It’s playoff baseball! OK, I know, it’s only a Low-A Division Series, but given the absolutely miserable White Sox season we’re suffering through, I’ll take what I can get. Hopefully, this also indicates an overall healthier farm system and some optimism that things can improve at the big league level. After all, this is the first White Sox minors playoff game THIS DECADE.

The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers won the first-half Carolina South Division crown with a record of 41-25, qualifying them for the playoffs. Tonight was Game 1 of a three-game series against the Charleston RiverDogs, an affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The contest felt more like a tennis match, with back-and-forth scoring all night, with the victory ultimately going to Kannapolis.

The Ballers started the scoring early with a tally in the top of the first off of Tampa’s No. 8 prospect, Gary Gill Hill. With one out, Chicago’s No. 7 prospect (George Wolkow) singled. After Alec Makarewicz struck out, T.J. McCants worked a walk. Designated hitter Ronny Hernandez followed with an RBI single, giving Kanny the 1-0 lead.

After the RiverDogs plated two on a round-tripper by Brady Marget in the second, the Ballers knotted the score, 2-2, in the third with a run. A free pass to Makarewicz, who advanced to second on a passed ball, was driven home on Hernandez’s second base hit and RBI of the night.

Charleston scored another run in the bottom of the third, which was answered very quickly by Kanny in the top of the fourth. Following a walk to leadoff batter Jackson Appel, Ryan Burrowes cranked a two-run bomb to right center field, giving the Ballers a 4-3 advantage.

It was the RiverDogs’ turn on the see-saw in the bottom of the fifth, as they manufactured a run in a two-out rally on two singles and a stolen base. The Ballers responded in the sixth by retaking the lead for the final time, 5-4, on doubles by Appel and Sam Antonacci.

Tanner McDougal, currently Chicago’s No. 28 prospect, started the contest for the Ballers. The White Sox selected the 21-year-old in Round 5 (No. 155) in the 2021 MLB Draft. The righthander came out throwing fire in the first inning, with his four-seamer hitting 99 mph. McDougal had a solid outing overall, surrendering three runs on six hits with three walks and six strikeouts over four innings.

The bullpen for the Ballers did a fantastic job, surrendering only one run over five frames. Clete Hartzog relieved McDougal in the bottom of the fifth. The 2024 undrafted free agent gave up one run on two hits with one K and earned the win for his inning of work. Then, 2022 Round 7 (No. 221) draft pick Mark McLaughlin followed in the sixth with three big strikeouts and a 1-2-3 seventh. Nick Pinto, the 2024 Round 19 (No. 559) pick, tossed a scoreless eighth and got the first out of the ninth. Finally, 22-year-old Aaron Combs earned his first save, securing the game’s final two outs.

The teams have an off-day tomorrow and will resume play in Game 2 on Thursday at 6:00 p.m. CST at Atrium Health Ballpark in Kannapolis, N.C.

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Ryan Burrowes photo/Ryan Burrowes Instagram