Lynchburg's playoff run begins Wednesday in Wilmington when they'll take on the Blue Rocks in the first game of a 3 game series. Gus Schlosser is likely to start the series opener. Rome will begin its quest for a SAL championship on Wednesday at home against the Asheville Tourists. They'll get some help with Andrelton Simmons making a rehab appearance. Navery Moore is the likely Game 1 starter.
Gwinnett Braves 1, Norfolk Tides 5
- Felix Pie CF 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI, .285 AVG
- Sean Gilmartin 4 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 K, 4.78 ERA
- Dusty Hughes 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 3.31 ERA
- Cole McCurry 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 4.59 ERA
Sean Gilmartin struggled in this one, allowing 3 solo home runs and 4 runs overall in 4 innings. In his final 3 starts, the 22 year old lefty allowed 11 earned runs in 12.1 innings of work. After putting up a 3.54 ERA and a 1.15 WHIP in 119.1 innings for AA Mississippi, he had a 4.78 ERA and a 1.43 WHIP in 37.2 innings for Gwinnett. Overall, his first full season was a success, as he had a 6-10 record, a 3.84 ERA, a 1.22 WHIP, 6.4 K/9, 2.2 BB/9, and 2.8 K/BB in 157 innings over 27 starts. Dusty Hughes didn't allow a run in 6 innings over his final 3 appearances. In his last 4 games, Felix Pie went 6-15 with 4 doubles, a triple, a homer, and 4 RBI.
Gwinnett finishes the season 62-82, last in the International League South Division. Jose Constanza led the league in batting average (.314), Ernesto Mejia lead the league in at bats (514), hits (152), RBI (92), and total bases (258), and Luis Durango led the league in stolen bases (46).
Mejia led in slugging (.502), OPS (.849), games played (133), runs scored (73), doubles (32),and homers (24). Constanza led the team in OBP (.429), Felix Pie led in triples (7) and Luis Durango and Stefan Gartrell tied for the lead in walks (50).
Yohan Flande led the team in innings (147.2), losses (11), games started (27), and strikeouts (106). Julio Teheran led in wins (7), Anthony Varvaro led the team in ERA (2.23) and Cory Gearrin led in WHIP (1.19) and saves (9). Dusty Hughes led the team in appearances (54). Todd Redmond led the starters in ERA (3.58) and WHIP (1.27).
Mississippi Braves 2, Mobile Bay Bears 3
- Andrelton Simmons SS 1-3, .293 AVG
- Joey Terdoslavich 1B 2-4, 2B, SB (4), .315 AVG
- Evan Gattis C 1-4, HR (9), 2 RBI, .258 AVG
- Keenan Wiley RF 1-3, .237 AVG
- Gary Moran 6 IP, 1 ER, 6 H, 1 BB, 4 K, 2.91 ERA
- Mike Tarsi 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1.89 ERA
Andrelton Simmons played in his first game since breaking his pinky on July 8th, going 1-3 in a rehab stint that will take him to Rome on Wednesday and Lynchburg on Thursday. Joey Terdoslavich had a 2 hit day, finishing his season with a 8 game hitting streak that saw him go 11-28 with 2 doubles, a homer, 5 RBI, and 2 steals. After hitting .180 with a .515 OPS, 4 doubles, 4 homers, and 20 RBI in 194 at bats with Gwinnett while struggling to make the transition to third base, the soon to be 24 year old rebounded after a demotion to Mississippi that coincided with a move back to first base, hitting .315 with a .852 OPS, 24 doubles, 5 triples, 5 homers, and 51 RBI in 298 at bats. Evan Gattis homered for the third straight night, making him 4-11 with 8 RBI in those 3 games. A broken hand took out a huge chunk of Gattis' season, but the 26 year old still had an impressive year, hitting.306 with a .991 OPS, 20 doubles, 4 triples, 17 homers, and 65 RBI in 268 at bats between Lynchburg, Mississippi, and the GCL. Todd Cunningham went hitless in his final game, but the 23 year old still had a nice season, hitting .309 with a .767 OPS, 23 doubles, 6 triples, 3 homers, 51 RBI, and 24 steals in 466 at bats. Gary Moran allowed 1 earned run over 6 innings, and he finished his season strong, allowing 3 earned runs in 19 innings over his final 3 starts. The 27 year old righty finished with a 5-10 record, a 2.91 ERA and a 1.23 ERA in 160.2 innings over 29 games, 23 starts.
