home run to right-center, giving the Sharks a 7-4 lead. It was the 2nd home run of the year for Mendoza. In postgame comments to the Sydney Herald, Mendoza said, "If the effort is there, the wins will come."
Jerusalem looked to be in control of the game heading into the fourth inning with a 4-0 lead. Unfortunately for the Hammers, a six-run sixth inning proved too much to overcome.
Niegloslaw Woywitka continues to shine this season on the mound, picking up his eighth win of the season. Woywitka pitched 7.0 innings while allowing four runs on four hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Fernando Guerrero picked up his sixth hold of the season pitching a hitless eighth inning while You-cheng Hang picked up his 19 save of the season with a hitless ninth inning. Pedro Nieves took the loss for the Hammers, along with the blown save. Pitching 2/3 of an inning while allowing five runs on four hits with a walk and a strikeout.
The Sydney Sharks picked up a win at Ballpark of Bucharest, taking down the Sao Paulo Pilots, 7-5. Starting pitcher Brodie Diprose was a big reason why. The victory puts Sydney at 33-49.
MacKenzie Birnie, the 25-year-old first baseman, directly impacted the outcome. Birnie contributed a run-scoring walk in the top of the second inning to put Sydney up, 2-0. "Winning never gets dull," said Birnie.
In the top of the second inning, Geaney Fay got on base with a first-pitch double. Mohammed bin Mus'ad singled to move Fay to third. Ethan Gahan singled on a 3-2 pitch to score Fay. A couple of batters later, first baseman MacKenzie Birnie drew a bases-loaded walk to score bin Mus'ad. Lorenzo Cardenas hit a RBI single while Eduardo Herrera hit an RBI sacrifice fly to put the Sharks up 4-0.
The teams swapped runs in the third inning to head into the fourth with Sydney leading 5-1. The Sharks scored two more in the fourth, while Sao Paulo scored one to end the inning with Sydney leading 7-2. The Pilots attempted a comeback in the bottom of the ninth but it'd stall after scoring three runs and cutting the lead to 7-5.
In his first start since being recalled for AAA, Brodie Diprose picked up the win. Pitching 6.1 innings while allowing two runs on seven hits with five strikeouts and a walk. Owen Geddes picked up the loss for the Pilots, pitching 4.0 innings while allowing seven runs on 10 hits with five strikeouts and a walk.
Sao Paulo rode a good effort from starter Brian Warner to beat the Sydney Sharks at Ballpark of Bucharest. Warner pitched 7.0 innings while allowing two runs on five hits. Abdul-Muhaimin Saleem pitched the final two innings to pick up his third save of the season. The final score was 7-2. Sao Paulo, at 41-43, sits in 5th place in the GBC.
The Pilots got a big at-bat from left fielder Rene Rolandsen. For the game, Rolandsen went 1 for 4 with a home run, while adding 3 RBI and scoring once. In the bottom of the fifth, with runners on 1st and 2nd, he stroked a 3-run home run. His 4th home run of the season gave Sao Paulo a 3-1 lead. "I felt good up there," said Rolandsen. "I saw the ball well."
The Sharks mustered only two runs. Mohammed bin Mus'ad hit an RBI single in the top of the fourth, while Geaney Fay hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning. They were the lone bright spots for Sydney. Saku Hakkila was on the mound for the Sharks and pitched 6.1 innings while allowing three runs on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Ron Paul batted in 3 runs to lead Sao Paulo to a win over Sydney. The final score was 13-7. Paul chipped in with 2 singles and 1 home run. Richard Balgera, the winner, goes to 5-6. He allowed 3 runs on 8 hits, with 3 walks and 7 strikeouts over 7 innings. After today's action, Sao Paulo sits at 42-43, while Sydney falls to 33-51.
Munir bin Rayhan contributed to the Sao Paulo win with a 3-run home run in the bottom of the sixth. For the game, the second baseman had 2 hits in 4 at-bats with 1 home run, 1 single, 2 runs scored, and 3 runs batted in. "I'm just happy to help the team win," Paul told the Sao Paulo Observer.
Miguel Sánchez was on the mound for Sydney, his first start of the season. Sánchez pitched 5.0 innings, allowing five runs on eight hits. He falls to 0-1 on the season.
In a tight contest at Blacktown International Sportspark, the Athens Fighting Centaurs edged the Sydney Sharks by the score of 4-3. Athens left fielder Quinn Greene, who blasted 2 home runs, was a key contributor. Kun Chin, now 3-0, picked up the win in relief. He allowed no runs on 2 hits in 2.1 innings. Xian Ling closed the game out for Athens, earning his 2nd save.
With the game in the balance, help came for the Fighting Centaurs from the most obvious of places: Their star left fielder Greene, the four-time All-Star. With two out in the top of the 11th, Greene delivered a solo home run, making the score 4-3, Athens. It was the 35th home run of the season for Greene.
"We had a chance to win," said Sydney manager Raúl Cruz, "but we didn't get it done." Athens now has a 3-game win streak.
Catcher Enrique Mendoza, led the way for the Sharks, going 3-for-5. Dorian Tzannetakis was on the mound for Sydney pitching 5.2 innings while allowing one run on seven hits but would get a no-decision. Spencer Sharrock got the blown save, pitching 1.1 innings while allowing two runs on two hits. Fernando Guerrero picked up the loss, allowing a run on two hits and falls to 1-4.
The Sydney Sharks got a superb performance from right fielder Jim Ashford. Still, it wasn't enough to beat Athens. The Fighting Centaurs won the game, 12-3. Ashford was 2-4 with 2 home runs while adding 3 RBI and scoring twice. Picking up the win was Ragnvard Lamm. He went 7.1 innings, allowing 2 runs on 4 hits. The right-hander struck out 1 and walked 3. Athens has run its win streak to 4 in a row.
Athens used the bat of Quinn Greene to get the win. The left fielder hammered a 3-run home run in the top of the first inning to put the Fighting Centaurs ahead, 3-0. It was his lone hit in 4 at-bats, but it did its damage. "There's a lot of passion in our clubhouse," said Greene. "When we put it together we're a great ball club."
Ashford and catcher Ethan Gahan were the only two Sharks to to get two hits, while shortstop Oskar Lojdahl was the only other Shark to record a hit. Niegloslaw Woywitka was on the mound for Sydney and picked up his fifth loss of the season. It's his first loss since May 28th against the Sao Paulo Pilots. Woywitka only lasted three innings while allowing seven runs on eight hits.
Nobody can fault Sharks right fielder Jim Ashford for Sydney's 7-4 loss to the Athens Fighting Centaurs at Blacktown International Sportspark. Ashford had a monster performance against Athens, going 5-for-5. Along with a triple in the 1st, single in the 3rd, double in the 5th, single in the 6th and single in the 8th. With that performance, he tied the Sydney single-game record for five hits in a game.
For the year Ashford is batting .264 with 6 home runs. But after all that right folder Max Shepperson was awarded player of the game for Athens, going 3 for 5 with three runs batted in. Brodie Diprose picked up the loss for Sydney, pitching 5.1 innings while allowing six runs on eight hits with five walks and three strikeouts. Jin-suk Im picked up the win, pitching 5.0 innings while allowing three runs on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts.
Unfortunately it got even worse for the Sharks as first baseman Harry S. Stamper III strained his oblique while running the bases and is listed as day-to-day.
