Minor League Recap: Justin Campbell makes his case for promotion, Hill City has miracle rally

Offensively, Juan Benjamin blasted off for his second home run of the season and he timed it perfectly in extra innings to give Columbus the lead.

Petey Halpin doubled and walked while Nolan Jones went 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch.

Kody Huff and Dom Nunez both went 2-for-4 with Huff stealing a base while Dayan Frias walked, stole a base and scored a pair of runs.

Akron RubberDucks 10, Bowie Baysox 5

RubberDucks improve to 13-8

Akron took advantage of wild Bowie pitching, walking 13 times with nine hits to score 10 runs.

Nick Mitchell had the big hit of the game, going 1-for-5 with a three-run home run and a walk.

Ralphy Velazquez had a solid game, going 2-for-5 with a walk and three RBIs while Jacob Cozart went 2-for-3 with three walks to reach base a whopping five times.Alex Mooney went 1-for-4 with a double, a walk and a stolen base while Jose Devers went 2-for-4 with a walk. Conner Barstad also walked three times and was hit by a pitch.

Starting pitcher Khal Stephen didn’t have his best stuff and also was a bit unlucky with sequencing. He only allowed three hits and walked one, but he gave up four runs in 4.0 innings with six strikeouts.

Adam Tulloch, Carter Rustad and Jack Carey all had scoreless appearances in relief.

Lake County Captains 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 3

Captains improve to 11-10

I know I talk about him every time he starts, but Justin Campbell is too good to still be at High-A. He pitched 3.0 nearly immaculate innings on Sunday with four strikeouts, no walks, no runs allowed and just one hit allowed.

Melkis Hernandez followed and was solid, allowing one run on two hits in 4.0 innings while striking out five and walking three.

Luis Flores held on to preserve the win, allowing a pair of runs in his two innings of work to get a save.

Offensively, Lake County didn’t have any major standouts, but everyone contributed. The team’s nine hits were spread between eight players and the one player who didn’t get a hit (Dean Curley) walked three times.

Jace LaViolette went 1-for-3 with a pair of walks, Aaron Walton went 1-for-3 with a double and was hit by two pitches. Nolan Schubart went 1-for-4 with a hit by pitch. Ryan Cesarini went 1-for-4 with a walk. Bennett Thompson went 1-for-3 with two walks.

Esteban Gonzalez only went 1-for-5, but he blasted a two-run home run. Jeffrey Mercedes went 2-for-4 and Spencer Howe doubled and stole a base.

Hill City Howlers 9, Hickory Crawdads 8 (F/11)

Howlers improve to 12-9

You can learn a lot about a team by how they perform against some of the best teams, and Hill City proved itself Sunday against the then 15-5 Hickory Crawdads. who have one of the best records in minor league baseball.

Trailing 8-4 in the bottom of the ninth inning, the Howlers rallied for four runs to tie the game, then held Hickory scoreless in the 10th and 11th innings before walking off in the bottom of the 11th to earn a massive come-from-behind victory.

The walk-off wasn’t anything particularly crazy. Robert Arias was the ghost runner and advanced to third base on a balk before trotting home on a game-winning sacrifice fly from Juneiker Caceres.

How Hill City tied the game was more exciting. The Howlers loaded the bases with no one out, then Anthony Martinez walked to bring in the first run. Jose Pirela then was hit by a pitch to bring in the second run. Tyler Howard walked to bring in run No. 3 and Jhorvic Abreus hit into a 4-6-3 double play, which scored the tying run.

Incredibly, Hill City managed nine runs on just four hits thanks in part to walking a whopping 13 times and getting hit by one pitch.

Caceres went 1-for-3 with two walks and the game-winning sacrifice fly. Robert Arias was a beast, going 1-for-3 with three walks and two stolen bases. Martinez went 0-for-2, but walked three times as well. The lone extra base hit came from Abreus, who doubled and walked. Yerlin Luis also walked twice and stole a base.

Starting pitcher Chase Mobley didn’t have his best stuff, allowing two runs on three hits with three walks and no strikeouts in 2.0 innings.

The first four pitchers all allowed runs, but the back half of the bullpen locked things down, not allowing a single hit or run over the game’s final 4.1 innings.

Wes Burton pitched 1.1 perfect frames with a strikeout. Miguel Flores pitched a perfect scoreless ninth inning with a strikeout and most impressively, Angel Perez didn’t allow a run in either the 10th or 11th innings despite starting both with a ghost runner on second base.