2031 St. Louis River Walkers: The ring is the thing

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Record: 32-21, 1st, 2.5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis spotted Springfield a 3-0 lead, but scored six runs in the fourth inning and three more in the sixth to take a commanding lead, which played out into an 11-3 win at Oracle Park.
Kyren Paris connected on a two-run single off River Walkers starter Zach Hunsicker in the bottom of the second, part of a three-run inning which saw the Railers go up 3-0.
After cruising through the first three innings, everything fell part for former St. Louis starter Wilson Lara.
The Walkers traded Lara to Springfield in the off-season in a deal to land Daniel Becerra.
St. Louis put its first four players on base in the top of the fourth -- including two hit by pitch and a walk to Joshua Rivera, which drove in a run -- to pull within 3-1.
A one-out single from Nathaniel Dixon made it 3-2.
Becerra then made it 6-3 with a grand slam on a 3-2 pitch.
The Walkers tallied three times in the sixth.
Becerra earned another RBI with a double off Chris Hensley.
Heston Kjerstad also had a run-scoring double off Hensley.
Thairo Estrada hit a pinch-hit two-run homer off Alex Claudio in the top of the ninth to cap the scoring.
Hunsicker (6-1) allowed three runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out five and walked the same.
Zack Evers pitched scoreless seventh and eighth innings.
Argenis Batista followed suit in the ninth.

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Record: 33-21, 1st, 3.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Kaneo Kawamoto allowed one run over eight innings, and St. Louis scored five over the first three to pave the way for a 7-1 win over Springfield at Oracle Park.
The win gave the River Walkers a split of their four-game series with the Railers.
Jose Ramirez wasted no time getting St. Louis on the board, leading off the game with a home run off Springfield starting pitcher Edwin Cora.
Rick Scott reached on a dropped third strike in the second inning.
He came around to score thanks to a walk to Jean Carmona and wild pitch, which put him in position to score on a Ricky Liriano ground ball.
The Walkers broke it open with a three-run fifth.
Ramirez and Daniel Becerra opened the inning with consecutive doubles off Cora.
He then hit Jose Segura with a pitch, before giving up a two-out double to Jordan Groshans which scored a run.
Another run crossed the plate, when Jordan Groashans doubled to make it 5-0.
Becerra drove in a run in the seventh with a double off Mike Fagan, whjile Jose Segura also collected an RBI with a fly ball.
Kawamoto (5-3) allowed one run on seven hits over eight innings. He struck out eight and didn't issue a walk.
Ricky Cisneros worked a scoreless ninth to end it.

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Record: 33-22, 1st, 2 GA Cedar Rapids
Twin Cities came to St. Louis with the best record in the Midwest Baseball League, and they were quick to prove way chasing River Walkers starter Jesse McNaboe by scoring six runs in less than 2.1 innings on its way to a 10-5 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The Snow Cats bombarded McNaboe for three runs in the first inning -- Mike Sartain had an RBI double, Jeff Freidman and RBI single and Robbie Mackie drove in the middle run with a ground out -- and one in the second -- Brock Banks led off the inning with a single, moved to second on a Patrick Winkel single and scored on a sac fly by pitcher Keith Brennan -- to go up 4-0.
They than chased Brennan three batters into the third inning, Waddell connecting on a two-run homer to make it 6-1.
Twin Cities lead grew to 9-1 in the fifth inning against the St. Louis' bullpen.
Waddell drove in another run with a double, his coming off Ricky Cisneros.
Banks and Drew Bowser had RBI singles off Andres Hernandez.
The Walkers did make it somewhat interesting by scoring four times in the bottom of the fifth.
Jordan Groshans and Rick Scott went back-to-back with a three-run and solo homer.
But that was the end of the scoring for St. Louis.
Despite the big lead, Cats starting pitcher Keith Brennan didn't last long enough to earn the win.
He allowed one run on five hits ovee 4.1 innings and exited after throwing 83 pitches.
It took five pitchers to complete the somewhat lopsided contest -- Noah Cutrona, Bobby Lozoya (1.0), Brian Hollister (1.2), Eric Watkins (1.0) and Jesse Gaither (1.0) -- with Lozoya (5-0) coming out of it with the win.

