The Rochester Red Wings (1-1) dropped a lopsided game two to the Memphis Redbirds (1-1), 15-4. All 15 Memphis runs were scored in a three-inning stretch, nine of which came in the third inning alone. Rochester used five pitchers on the hill Wednesday night, but were unable to contain the 15-hit performance from the Redbird offense.
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It was Memphis striking first in game two, as LF Zach Levenson kicked off a big second inning with a leadoff single. Following two quick outs and Levenson working his way over to third, Rochester would be unable to close out the frame, as a single from SS Brody Moore scored the Redbird left fielder. Moore would go on to steal second and advance to third on an errant throw. CF Colton Ledbetter drew a walk to place runners on the corners. Two pitches later, C Jimmy Crooks drilled a three-run blast for his second home run of the series, placing the Red Wings in an early 4-0 hole.
The Redbird offense picked up right where they left off with a monstrous third inning, piling nine more runs onto their lead. RF Chase Davis started the frame by finding his way to second base after the throw to first missed its target. Following a strikeout, 2B Noah Medlinger hit a single to move Davis to third, while quickly reaching second base after the ball was bobbled in the outfield. A two-RBI single from 1B Trey Paige brought both Redbird runners home. Brody Moore laid down a crafty bunt to safely reach first base, while also moving Paige to second. Colton Ledbetter grounded into what was nearly an inning-ending double play, but instead moved Paige to third and left himself safe at first.
After a wild pitch allowed Ledbetter to reach second, a two-RBI single from Jimmy Crooks scored both Paige and Ledbetter. Back-to-back walks would load the bases for Memphis, before a Chase Davis single scored another pair of runs. Zach Levenson knocked a double that scored one and moved Davis to third. Noah Medlinger recorded his second single of the inning, this time with an RBI to go along with it. Trey Paige followed with another single of his own to score Levenson. The third inning would end with Memphis up 13-0.
Memphis would find the scoreboard for a third consecutive inning. After a Colton Ledbetter single, DH Bligh Madris sent a two-run shot to increase the Redbird lead to 15-0.
Rochester would get on the board in the eighth inning that started with a leadoff walk from DH Maxwell Romero Jr. 2B Liover Peguero followed with a single to put a pair of Red Wing runners on base. After RF Johnathon Thomas reached base on catcher interference to load up the bases, 3B Cayden Wallace drew a walk to bring home Romero Jr. for the first run of the game for Rochester. A two-RBI single from 1B Leandro Pineda scored both Peguero and Thomas to make it a 15-3 score.
One final push in the ninth inning for the Red Wings began with a single from LF Sam Petersen, who then reached second via a wild pitch. Petersen would move to third before crossing home plate off an RBI-single from SS Cortland Lawson. The runs would prove to be too little, too late, as the Red Wings would fall by a 15-4 final score.
RHP Isaac Lyon started game two on the mound for Rochester, going 2.1 innings with two strikeouts and allowing eight runs on six hits and a walk. LHP Jared Simpson entered for 0.1 innings that saw the Memphis offense put up five runs on three hits with two walks. RHP Paxton Schultz came on in relief for 1.1 innings, conceding two runs on four hits with one strikeout. Up next out of the bullpen was RHP Ben Grable, who struck out one Redbird in one flawless inning of work. RHP Andry Lara would pitch a scoreless final three frames for the Red Wings, striking out three with two hits allowed.
The Rochester Red Wings Player of the Game is RHP Andry Lara. The Venezuela native punched out a trio of Redbird hitters and allowed two hits in three full innings of work.
The Red Wings will look to bounce back tomorrow night in a winner-take-all, game three with a ticket to the Triple-A National Championship Game on the line. First pitch is slated for 7:45 p.m.
Find the box score attached HERE.
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