2033 St. Louis River Walkers: And the saga continues

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Record: 90-60-1st, 6 GA Cedar Rapids
Manuel Coke hit a two-run home run with no outs in the bottom of the 10th inning to lift St. Louis to a 6-4 win over Louisville and a doubleheader sweep at Busch Stadium (2006).
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr led off the inning with a single off Sluggers relief pitcher Nick Kahny.
Coke, who had entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning, then turned on a 3-1 pitch from Kahny and hit it 378 feet over the right-field wall for his 37th homer of the season.
The River Walkers were lucky the game got to extra innings.
Down 4-1, Eddie Estrella hit a three-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth off Louisville reliever Matt Whitmore to tie the game.
The Sluggers had gone up 2-0 in the top of the third when Jairo Diaz hit a two-run homer off St. Louis starter Ron Cox.
Chris Ring hit a two-run homer in the eighth off Bobby Westerman to make it 4-1.
Making a start out of the bullpen, Cox pitched well allowed two runs on six hits over six innings. He struck out nine and walked one.
Greg Sones worked a scoreless seventh and got the first out of the eighth.
Westerman finished the eighth, but gave up Ring's homer.
Armando Cintron worked a scoreless ninth for St. Louis.
Closer Nick Strother (7-2) did the same in the ninth, setting himself up to win his seventh game of the season.

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Record: 91-60, 1st, 7 GA Cedar Rapids, Magic No. 5
Tied 1-1, Nick Shaw led off the bottom of the sixth inning with a home run to put St. Louis in front and the River Walkers went to defeat Louisville 4-2 at Busch Stadium (2006).
The Sluggers' Chris Ring had led off the top of the sixth with a homer off St. Louis reliever Scott Rissler, tying it at 1-1.
Shaw responded with his 28th home run of the season, blasting a 1-1 pitch 356 feet over the left-field wall.
The Walkers added an insurance run in the seventh.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr drew a two-out walk from Louisville reliever John Fiefield.
A single by Manuel Coke and a walk to Shaw loaded the bases.
Mark Herman drove bin Amr in with a single.
Walkers rookie starting pitcher Kevin Hrdlicka handled the first five innings, allowing one run on two hits. He struck out eight but walked four.
Rissler (7-4) pitched two innings of relief and would earn the win.
Bobby Westerman set the Sluggers down in order in the eighth.
Nick Strother struck out the side in the ninth for his 29th save.

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Record: 92-60, 1st, 7 GA Cedar Rapids: Magic No.: 4
St. Louis scored eight runs over the first four innings to build an 8-0 lead, and the River Walkers breezed to a 10-4 win to complete a four-game sweep of Louisville at Busch Stadium (2006).
Bob Saaverdra led off the bottom of the first inning with a single off Sluggers starting pitcher Esteban Serna, and later scored on a Nick Shaw single to put St. Louis ahead 1-0.
The RBI was Shaw's 100th of the season.
The Walkers then scored twice in the second and third innings before tallying a trio of runs in the fourth.
A walk to Mark Herman followed by an error by Sluggers center fielder Caleb Kinney on a ball hit by Jose Segura opened the bottom of the second for St. Louis.
Herman scored on a ground ball hit by Abdul-Nasser bin Am.
Pitcher Josh McDonald got down a bunt to score Segura.
The third featured Manuel Coke being hit by a Serna pitch to open the inning.
Shaw followed with a single.
Herman drove in Coke with a single.
Segura collected an RBI with a fly ball to score Shaw.
A two-run homer from Coke off reliever Tony Arroyo highlighted the fourth inning.
The two RBIs gave Coke 100 for the season.
Shaw made it a back-to-back with his 29th homer of 2036.
Louisville did make it somewhat interesting with a four-run fifth against McDonald.
Kinney led off the inning with a homer.
The Sluggers banged out three more hits in the inning, including a two-run double by Mike Courtney.
That was the end of the scoring for Louisville.
St. Louis added two insurance runs in the seventh.
Herman collected another RBI with a double, as did Segura with a sacrifice fly.
McDonald (14-7) earned the win despite the one bad inning.
He pitched six, allowing four runs on seven hits. He struck out eight and didn't issue a walk.
Brennan Weldon worked two innings of scoreless relief.
Chris Eason allowed Louisville to load the bases in the ninth but didn't give up a run.