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Record: 34-22, 1st, 4 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis busted the game open early with a five-run top of the second inning, and the River Walkers got six shut-out innings from Angel Tiburcio in a 5-2 win over Twin Cities at Busch Stadium (1997).
Tiburico, who would earn his fourth win of the season on the mound, supplied the big hit of the bottom of the second with a three-run homer off Snow Cats starting pitcher Mack Anglin.
Right before Tiburcio's blast, Ricky Liriano had drove in the inning's first run with a double.
The fifth run came when Daniel Becerra and Jose Segura both singled with one out.
Becerra moved from second to third on a Steve Rossi fly ball.
He scored when Anglin uncorked a wild pitch while Jordan Groshans was at the plate.
Tiburcio (4-3) shut out Twin Cities on two hits over the first six innings before running into trouble in the seventh.
Aaron Lovato led off the inning with a homer, and two batters later Jeff Waddell hit another solo shot.
Tiburcio was able to get out of the inning without allowing another run -- he struck out the next two batters -- and the St. Louis' bullpen took care of things from there.
Tiburico allowed the two runs on four hits. He struck out six and walked one.
Cory Tiller worked a 1-2-3 eighth.
Andres Hernandez kept the Cats off the scoreboard in the ninth for his first save.

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MBL news: June 8 -- All-Star fan voting update

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Record: 35-22, 1st, 5 GA Cedar Rapids
Trailing 5-2, St. Louis hit three homers in the bottom of the seventh inning to help power its way to an 8-5 win over Twin Cities at Busch Stadium (1997).
The victory gave the River Walkers' victories in the final two games of the three-game series between the two leaders in the National League.
Led by a two-run double from Robbie Mackie, the Snow Cats scored three times off River Walkers starter Izzy San Juan in the top of the sixth inning to go up 5-1.
St. Louis got a run back in the bottom of the sixth, Ricky Liriano with an RBI single off reliever Eric Watkins.
The Walkers then turned the game around with their big seventh.
Twin Cities retired two of the innings' first three batters, but following a Bobby Lozoya walk to Jordan Groshans, St. Louis went to work.
Noah Cutrona replaced Lozoya and promptly gave up a two-run triple to Jose Segura to make it 5-4.
Jean Carmona followed with a two-run homer, and suddenly the Walkers were in front 6-5.
Rick Scott then made it back-to-back bombs with his 14th homer of the season.
St. Louis added an insurance run in the eighth. Steve Rossi with a run-scoring double off Jesse Gathier.
San Juan pitched six innings, allowing five runs on 10 hits. He did strike out six and issued no walks.
Zach Evers (0.2 IP) and Elian Acosta (0,1) combined to pitch the seventh.
Acosta (2-2) earned his second win of the season.
Cory Tiller struck out two of three batters in the eighth.
Ernesto Barbosa now has 11 saves after a scoreless ninth.

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MBL news: Week 9 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 35-23, 1st, 4 GA Cedar Rapids
Luis Tejada drew a bases-loaded walk from St. Louis reliever Yeison Santos to snap a 5-5 tie and complete a comeback from a 5-1 deficit, as Chicago won 6-5 at Busch Stadium (1997).
The River Walkers had answered a single run the G-Men had scored in the top of the first, with five in the bottom half.
Jordan Groshans had the big hit with a double with the bases loaded off Chicago starting pitcher Kyle Gleason, which scored all three.
But St. Louis would not score again.
Chicago sliced the deficit to 5-4 in the top of the third when Tejada hit a three-run homer off Walkers starting pitcher Zack Hunsinger.
In the seventh, Paul Broyles singled off Santos with one out.
A walk to Jarred Kelenic put two runs on.
After the baserunners pulled off a double steal, Matt Walczak received an intentional walk to bring the left-handed Tejada to the plate. (Santos is a southpaw).
But Santos threw four straight balls to bring Broyles home with what would-be the winning run.
Gleason lasted just three innings, allowing five runs on five hits.
James Carney replaced him in the fourth and recorded seven outs, getting the game into the sixth.
Ben Harris wrapped up the sixth and worked a scoreless seventh.
Harris (1-2) would earn the win.
Jimmy DePra set the Walkers down in order in the eigjhth.
Stephen Von Lehmden pitched around a walk in the ninth to earn his 10th save.

