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CarL Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Cannon Baller Chronicle: Kannapolis Defends Home-Turf; Due for Solid Matchup with FirefliesÂ

July 26, 2022 - Carolina League (CarL)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - After a road trip to Salem and a four-day All-Star break, the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers returned home to start a nine-game stretch at Atrium Health Ballpark with three matchups against the Fayetteville Woodpeckers. The Ballers wrapped up the 2022 season series with the Woodpeckers with two wins in the three games, defeating Fayetteville on Saturday and Sunday.

With the two victories, Kannapolis moves to 15-9, clutching a narrow 0.5 game lead over the Columbia Fireflies, who visit Atrium Health Ballpark Tuesday-Sunday. The Ballers are now 5-5 in their last 10 games, still one of the better teams in the second half of play in the Carolina League.

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHT

Friday began the short three-game series against Fayetteville. The matchup on the mound quickly became an offensive slugfest, with the Woodpeckers taking an early 4-3 lead. Andy Atwood, Wilfred Veras, and Colby Smelley all tallied multi-hit games for the Ballers in the most offense-led game of the series. Kannapolis kept the game close, but Fayetteville put together a five-run seventh inning to pull ahead, taking a 10-5 victory.

THE WIZARD WORKS MAGIC

RHP Norge Vera tallied another impressive outing in his start Saturday, tossing four shutout innings and striking out seven Woodpeckers in Kannapolis' comeback victory Saturday night. Fayetteville took an early lead after Vera's departure, but the Ballers fought back with two runs in the fifth and sixth, including Wilfred Veras' 14th home run of the season to tie the game 3-3. Misael Gonzalez gave Kannapolis a lead that they never left behind.

SUNDAY FUNDAY FOR THE BATS

In Sunday's series finale, the Ballers used a heavy influx of offense from the power bats to overload Fayetteville pitching for an 11-1 win. Wilfred Veras hit his 15th home run of the season, a 455-foot shot into left center field in the bottom of the fifth inning, and DJ Gladney added five RBI, including an eighth inning grand slam to give Kannapolis a massive cushion.

RHP Jared Kelley tossed his best start of the 2022 season, shutting down the Woodpeckers in 4.2 innings, striking out a season-high seven while allowing one run on four hits. Kelley came up just one-third of an inning short of his first win of 2022, in which RHP Hunter Dollander earned his third victory of the season in relief.

ON TO THE NEXT

The Fireflies, Low-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, enter the week in Kannapolis on the heels of a series split with the Augusta GreenJackets after the series finale Sunday was rained out. Columbia is the fourth and final different team from the Carolina League South Division, with Kannapolis not scheduled to play Charleston at all in 2022.

The Ballers have not played Columbia in 2022, but the two sides matched up 11 times in 2021. The Cannon Ballers hold an advantage in the overall record at 6-5, including five wins to complete the 2021 season at Segra Park in Columbia.

This series has turned out to be one of the biggest matchups for both sides thus far in 2022, with Columbia and Kannapolis neck-and-neck for first place in the second half of the Carolina League South Division. The Fireflies have ascended from last place in the first half to now just 0.5 games behind the Ballers for the top position.

Columbia holds seven of the top 30 prospects in the Kansas City Royals organization in LHP Frank Mozzicato (No. 5), RHP Ben Kudrna (No. 7), OF Erick Pena (No. 9), RHP Ben Hernandez (No. 13), C Carter Jensen (No. 14), INF Daniel Vazquez (No. 18) and RHP Shane Panzini (No. 23).

Mozzicato, the seventh overall selection in the 2021 MLB Draft, is still searching for his first professional win, tossing a career high 4.2 innings in a start on July 16. Mozzicato has walked at least three batters in each of his last four outings, offering free passes to multiple batters in all 12 of his starts in 2022. Kudrna earned Gatorade high school player of the year honors in his home state of Kansas, earning a second-round selection by the Royals. The righty is 1-4 with a 3.12 ERA in his first professional season. Pena profiles as a highly rated talent, but his professional career has been subpar at best. The 19-year-old from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic owns a batting average of just .129 in 2022, striking out 102 times in 232 at-bats.

Hernandez is in his second season with Columbia, battling injuries in most of the second half of 2021. The 2020 second round selection owns a 2-6 record in 24 total outings for the Fireflies, starting on a torrid pace in the month of July. Hernandez has struck out 10 batters in three appearances in July, tossing over 5.0 innings in each of his outings. Jensen, a social media sensation known for his light-tower power, has done well in his first full season of professional baseball. The backstop from the Kansas City area has hit 10 home runs and gathered 38 RBI in 78 games for the Fireflies, also earning 15 doubles en route to a good start to his young career.

Vazquez is one of the newest adds to the roster for the Fireflies, batting .189 in 42 games in 2022. Finally, Panzini is yet another top draft pick from 2021 in the Royals system to make it to Columbia this season. The righty is 0-2 with a 3.73 ERA in nine starts in 2022, being assigned to the Fireflies roster on May 24.

The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers begin a six-game set at home from July 26-31 with the Columbia Fireflies, Low-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. Following the home stand, Kannapolis will head out on the road August 2-7 for a six-game set with the Carolina Mudcats, Low-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers.

Tickets can be purchased for any upcoming home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark. Fans can also keep up with the action on the team's social media outlets, with live in-game updates being provided on Twitter at @kcannonballers. All Cannon Ballers home games, as well as select road games, will have a free audio broadcast on kcballers.com, with all home games also being broadcasted on MiLB.tv.

Check out the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Statistics



Carolina League Stories from July 26, 2022


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