Mississippi finished the season 62-77, coming in last in the Southern League South Division in the first half and fourth in the second half. Gary Moran led the league in ERA (2.91), Sean Gilmartin led the league in WHIP (1.15), and Zeke Spruill led the league in innings (161.2).
Joey Terdoslavich led the team in batting average (.315), OBP (.372), slugging (.480), and OPS (.852). Todd Cunningham led in runs scored (77), hits (144), triples (6), total bases (188), and stolen bases. Joe Leonard led in RBI (66), walks (48), and tied with Evan Gattis for the lead in home runs (9). Phil Gosselin led in games played (128), at bats (.484) and Ian Gac led in doubles (27)
Zeke Spruill led in wins (9), losses (11), and tied for the lead in starts with David Hale (27), who led in strikeouts (124). Sean Gilmartin led in complete games (3), Mark Lamm led in saves (10) and tied with Cory Rasmus for the lead in appearances (50).
Lynchburg Hillcats 1, Myrtle Beach Pelicans 5
- Nick Ahmed SS 2-3, 2B, BB, 2 E (25, 26), .269 AVG
- Tommy La Stella 2B 3-4, 2B, RBI, .302 AVG
- Adam Milligan RF 1-3, .255 AVG
- Matt Weaver 1B 2-4, .216 AVG
- Dimasther Delgado 2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 0 BB, 2 K, 3.92 ERA
- Matt Chaffee 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 0 K, 3.99 ERA
Tommy La Stella had a 3 hit day, and in 8 games since returning from the DL, he's gone 16-27 with 4 doubles, a triple, 5 RBI, and 2 walks. Various injuries took out chunks of his season, but the 23 year old still had a great year, hitting .299 with a .855 OPS, 22 doubles, 6 triples, 6 homers, 59 RBI, and 13 steals in 311 at bats between Lynchburg and the GCL. Nick Ahmed ended his season by extending his hitting streak to 9 games. During that span, he went 13-33 with 2 doubles, a homer, a RBI, 3 walks, and 3 steals. Dimasther Delgado allowed 2 runs in 2 innings, and he allowed 4 runs in 8 innings in his final 2 starts. The 23 year old lefty finishes with a 7-7 record, a 3.92 ERA, a 1.42 WHIP, 5.7 K/9, 2.7 BB/9, and 2.1 K/BB in 128.2 innings over 24 starts.
Lynchburg finishes the season 72-68, winning the Carolina League Northern Division first half title with a 39-31 record before coming in last in the second half with a 33-37 record. Nick Ahmed led the league in at bats (506), runs scored (84), doubles (36, tied with Salem's Michael Almanzar), stolen bases (40) and tied with Edward Salcedo for the league lead in games played (130). Chris Garcia led the league in walks (85). Gus Schlosser led the league in wins (13), innings (165.1), and tied for the lead in starts with Aaron Northcraft and 3 others (27). Northcraft led the league in strikeouts (160) and Matt Chaffee led in appearances (45, tied with Frederick's David Walters).
Tommy La Stella led in batting average (.302), OPS (.846), and triples (5). Nick Ahmed led the team in hits (136) and total bases (198). Edward Salcedo led in homers (17) and RBI (61) while Chris Garcia led in OBP (.408) and Adam Milligan led in slugging (.463).
Andrew Wilson led the team in ERA (1.70) and WHIP (0.94). JR Graham led the starters in ERA (2.63) and WHIP (1.02). Aaron Northcraft led in losses (11) and Juan Jaime led in saves (18).