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Record: 36-23, 1st, 5 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 1-1, Jose Segura doubled with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning off Chicago starter Brandon Birdsell to score Jose Ramirez, and St. Louis went on for a 5-1 win at Busch Stadium (1997).
The G-Men had tied the game in the top of the sixth.
Jake Gelof led off the inning with a single, Chicago's first hit of the game off River Walkers starter Kaneo Kawamoto, and later scored on a two-out single by Aaron Nixon.
But in the bottom of the inning, Jose Ramirez doubled off Birdsell with one out and two batters later crossed the plate on Segura's two-bagger.
St. Louis added three runs via the long ball in the eighth, Segura (a two-run homer) and Steve Rossi going back-to-back off reliever Jimmy DaPra.
Kawamoto (6-3) allowed one run on three hits in 6.1 innings. He struck out five and didn't issue a walk.
Closer Ernesto Barbosa made an early appearance when Chicago had a runner at third with one out in the seventh.
However, he got out of the jam and also recorded the first two outs of the ninth.
Ricky Cisneros tallied the final four outs for his first save.

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Record: 37-23, 1st, 5 GA Cedar Rapids
Steve Rossi connected for a two-out single in the bottom of the 10th inning to score pinch-runner Angel Tiburcio and give St. Louis a 5-4 win over Chicago at Busch Stadium (1997).
Catcher Ricky Liriano led off the bottom of the 10th with a single off G-Men reliever Zane Almy.
Tiburcio then replaced Liriano on the bases.
A bunt by Joshua Rivera moved Tiburcio to second.
Jose Ramirez was given an intentional walk, while Daniel Becerra also received a walk to load the bases.
Jose Segura flew out for the second out.
But Rossi connected on a 1-1 pitch, driving it past the second baseman bringing home Tiburcio with the winning run.
A three-run top of the fourth -- featuring a two-run homer by Cruz Calderon and a solo shot by Paul Broyles off River Walkers starter Jesse McNaboe -- and a single run in the seventh -- a homer by Jarred Kelenic off Cory Tiller -- had staked the G-Men to a 4-0 lead.
But St. Louis rallied.
The Walkers scored once in the eighth.
Rick Scott drew a lead-off walk from reliever Rafael Espinoza and scored on a double by Liriano.
Scott then tied it in the ninth with a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth off Stephen Von Lehmden.
McNabboe worked four innings, allowing three runs on four hits.
Five relievers -- Andres Hernandez (0.1 IP), Argenis Batista (1.1), Zack Evers (0.1), Cory Tiller (2.0) and Yeison Santos (2.0) -- combined to finish the game.
Santos (1-1) came out with his first win of the season.

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Record: 38-23, 1st, 5 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis scored a pair of runs in the top of the second inning to take the lead and rode a strong start from Angel Tiburcio -- who drove in one of those runs -- to a 5-2 win over Quad City at Fenway Park (1976).
Steve Rossi led off the River Walkers second with a double off Thunder starting pitcher Carlos Lomeli, and following a fly out by Jordan Groshans, was joined on base by Rick Scott who was hit by a pitch.
A balk moved both batters up a base.
A walk to Jean Carmona then loaded the bases.
Rossi scored when Ricky Liriano hit into a fielder's choice.
Tiburico followed that with a double to score Scott.
After Quad City got its first run on a Gabriel Hagan homer off TIburcio in the bottom of the second..
The Walkers got it back in top of the next inning, when Daniel Becerra and Jose Segura opened the inning with single.
Becerra stole third and scored on a Groshans ground out.
Quad City pulled to within 3-2 in the seventh as Tiburcio seemed to run out of gas.
Nick Gonzalez drew a one-out walk and stole second.
A single by Hagan moved him to third, and another single, this one from Ben Nelson, scored Gonzalez and ended Tibuircio's outing.
Zach Evers took over and allowed a lead-off single to Bobby Wescott, loading the bases.
But Myles Austin flew out to keep the Walkers in front.
In 6.2 innings, Tiburcio (5-3) allowed two runs on four hits. He struck out nine and walked one.
Evers retired just the one batter -- and faced only two -- in the seventh.
Elian Acosta pitched a perfect eighth.
Ricky Cisneros walked a batter, but allowed nothing else in the ninth for his third save.