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Record: 92-61, 1st, 6 GA Cedar Rapids; Magic No.: 4
Toledo hit six home runs -- including two apiece from Ben Shuster and Andy Jordan -- to power its way to an 11-5 win over St. Louis at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (1974).
The River Walkers actually started the fireworks when Marcos Francis hit a solo homer off Mud Hens starting pitcher Matt Todd in the top of the first to put his team ahead 1-0.
That lead lasted until the bottom of the second when Toledo went up with a pair of runs.
The Mud Hens didn't hit a homer, instead banging out three singles off St. Louis starter Shane Drogo.
Dave Hernandez drove in the first run on a ground out.
Pitcher Matt Todd plated the other with a one-out single.
Shuster's first homer of the game, a two-run blast off Drogo, in the third put Toledo ahead 4-1.
St. Louis charged back to tie it, when Jackson Miller hit a three-run homer off Todd in the top of the fourth.
The Mud Hens took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth.
Shuster led off the inning with a single. He scored on a Quiang Chang double.
Toledo broke it open with back-to-back-to-back homers from Ellis Parr, Jordan and Shuster off Bobby Westerman in the sixth, as the Mud Hens went up 8-4.
Jordan hit his second homer of the game in the seventh, this one of Armando Cintron, to make it 10-4.
Kevin Valentin contributed the final bomb of the game for Toledo in the bottom of the eighth.
Nick Ruffalo surrendered his solo shot.
Todd lasted just four innings as the starter for Toledo, allowing four runs on six hits.
Cameron Timmerman (2-0) earned the win after a scoreless top of the fifth.
Yuki Matsui pitched the sixth inning for the Mud Hens.
The seventh belonged to Jim Campbell.
Danny Ruiz took care of the eighth and ninth.

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Record: 92-62, 1st, 6 GA Cedar Rapids; Magic No.: 3
Andy Jordan hit a three-run home run to highlight a four-run bottom of the fifth inning for Toledo, and the Mud Hens rode that to a 6-3 win over St. Louis at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (1974).
The River Walkers had gotten a two-run homer from Manuel Coke off Toledo starting pitcher Edward Kunselman in the top of the fifth to take a 3-1 lead.
Danny Diaz got the Mud Hens going into the bottom of the inning when he reached on an error by St. Louis shortstop Abdul-Nasser bin Amr to lead off the inning.
It was one of three innings committed in the game by bin Amr. The Walkers were guilty of four errors in the contest.
Chris Gibbs followed the error with a single.
After a fly out by Josh Daly, Jordan put Toledo in front with his 20th homer of the season.
The Hens, however, were not finished adding one more run off Kunselman.
Ellis Parr followed the Jordan homer with a walk.
He would score on a two-out double by Kevin Valentin.
Toledo added another run in the sixth off reliever Brennan Weldon.
Gibbs singled with two outs.
He scored on a Daly double.
Hens starting pitcher Steve Davis (10-8) handled the first five innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked one.
Mike Davis pitched a scoreless sixth for Toledo.
Matthew Broussard worked two innings.
Closer George Williams kept St. Louis quiet in the ninth for his 39th save.

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The Rockford Lightning became the first team to punch its ticket into the 2036 postseason, clinching the National League North Division title with a 7-6 victory over Columbus at Forbes Field (1959).
The win gave the Lightning (93-61) a 10-game lead over second-place Twin Cities with eight games remaining in the season.
Rockford owns a one-game lead over NL South Division leader St. Louis.
The playoff berth is just the second in franchise history for the Lightning.
Its only other trip to the postseason came in 2033.

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Record: 92-63, 1st, 5 GA Cedar Rapids; Magic No.: 3
St. Louis left starting pitcher Xavier Wigfall one batter too long, as the right-hander gave up a solo home run to Toledo's Chris Gibbs with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning to help give the Mud Hens a 4-3 win at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (1974).
Gibbs' homer came on Wigfall's 116th pitch of the game.
Facing a 3-2 count, Gibbs powered the ball 413 feet over the wall in left-center for his 17th homer of the season.
The River Walkers had tied the game in the top of the fourth when Jose Segura scored on a two-out throwing error by Toledo first baseman Ellis Paar.
Jose Segura scored on the play. He had drawn a walk from Mud Hens starting pitcher Chris Ebrarb to open the inning.
Toledo hit a pair of homers off Wigfall in the second inning, a solo shot from Ben Shuster and later a two-run homer from Quiang Chang as it took a 3-1 lead.
Ebarb lasted just 4.2 innings, allowing three runs on six hits. He struck out four and walked two.
A trio of relievers combined to shut out the Walkers the rest of the way.
Collin Loughin did the bulk of the work, finishing the fifth and also pitched the sixth and seventh.
Josh Stauffer worked a scoreless eighth.
George Williams set St. Louis down in order in the ninth for his American League-leading 40th save.

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Record: 93-63, 1st, 6 GA Cedar Rapids; Magic No.: 1
Tied 2-2, St. Louis got back-to-back RBI doubles from Mark Herman and Nick Shaw in the top of the sixth inning off Toledo starter pitcher Martin Lopez, and the River Walkers went on for an 8-3 win at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium (1974).
The win allowed St. Louis to avoid being swept in the four-game series. It also allowed the Walkers to move within a game of clinching the National League South Division title.
A two-run double from Dave Hernandez off St. Louis rookie starter Kevin Hrdlicka in the bottom of the second had staked the Mud Hens to a 2-0 lead.
The Walkers tied it with a pair of runs off Lopez in the top of the third.
Jackson Miller drove Hrdlicka in the first run with a double.
The rookie had doubled off Lopez with one out.
Herman then scored Miller with a single.
In the sixth, Miller got things started with a lead-off walk.
Herman and Shaw followed with their doubles to make it 4-2.
It's lead down to 4-3 following a Josh Daly homer off Bobby Westerman in the bottom of the seventh, the Walkers broke the game by scoring four time in the top of the eighth.
Three straight singles off reliever Josh Stauffer loaded the bases to open the inning.
Eddie Estrella then drew a walk to bring in Miller with the first run.
A wild pitch scored Herman with the second.
Jose Segura plated the final two with a double.
Hrdlicka (6-5) went six innings, allowing two runs on five hits. He struck out seven and walked three.
Westerman worked the seventh.
Scott Rissler handled the eighth and ninth, recording all six of his outs via strike outs.

