Fish Farm Report: April 7th

Memphis Red Birds 5, New Orleans Baby Cakes 1

Memphis scored three in the top of the first to take a lead they wouldn’t give up on Friday night in front of 8,851 at “Shrine on Airline,” Zephyr’s Field’s new name. Todd Cunningham led off with a double, Severino Gonzales hit a batter, then #12 prospect J.T. Riddle allowed an error to load the bases. After a strikeout, the Birds scored on a sacrifice fly and a Paul DeJong two run double. New Orleans’ starter Gonzales kept opposing bats quiet after that initial outburst, finishing after whiffing five in four innings. His three runs were unearned, on five hits, a walk, and the aforementioned errors.

Brandon Barnes scored New Orleans’ lone run in the bottom of the sixth, on a single, a stolen base, and a Moises Sierra double. Wilfredo Tovar closed the scoring in the Memphis half of the eighth with a two-RBI double.

Riddle went 0-for-four for the game, and right fielder Sierra finished two-for-two with two walks. Box Score Recap

Today at 2 PM, ET, the Baby Cakes will play Memphis for the third time. They’ll send former major leaguer Vance Worley to the hill against Redbird Chris Ellis.

Mississippi Braves 2, Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp 0

The Braves led things off in the bottom of the first with a Luis Valenzuela triple, a Travis Deraritte RBI-single, and a Dylan Moore RBI-double in front of 3,042 at Trustmark Park. It was all the scoring the Braves would need, or get. Shrimp starter Matt Tomshaw threw five innings, scattering seven hits and whiffing six without allowing a walk before getting relieved in the sixth by #4 Marlins prospect Jarlin Garcia. Garcia allowed a hit and a walk while striking one out in his inning of work.

Marlins’ #30 prospect Yefri Perez went 0-for-3 with a walk. #27 John Norwood and #13 Austin Dean each went 0-for-1 in a pinch hit appearance. Second baseman David Vidal was the only Shrimp with a multihit game, going two-for-four with a double. Box Score Recap

Tonight at 7 PM, ET, the Shrimp and the M-Braves will play game three of their five game series. Mississippi sends Kolby Allard against Jacksonville’s Omar Bencomo.

Jupiter Hammerheads 11, Fort Myers Miracle 8

The Hammerheads won their second game in two nights in front of 444 fans at Roger Dean Stadium.

The Miracle opened scoring in their half of the second inning on a Brian Navarreto lead off homer, but the Hammerheads responded in the bottom half of the frame on a Dustin Geiger two-run shot to take the lead. They would add a run in the third on an Angel Reyes RBI-single for a 3-1 lead.

Geiger also hit an RBI-single in the sixth, and Jupiter batted around in the seventh for seven runs on four singles, three walks, and two doubles. Fort Myers made it interesting late with seven runs in the last two innings.

For Jupiter, Kyle Barrett hit a double and a triple for two RBI, #8 prospect Stone Garrett hit a double and drew a walk, Angel Reyes hit two singles with an RBI, and Roy Morales went three-for-four. Ryan Newell earned the winning decision, with three innings of one-hit, zero walk ball. He struck out two. Box Score Recap

Jupiter sends Jorgan Cavanerio to the mound for a turn, tonight at 6:05 PM ET.

Greensboro Grasshoppers 6, Hickory Crawdads 4

Greensboro defeated Hickory by a 6-4 final count in front of 3,368 at First National Bank Field on Friday night. Reliever Ben Meyer earned the victory, allowing one run on two hits and a walk, with four whiffs in 2.1 innings of work. Kyle Keller worked the eighth and ninth inning for the save, striking out three and giving up two hits.

Starter Alejando Mateo struck out five and gave up just three hits in 4.2 innings, unfortunately also allowing three runs before giving way to Meyer. Greensboro center fielder Aaron Knapp hit two singles, drew two walks, and scored two runs with an RBI, while first baseman Colby Lusignan hit a two-run double. Box Score

Dustin Beggs gets the start at 7PM ET tonight after starting his career last year with a 2-3 record and a 5.23 ERA for the low-A Batavia Muckdogs. He’ll face Hickory’s Emerson Martinez.