SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

End of Season Notes: Kannapolis Intimidators

Published on September 3, 2013 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


Class A Affiliate of the Chicago White Sox - 61-76, 34-35 2nd Half

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

CMC-NorthEast Stadium - Kannapolis, N.C.

Season Snapshot: The Kannapolis Intimidators finished the 2013 season 61-76, fifth overall in the seven-team South Atlantic League Northern Division. The 19th season of professional baseball in Kannapolis wrapped up with a hot month as the Intimidators went 19-11 since August 1, the fourth-best record in the league down the stretch. The Intimidators finished the season half 34-35, fourth in the division after a sluggish first half (27-41). Both halves finished on high notes as Kannapolis swept Rome heading into the All-Star Break and wrapped up the regular season by taking three of four over Hagerstown.

In The Finale: Jacob May closed the book on the 2013 season with a walk-off home run with two-outs in the bottom of the 10th on Monday, propelling the Intimidators to a 4-3 win over the Suns. Kannapolis came back from an 0-3 deficit with three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning against the Suns bullpen. Mike Marjama led off the inning with a double and later scored on an Eric Grabe fielders choice. Grabe crossed the plate on May's two-out single, and Cleuluis Rondon scored the tying run when Suns third baseman Mike McQuillan couldn't handle a Tim Anderson ground ball. Stew Brase spun scoreless ninth and 10th innings for the win. Brase (3-2) retired the final six batters he faced, including four strikeouts, to dim the Suns. Kannapolis starter Tony Bucciferro logged one final quality start, working 6.0 innings and allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits with four strikeouts in a no decision. Andre Wheeler worked 2.0 relief innings, allowing a run on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts.

Save The Date: The Kannapolis Intimidators will open the 2014 season at home on Thursday, April 3, against the Greenville Drive. Next season will be the 20th year of professional baseball in the city of Kannapolis. The team came to town in 1995 from Spartanburg and spent the first season as the Piedmont Phillies before playing the next five seasons as the Piedmont Boll Weevils (1996-2000). Next season will mark the 14th year under the "Intimidators" moniker and 14th year as a White Sox affiliate. To view the 2014 schedule, visit IntimidatorsBaseball.com.

Johnson Named All-Star: Second baseman Micah Johnson was named to the SAL Annual All-Star Team, the first Intimidator to make the league's Annual All-Star Team in two years. Johnson hit .342 in 77 games with Kannapolis and set a new franchise record for stolen bases in a single season with 61, which ranked third in the league this season. The Intimidators promoted Johnson to Winston-Salem on July 3. He led the Minors with 84 stolen bases this season. He finished his year with five games at Double-A Birmingham, playing a total of 131 games and batting .312/.373/.451 in his first year full year in the Minor Leagues. Earlier this season, Johnson was named the South Atlantic League All-Star Game MVP.

Intimidating Instants:

No-Hitting Hagerstown: On June 5, three Intimidators pitchers combined to throw a no-hitter against the Hagerstown Suns in Game 2 of a doubleheader as Kannapolis rolled to an 11-0 victory. In his first start of the season, Braulio Ortiz spun 4.0 hitless innings before giving way to Adam Lopez for 2.0 innings and Joe Dvorsky, who worked the final frame. Lopez earned the win as the trio spun just the third no-hitter since the Intimidators became a White Sox affiliate in 2001.

Grand Slam: Adam Heisler hit the lone grand slam of the season for Kannapolis. On Aug. 13, Heisler returned from a 3-game stint with Triple-A Charlotte and put a game against the Lakewood BlueClaws out of reach with his second-inning slam in his first at-bat back with Kannapolis. The blast gave the Intimidators a 7-1 lead en route to a 12-8 win. It was the first career slam for Heisler and the first by an Intimidator since Kevan Smith hit one June 3, 2012, also against Lakewood.

From Kannapolis to the Majors: Four former Intimidators made their Major League debuts this season, all with the White Sox. Catcher Josh Phegley (2009) and pitchers Andre Rienzo (2010), Charlie Leesman (2008-09) and Jake Petricka (2010-11) all played for the Intimidators on their way through the White Sox minor league system before donning a big league uniform for the Sox this season. There have been 73 former Intimidators to play in the Major Leagues, and that number could continue to climb with September call-ups.

Check out the Kannapolis Cannon Ballers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



South Atlantic League Stories from September 3, 2013


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central