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The Detroit Diesels earned the right to defend their 2035 Midwest Baseball League title by clinched the American League West Division championship with a 2-0 win over Springfield at Tiger Stadium (1980).
The victory put the Diesels at 89-66 for the season, eight games ahead of second-place Fort Wayne with seven games remaining in the season.
Detroit owns a three-game edge over East Division leading Akron in the battle for home-field advantage in the AL.
It will be the fourth trip to the playoffs for the Diesels.
In their four previous appearances, 2024, 2026 and last season, they won the World Series.

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MBL news: Sept. 29 -- Week 25 -- Awards and standings

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Record: 94-63, 1st, 6.5 GA Cedar Rapids; NL South Division champs
Jose Segura connected on a two-out, two-run single in the top of the eighth inning to snap a 2-2 tie and help lift St. Louis to a 4-2 win over Springfield at Oracle Park.
The win gave the River Walkers the National League South Division title.
With a 94-63 record, St. Louis leads second-place Cedar Rapids by 6.5 games with five games remaining.
NL North champ Rockford owns a one-game lead over the Walkers in the race for the home-field advantage in the championship series.
The playoff berth is the eighth for St. Louis, but its first since 2031.
The Walkers trailed 2-0 going into the top of the sixth inning, but tied it on a home run by Marcos Francis off Railers starting pitcher Alejando Moto.
Manuel Coke got things going for the Walkers in the eighth with a lead-off double off reliever Bobby Mitchell.
Nick Shaw was given an intentional walk with one out.
A single by Mark Herman then loaded the bases and brought Segura to the plate.
Segura then slapped a 1-0 pitch up the middle for a single, scoring Coke and Shaw.
St. Louis starter Josh McDonald gave up two runs in the bottom of the first but followed with five shut-out innings.
Overall, he allowed two runs on six hits in six innings. He struck out 10 and didn't walk a batter.
Greg Sones got the first two outs of the seventh before leaving with two runners on base.
Bobby Westerman kept the Railers off the scoreboard in the seventh and did the same in the eighth.
Nick Strother set Springfield down in order in the ninth for his 30th save.

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Record: 95-63, 1st, NL South clinched; 1 GB Rockford
Shane Drogo snapped a three-game losing streak with five shut-out innings and St. Louis downed Springfield 6-2 at Oracle Park.
Drogo, who had dropped his last three starts, took a shutout into the sixth by which time the River Walkers led 3-0.
That lead didn't start until the top of the fourth, when Manuel Coke singled with two outs off Railers starting pitcher Manuel Santiago to score Bob Saavedra.
Saavedra had drawn a walk to lead off the inning.
Abdul-Nasser bin Amr connected on a two-run double in the fifth off Santiago to make it 3-0.
Springfield did finally get to Drogo in the sixth, Hideaki Taguchi driving in a pair with a two-out double.
But Drogo got Castrioti Rrustemi to fly out to keep it at 3-2.
The Walkers' bullpen spun three shut-out innings from there.
Drogo (16-8), whose 16 wins tops the Midwest Baseball League, would allow two runs on seven hits over six innings. He struck out five and didn't issue a walk.
Greg Sones pitched a scoreless seventh for St. Louis.
Brennan Weldon (0.1 IP) and Nick Ruffalo (0.2) did the same in the eighth.
And after the Walkers scored three runs in the top of the ninth thanks to a bases-loaded double by Nathaniel Dixon, Ron Cox ended it by sending the Railers down in order in the bottom of the inning.

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MBL news: Oct. 1 - Players and Pitchers of the Month for September

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MBL news: Oct. 1 -- Rookies of the Month for September and standings

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MBL news: Oct. 1 -- American League leaders

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MBL news: Oct. 1 -- National League leaders

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Walkers news: Oct. 1 -- Team statistics for September

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Walkers news: Oct. 1 -- 2036 Team statistics

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Player of the Month: Nick Shaw -- The 27-year-old first baseman batted .390 with 11 homers, 30 RBIs and 22 runs scored in 27 games. He got on base at a .444 clip and slugged .800. Shaw was named NL Player of the Month.
Starting Pitcher of the Month: Kevin Hrdlicka -- The 25-year-old rookie went 4-1 in six starts with a 2.16 ERA. He pitched a total of 33.1 innings, during which he struck out 35 and had a 1.14 WHIP. Hrdlicka was named NL Pitcher of the Month and Rookie of the Month.
Relief Pitcher of the Month: Nick Strother -- The 32-year-old closer got into eight games during which he went 2-0 with five saves and a 1.08 ERA. He pitched a total of 8.1 innings, during which he struck out 11 and had a 0.73 WHIP.

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Walkers news: Oct. 1 -- Player Development Report