Flagstaff nearly sweeps South Loop

Flagstaff takes three of four from the South Loop Furies to split the season series, six games apiece.

Game 1: Wood v. Heaney – South Loop opens the scoring with an RBI single from Yadier Molina in the bottom of the first, but Flagstaff evens it up with a George Springer solo homer in the second.

The Outlaws take the lead in the third when Jarrod Dyson triples with one out and scores when South Loop can’t turn a double play on Paul Goldschmidt.

That lead doesn’t last long as Molina singles in Mark Cahna from first to tie it. Molina then scores when Jorge Polanco gets under a pitch that carries out of the park, giving the Furies a 4-2 lead after three innings.

But the see-saw affair goes back to Flagstaff’s favor. Goldy plates his second run with an RBI sacrifice fly. Then Springer gets another pitch to his liking, cranking a three-run blast and chasing Andrew Heaney from the game as Flagstaff now holds a 6-4 lead.

But South Loop comes right back with a Polanco RBI double followed by a Miguel Rojas 2-run single to take a 7-6 lead.

The pendulum turns one more time in the eighth as J.P. Crawford comes off the bench to rap a key two-out two-run double to give the Outlaws an 8-7 lead. But South Loop gets a big break when Springer slips on a ball to deep center that ends up giving Yolmer Sanchez a double and an RBI to tie the game at 8.

Aaron Judge draws a two-out walk in the top of the ninth to bring Springer up and he clubs his third homer of the game to put Flagstaff back on top, 10-8.

Ryan Pressly comes in and gives up a single and walk immediately to start the ninth, but manages to wiggle off the hook getting the next three batters and the Outlaws escape with a 10-8 win.

W: Smith (2-5)
L: Jones (2-3)
Sv: Pressly (26)
HRs: FLG – Springer 3(15, 16, 17); SLF – Polanco (5).

Game 2: Musgrove v. Gausman – Andrelton Simmons takes the second pitch of the game from Kevin Gausman and deposits it in the left-field bleachers for a leadoff homer. Springer stays hot the Outlaws, adding an RBI single in the fifth to give Flagstaff a 2-0 advantage.

Joe Musgrove cruised until the fifth, when his control left him. A single and a walk set the Furies up for a big inning, but a bad bunt and a weak grounder both allowed Musgrove to make plays at third to keep the bases static. However, two more walks pushed the Furies’ first run home. But Musgrove was able to strike out Nick Castellanos to end the threat.

Flagstaff scores a pair in the sixth when Simmons hits a two-out double to chase Gausman from the game, pushing the Outlaws to a 4-1 lead.

However, South Loop gets those runs right back as Musgrove uncorks a pair of wild pitches that let Asdrubal Cabrera score from second. Rojas this singles in another run and the Furies close the gap to 4-3.

Flagstaff breaks the game open as Denard Span dumps a flare into shallow center that scores two runs. Goldschmidt follows with an RBI single to make it 7-3, Flagstaff.

With the score 7-4 in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Pressly was not ready to come out of the bullpen on time, so Joe Smith had to continue in the game and gave up a single to Polanco. By this time, Pressly was ready and came on to get the first two outs. Castellanos extended the inning, singling to bring the tying run to the plate, but Cabrera grounded out and the Outlaws hold on, 7-4.

W: Musgrove (3-3)
L: Gausman (4-5)
Sv: Pressly (27)
HRs: FLG – Simmons (14); SLF – Cabrera (13).

Game 3: Roark v. Fedde – Aaron Hicks starts the scoring with a leadoff homer in the bottom of the first to give the Furies an early lead, but Judge counters that in the second, homering to tie it up.

Crawford starts the fifth with a triple and he trots home on a Jarrod Dyson double, but Dyson is thrown out trying to extend it to a triple, crippling the Outlaws chance of scoring more, but the Outlaws do take a 2-1 lead.

In the eighth, the 3-4-5 hitters for the Outlaws manage to load the bases on two singles and a walk. With Jonathan Villar due up to face Alex Colome, the Outlaws go to the bench for Simmons, who was held out of the starting lineup. Simmons responded by banging a two-run single up the middle to extend the Outlaw lead to 4-1.

In the ninth, the Outlaws have Pressly up in time and he works around a pair of runners to record his third save in consecutive days. Flagstaff 4, South Loop 1.

W: Roark (3-0)
L: Fedde (1-4)
Sv: Pressly (28)
HRs: FLG – Judge (25); SLF – Hicks (24).

Game 4: Richards v. Wisler – Simmons gets the scoring started with a solo shot to start the top of the third inning. Villar adds on with his own solo sock in the fourth.

It stays 2-0 into the ninth. Ryan Pressly is tired after three straight days of work, but Flagstaff tries to see if he can manage a fourth. After getting the first out, he gave up a single to Mike Zunino and the Outlaws went to Robbie Erlin.

Erlin gives up back-to-back singles to Polanco and Hechevarria to load the bases. Aaron Hicks in the last batter on the bench and pops out for the second out. Cabrera grounds a tough ball to Villar at shortstop who boots it, allowing a run. Castellanos walks to force the tying run home and re-load the sacks. Molina grounds to Goldy who makes the flip to Erlin who boots the ball and the Furies avoid the sweep with a walk-off error.

W: Colome (5-7)
L: Erlin (3-3)
Sv: None
HRs: FLG – Simmons (15), Villar (11); SLF – none.