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The game between the St. Louis River Walkers and Quad City Thunder on Saturday, June 14 at Fenway Park (1976) has been postponed by rain.
It will be made up as part of a doubleheader on June 15.

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MBL news: June 15 -- All-Star fan voting update

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Record: 38-24, 1st, 4.5 GA Cedar Rapids
Down 3-1, Quad City scored three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and went on to defeat St. Louis 5-3 at Fenway Park (1976).
After falling behind 1-0, the River Walkers scored twice in the fourth inning -- Rick Scott (ground out) and Ricky Liriano (single) with RBIs -- and once in the fifth -- Nathaniel Dixon drew a lead-off walk and scored on a Jose Segura sac fly -- all charged to Thunder starter Bob Rios to go up 3-1.
But St. Louis starter Izzy San Juan got in trouble right away in the bottom of the fifth, allowing a lead-off double to relief pitcher Connor Seabold.
A passed ball moved Seabold to third, and he scored when the next batter, Cesar Silva, hit another double.
Jacob Gonzalez followed with a single to put runners at the corners, and end San Juan's time on the mound.
Andres Hernandez took over and saw QC almost immediately tie it.
The Thunder pulled off a rare double steal -- first I've seen in a LOOOONG time -- with Jacob Gonzalez swiping second while Silva crossed the plate.
A wild throw by Liriano, the catcher, also allowed Gonzalez to reach third,
He promptly scored when Nick Gonzalez hit a double.
The Thunder added an insurance run in the eighth when Bobby Wescott led off with a single off Argenis Batista.
A wild pitch moved Wescott to second, and a ground out planted him on third.
Pinch-hitter Alek Thomas, a long-time Walker, then drove him home with a groundout.
Rios pitched just four innings, allowing three runs on five hits.
Seabold (1-1) earned the win after two scoreless innings.
Sam Stoutenborough also worked two scoreless frames.
The ninth belonged to Craig Fritzler, who walked two batters but didn't allow a run to earn his 15th save.

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Record: 38-25, 1st, 4 GA Cedar Rapids
Quad City pounded St. Louis starting pitcher Zack Hunsicker for nine runs in just 3.1 innings, as the Thunder routed the River Walkers 12-2 to complete a doubleheader sweep at Fenway Park (1976).
The victory gave QC wins in the final two games of the three-game series.
A two-run homer from Jose Segura off Thunder starting pitcher Jose Castaneda staked the Walkers to an early 2-0 lead.
But after that this game belonged to the Thunder.
Cesar Silva led off the bottom of the inning with a triple and scored on a Jacob Gonzalez ground out.
Two innings later, Quad City grabbed the lead with four runs.
Gabriel Hagan and Myle Austin both had RBI doubles off Hunsicker.
Castaneda, the pitcher, drove in a pair with a triple.
Quad City sent Hunsicker to the shower early in the fourth.
After lead-off ground out, four straight QC hitters reached base with Angel Solis driving in a run with a single before Ricky Cisneros took the mound.
The first thing Cisneros did was balk in a run.
After that, Myles Austin drove in a run with a ground out.
Mike Simpson made it 9-2 with an RBI double.
It was all Thunder from there, as it scored one run in the fifth -- RBI double from Nick Gonzalez -- and two in the seventh -- pinch-hitter Adam Ferrera led off with a homer off Cisneros and Jacob Gonzalez earned a run with a ground out -- to complete the scoring.
Castenada (5-3) allowed two runs on four hits in five innings. He struck out seven and didn't walk a batter.
Bobby Stover and Nick Wood both pitched two scoreless innings.

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MBL news: Week 10 - Awards and standings

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Record: 38-26, 1st, 3 GA Cedar Rapids
Des Moines got back-to-back home runs from Mitch Bernier and Andrew Foley in the bottom of the sixth inning to break a 1-1 tie, and the Harvesters went on for a 3-1 win at Green Canyon Park.
The River Walkers had tied it in the top of the sixth inning, when Daniel Becerra doubled off Des Moines starter Juan Amezquita and later scored on a passed ball, followed by a wild pitch.
The Harvesters seized the lead back again in the bottom of the inning.
Fernando Tatis Jr. leading off the inning with a homer off St. Louis starter Kaneo Kawamoto.
The next batter, Mitch Bernier, also went deep off Kawamoto.
It was his second homer of the game, as he hit another solo shot off Kawamoto with two outs in the first.
Amezquita (6-6) was impressive in his six innings, allowing the one run on two hits. He struck out 12 and walked two.
Dalvin Rosario, Kyung-Tae Choi and Jeremy Bouchard all pitched scoreless innings to close out the win.
Bouchard earned his 14th save.