Lynchburg is off on Tuesday before beginning a 3 game playoff series against the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Wednesday. Andrelton Simmons will join the team on Thursday for a rehab appearance.
Rome Braves 9, Lexington Legends 1
- Ross Heffley 2B 4-5, SB (10), .296 AVG
- Robby Hefflinger LF 2-3, 2B, HR (12), 4 RBI, 2 BB, .284 AVG
- Brandon Drury 3B 2-5, 2B, HR (6), RBI, .299 AVG
- David Starn 2 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K, 5.50 ERA
- AJ Holland 2 IP, 0 R, 1 , 1 BB, 2 K, W (5), 4.04 ERA
- Fabian Williamson 1 IP, 0 R, 1 , 2 BB, 3 K, 4.29 ERA
- Ronan Pacheco 1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 2.65 ERA
- Wilson Rivera 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 2.88 ERA
- David Peterson 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K, 1.93 ERA
After getting no-hit their last time out, the R-Braves came back with a vengeance in their season finale, rapping out 13 hits in a 9-1 drubbing of the Lexington Legends. Ross Heffley had a 4 hit day, and the 22 year old had a nice debut season after the Braves picked him in the 18th round, hitting .296 with a .757 OPS, 13 doubles, 4 homers, 24 RBI, and 10 steals in 233 at bats. After hitting .228 with a .726 OPS, 8 doubles, 4 homers, and 11 RBI in 123 at bats with Lynchburg, 22 year old Robby Hefflinger hit .284 with a .845 OPS, 21 doubles, 12 homers, and 58 RBI in 296 at bats with Rome. After hitting .187 with a .495 OPS, 14 doubles, 2 homers, and 21 RBI in 241 at bats before the All-Star break, 20 year old Brandon Drury salvaged his season by hitting .279 with a .730 OPS, 8 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, and 30 RBI in 204 at bats in the second half. The Braves selected 22 year old lefty David Starn in the 7th round this year, and he finished with a 5.50 ERA and a 1.66 WHIP in 34.1 innings over 10 appearances, 8 starts. AJ Holland picked up his 5th win with Rome, and the 22 year old righty finishes his year with a 6-10 record, a 4.18 ERA and a 1.42 WHIP in 90.1 innings between Rome and the GCL. After posting a 7.82 ERA and a 2.72 WHIP in 25.1 innings with Lynchburg, 24 year old lefty Ronan Pacheco had a 2.65 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 34 innings for Rome. Wilson Rivera, a 22 year old Dominican righty who was an outfielder for the first 5 season of his career before becoming a pitcher last season, finishes with a 2.88 ERA, a 1.46 WHIP, and 11.2 K/9 in 56.1 innings over 36 appearances. David Peterson, a 22 year old righty the Braves selected in the 8th round this year, finishes his season with a 4-1 record, a 1.93 ERA and a 1.14 WHIP in 28 innings over 20 appearances.
Rome finishes the season 62-76, going a baseball worst 18-52 in the first half, but coming back with a 44-24 second half record that won them the South Atlantic League Southern Division second half title. Ross Heffley led the team in batting (.296) while Robby Hefflinger led in OBP (.362), slugging (.483), and OPS (845). Kyle Kubitza led in games played (128), at bats (448), triples (9), and walks (73) Tony Mueller led in runs scored (69), hits (112), and stolen bases (29). William Beckwith led in home runs (15), RBI (78), total bases (182), and tied with Elmer Reyes for the lead in doubles (26).
Alex Wood led the team in ERA (2.22) and WHIP (1.01). Greg Ross led in innings (131), starts (21), strikeouts (106), and tied with David Filak and AJ Holland for the lead in losses (9). Navery Moore led in wins (8), John Cornely led in appearances (39), and David Peterson led in saves (8).
Rome is off Tuesday before beginning a 3 game playoff series against the Asheville Tourists on Wednesday.