The Dash won a thriller, scoring two in the top of the ninth to come away with the organization’s only victory of the day. Overall, there was not much offense — but the run totals in the minors still held up pretty well compared to the White Sox.

Nashville Sounds 5, Charlotte Knights 3 (Gameday Box) (Statcast Box)
The Knights fell behind early on and could not recover in this close loss to Nashville.

The Knights got on the scoreboard early, as they scored a run in the top of the first. Dominic Fletcher (hey, I remember him) led off the game with a double. From there, Charlotte played some small ball to manufacture a run. Lenyn Sosa laid down a sacrifice bunt, and Oscar Colás hit a sacrifice fly to make the score 1-0.

Knights starter Sean Burke‘s (2/3 IP, 3 ER, 0 H, 5 BB, 2 K) day did not go as he hoped it would. Of Burke’s eight opposing hitters, five walked, and one was hit by a pitch. After Burke’s fifth walk, Cory Abbott replaced him on the mound with the bases loaded and two outs. At that point, the Sounds had a 3-1 lead, and Burke had thrown 37 pitches without finishing the first frame. Abbott stranded all three runners he inherited, but some damage had already been done. Abbott allowed a run in the second, but he had a strong relief appearance overall.

In the top of the third, the Knights had a strikingly similar sequence of events to the top of the first. Fletcher led off with a double, Sosa hit into a productive out that advanced Fletcher 90 feet, and Colás hit a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. Still trailing by that score in the fifth, the Knights pulled themselves within a run: Wilmer Difo walked and Fletcher, who could not be stopped in this game, singled to put runners on the corners with one out. Sosa added a single of his own to make the score 4-3.

That was as close as the Knights got, as their offense got cold down the stretch, and the Sounds added an insurance run in the seventh against Deivi García.

GAME MVP
Dominic Fletcher (CF) 3-for-4, 2 2B, BB

RUNNERS-UP
Dominic Leone (RHRP) 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Oscar Colás (RF) 1-for-3, 2 RBI
Bryan Ramos (3B) 2-for-3, 2B, BB
Cory Abbott (RHRP) 3 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K

Birmingham Barons: Postponed
The foundering Barons were scheduled to face the Smokies in Tennessee, but inclement weather prevented that from happening. That game is now scheduled to take place as part of a doubleheader on Friday, and the Barons remain at 49-42 on the season.

Winston-Salem Dash 3, Bowling Green Hot Rods 2 (Gameday Box)
The Dash rallied with their backs to the wall to come out on top in this low-scoring game.

Dash starter Tommy Vail continued his great season with another strong start. Vail had a 1.50 ERA in 33 innings with Kannapolis and now owns a 0.60 ERA in 15 innings with Winston-Salem. Tonight, Vail delivered five shutout innings, and he only allowed two hits, both of which were singles. Surprisingly, however, Vail did not leave the game in line for the win, as the Dash offense struggled early on.

Reliever Jared Kelley allowed three consecutive singles in the bottom of the sixth, and as a result, the Hot Rods scored the first run of the game. The Dash got that run back in the eighth, when Jordan Sprinkle led off with a double, and Samuel Zavala singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. A productive ground out by Eddie Park resulted in the game being tied at one.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Hot Rods scored a crucial run against Peyton Pallette to break the tie once again. A single, stolen base, and another single with one out did the trick for Bowling Green that inning.

However, the Dash did not go down quietly in the ninth. Colby Smelley singled to start the rally with one out and nobody on base. Bryce Willits and Calvin Harris walked to load the bases, and a productive force out on a grounder by Sprinkle tied the game. With runners on the corners with two outs, Zavala walked, and Eddie Park was hit by a pitch to give the Dash a 3-2 lead. Reliever Zach Franklin took care of business in the bottom half, cinching the win.

GAME MVP
Tommy Vail (LHSP) 5 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 4 BB, 5 K

RUNNERS-UP
Samuel Zavala (LF) 1-for-2, 2 BB
Calvin Harris (C) 1-for-3, BB
Jordan Sprinkle (SS) 1-for-4, 2B, RBI
Zach Franklin (RHRP) 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Charleston RiverDogs 7, Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 5 (Gameday Box)
The Cannon Ballers dug a hole that was a little too deep for them to climb out of, despite a late rally.

In the first, Arxy Hernández drew a walk, and with two outs George Wolkow crushed a triple to give the Cannon Ballers an early lead. However, that lead did not last long. Kannapolis starter Jake Bockenstedt (2 1/3 IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 5 BB, 0 K) breezed through the first inning but struggled immensely after that. This was an uncharacteristically poor start for Bockenstedt, who has been a reliable starter overall for the Cannon Ballers.

Trailing by a score of 6-1 in the fourth, Drake Logan launched a solo homer to pull the Cannon Ballers back within four. Logan had a big day to get his season OPS back above .700.

The RiverDogs got that run back in the fifth against reliever Connor Housley to extend their lead back to five. The score remained 7-2 until the ninth, when the Cannon Ballers showed some life. Ryan Burrowes and Logan hit back-to-back singles to open the frame, and Albertson Asigen walked to load the bases. Burrowes was cut down at the plate attempting to score on a wild pitch, but Rikuu Nishida walked to load the bases again, and Arxy Hernández cleared the bases with a double. However, Ronny Hernández struck out to end the game, and the rally fell short.

GAME MVP
Drake Logan (LF) 3-for-4, HR

RUNNERS-UP
Tyler Davis (RHRP) 2 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K
Arxy Hernández (3B) 3-for-4, 2B, BB, 3 RBI
Patrick Maybach (LHRP) 1 2/3 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 3 K
George Wolkow (RF) 2-for-4, 3B, RBI

ACL Mariners 6, ACL White Sox 2 (6 innings) (Gameday Box)
The ACL White Sox had a forgettable day, and they lost handily to the ACL Mariners as a result.

ACL White Sox starter Luis Reyes (2 1/3 IP, 5 R/3ER, 7 H, 2 BB, 2 K) did not have his finest stuff on the mound. Reyes also did not get much help from catcher Stiven Flores, who had three passed balls. After three innings, the ACL Mariners had a 5-0 lead, and that was more than enough runs for them to hold on.

The ACL White Sox picked up an unearned run in the fourth, when Edrick Felix singled and came around to score on a throwing error. Leandro Alsinois and Abraham Núñez hit back-to-back singles in the fifth, and Alsinois scored on a productive ground out. However, the ACL White Sox did not score again, and they needed much more offense.

GAME MVP
Leandro Alsinois (RF) 2-for-2

RUNNERS-UP
Edrick Felix (3B) 1-for-3, SB
Carlos Hinestroza (RHRP) 3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 4 K

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Drake Logan photo: Krista Jasso/Kannapolis Cannon Ballers