Glendale Desert Dogs 1, Scottsdale Scorpions 5
- Tommy La Stella, 2B: 1-3, RBI, BB, .429
- Aaron Northcraft, SP: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 4 K, 5.63 ERA, 62 pitches, 39 strikes, 2:1 GO:FO
- Shae Simmons, RP: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 K, 3.38 ERA, 16 pitches, 8 strikes, 1:0 GO:FO
It was an excellent game all-around from Atlanta's AFL representatives last night. Aaron Northcraft drew his third start of the AFL season and finally hurled an impressive game. Northcraft - who had previous pitched two duds - threw three scoreless innings, allowing two hits and two walks to go along with 4 strikeouts. The sinkerballer struck out the side in the first inning and had his sinker working, posting a 2:1 groundout to flyout ratio. Shae Simmons notched another scoreless inning in relief, striking out one and walking one in a hitless frame.
*Presses Control-C, Control-V* Tommy La Stella had another strong game at the plate, going 1-3 with an RBI single and a walk in five plate appearances. His two outs were outfield line drives, one to left and one to right, so it's safe to say he's tearing the cover off the ball right now. He also reached on catcher's interference in the sixth inning. It seems the only way to make sure he doesn't torch the ball is to grab it before he has a chance to hit it. La Stella has still not had a game without a walk in 7 AFL starts - the way he's hitting, though, it's no surprise.