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Record: 39-26, 1st, 3 GA Cedar Rapids
St. Louis scored at least one run in each of the first five innings while building a 9-0 lead, and in seven of nine over as the River Walkers routed Des Moines 13-5 at Green Canyon Park.
Daniel Becerra led off the game with a single off 2030 National League Cy Young winner Albert Hernandez, and later scored the only run of the first inning as the Walkers went up 1-0.
An inning later, St. Louis tallied twice thanks to two singles, two walks and a wild pitch.
The Walkers scored two more times in the third, this time driving Hernandez from the game, they put together three straight singles in the inning and were helped by a wild pitch, which scored a run, by reliever Brenan Hanifee.
It was 6-0 after 4.5 innings.
The fourth frame featured the first of five Walkers' homer, this one a lead-off job by Steve Rossi.
Jean Carmona also drew a walk and later scored on a Rick Scott single.
Their lead now 6-1, St. Louis went deep twice in a three run fifth.
Becerra led off the frame with a homer off Hanifee.
Jose Segura launched his 24th long ball of the season later in the inning.
The Walkers other homers both came in the seventh.
The first was their third lead-off homer of the game in the seventh, this one from Heston Kjerstad and a two-run homer from Ricky Liriano.
Freddy Tarnok surrendered both homers.
Walkers rookie starter Jesse McNaboe (4-1) allowed three runs on six hits over six innings.
Andres Hernandez pitched 1.1 innings and Elian Acosta handled the final 1.2.

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Record: 40-26, 1st, 3 GA Cedar Rapids
Tied 3-3, St. Louis scored three times in the top of the eighth inning, and carried on for a 6-3 win over Des Moines at Green Canyon Park.
The victory was the second in a row for the River Walkers, and gave them a win in the three-game series.
St. Louis jumped out to a 3-1 lead, only to have the Harvesters tie it win the bottom of the sixth on a two-run pinch-hit homer from Tyler Calihan off Walkers starter Angel Tiburcio.
Jean Carmona opened the top of the eighth for St. Louis with a single off reliever Brenan Hanifee.
Two batters later, the Walkers were in front, as after Rick Scott drew a walk, Ricky Liriano drove in Carmona with a single.
The next batter, pinch-hitter Nathaniel Dixon, also singled making it 5-3 and chased Hanifee from the mound.
Freddy Tarnok took over and after a strike out of Daniel Becerra, surrendered a fly ball to Steve Rossi which was deep enough to score Liriano.
Tiburcio pitched six innings., allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out eight and walked one.
Cory Tiller worked a scoreless seventh.
Argenis Batista kept the Harvesters off the scoreboard in the eighth, and recorded the first out of the ninth.
Zack Evers did the rest, and earned his first save of the season.

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Record: 41-26, 1st, 4 GA Cedar Rapids
Called up from AAA Memphis to make a spot start, Ron Petersen made the most of it allowing one run over seven shutout innings as St. Louis downed Toledo 6-1 at Busch Stadium (1997).
Peterson (2-1) didn't allow a hit until the sixth inning, when Noah Campbell led off with a single.
He finished off that inning without allowing a run. The left-hander did the same in the seventh.
Overall, he allowed just the one hit over seven innings. He struck out 11 and walked one.
The River Walkers went up 1-0 in the bottom of the third.
Daniel Becerra drew a one-out walk from Alex Pineda and scored on a two-out singles by Jordan Groshans.
St. Louis broke the game open with four in the fifth.
Rick Scott did most of the damage with a three-run homer off Robby Ramos.
Groshans, earlier, had collected his second RBI of the game with a single.
Steve Rossi would lead off the sixth with a single, and later score on a Groshans sac fly as he notched his third RBI.
Ricky Cisneros pitched the final two innings for St. Louis, allowing a meaningless run in the eighth.