SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Game Notes: Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) vs. Hagerstown Suns (Nationals) - May 31, 2014 (Doub

Published on May 31, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS vs. HAGERSTOWN SUNS

22-29 (Chicago White Sox)

36-16 (Washington Nationals)

Saturday, May 31, 2014 - 5 p.m. - Doubleheader

CMC-NorthEast Stadium - Kannapolis, N.C.

Games #52 & #53

RH Robinson Leyer (2-3, 4.22) vs. RH Jake Johansen (4-1, 4.93)

LH Andre Wheeler (0-2, 2.89) vs. RH Jefry Rodriguez (0-0, 1.80)

Today's Preview: After back-to-back postponed games on Thursday and Friday, the Intimidators (A, White Sox) and Suns (A, Nationals) look to finally open this 4-game series with a doubleheader today at CMC-NorthEast Stadium. Kannapolis and Hagerstown will play consecutive doubleheaders today and tomorrow in order to squeeze in this 4-game series. Kannapolis is coming off a road trip during which the team dropped six of seven games, and the once-blazing Suns have recently cooled, losing eight of their last 13 games. Kannapolis 1-3 against the Suns, splitting a doubleheader with them on May 11.

Intimidating Starters: Robinson Leyer, 21, makes his 10th start of the season and second against Hagerstown. He shut out the Suns over 6.0 innings on May 12 in a no decision as Hagerstown came back to beat Kannapolis 2-1 in 11 innings. Leyer is enjoying a great May, going 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA (5 ER/21.2 IP) in four starts and continues to impress since his first two outings of the year. The Dominican pitcher has had one of the hottest arms in the SAL since mid-April going 2-1 with a 1.96 ERA (8 ER/36.2 IP) in his last seven starts. The younger brother of former Intimidator Euclides Leyer (who is with High-A Winston-Salem), Robinson spent 2013 with Advanced Rookie Bristol, going 2-7 with a 6.35 ERA in 13 starts. Leyer debuted in 2012 with the DSL White Sox, going 1-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 13 starts.

Andre Wheeler, 22, will make his sixth start and second against Hagerstown in Game 2 of today's doubleheader. The lefty tossed 5.0 strong innings against the Suns in a spot-start on May 11 in Hagerstown, allowing a run on five hits while striking out a career-high six batters. Wheeler, a former Texas Tech Red Raiders reliever, is 0-2 with a 3.68 ERA (9 ER/22 IP) in five starts compared to 0-0 with a 1.76 ERA (3 ER/15.1 IP) in relief. After going 0-2 with a 4.58 ERA in April in seven games (three starts), Wheeler has made tremendous strides in May, posting a 1.02 ERA (2 ER/17.2 IP) in five games (two starts) for Kannapolis. The White Sox selected Wheeler in the 15th round of last June's draft, and he made nine appearances with Advanced Rookie Bristol before joining Kannapolis in late July 2013.

Hagerstown Hurlers: Jake Johansen, 23, makes his 10th start of 2014 and his third career start against Kannapolis. The Allen, Texas, native took a loss against Kannapolis Aug. 31, 2013, when he gave up four runs (two earned) in 4.2 innings at CMC-NorthEast Stadium, and he took no decision against the Intimidators this year on May 13, allowing a run on six hits over 5.0 innings. Johansen is coming off a home win vs. Asheville on May 24, in which he gave up two on five hits over 5.0 innings. While Johansen has struggled in Hagerstown, going 2-1 with a 7.08 ERA (16 ER/20.1 IP) at home, he is 2-0 with a 2.91 ERA (7 ER/21.2 IP) on the road. The Nationals drafted Johansen in the second round of the June 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Dallas Baptist University. During his professional debut in 2013, he went 1-1 with a 1.06 ERA in 10 games (10 starts) with Short-A Auburn. He is MLB.com's No. 12 Prospect in the Nationals system.

Jefry Rodriguez, 20, makes his second start of the season after allowing a run on six hits over 5.0 IP in his season debut in a no decision against Asheville on May 25. He is in his first year of full-season ball after spending 2013 with the GCL Nationals, going 3-0 with a 2.45 ERA in 12 games (12 starts). In 2012, Rodriguez went 0-2 with a 2.93 ERA in 10 games (nine starts) with the DSL Nationals.

Double Trouble: Kannapolis is 5-7 in doubleheader games this season, including 1-1 against the Suns in their series-opening twin bill on May 11. The Intimidators spit their first five doubleheaders of 2014.

Last Time Out: Hickory silenced the Kannapolis offense over the final eight innings on its way to an 8-1 win in Wednesday's series finale. Cole Wiper worked 5.0 frames to earn the win before turning it over to the bullpen. Ryan Cordell, the reigning SAL Player of the Week used a bases-clearing double in the second to put the 'Dads ahead 6-1, and Nomar Mazara hit his second home run (5) of the series for an 8-1 lead in the sixth. The lone Intimidators run came in the first when Hunter Jones led off the game with his first professional home run.

Hunter Homers: Hunter Jones made his first professional home run a memorable one, leading off Wednesday's game in Hickory by blasting the third pitch of the contest over the left field wall for a 1-0 lead. It was the 335th professional at-bat for Jones, who did not play in 2013 after spending 2010-12 in the Indians farm system. He is the first Intimidators player to homer to lead off a game since Jacob May did it at Greenville on Aug. 5, 2013. Jones has hit safely in each of his last three games, going 5-14 with three RBI and three runs scored in the series at Hickory.

Promotions Preview: Tonight's doubleheader features postgame fireworks following the second game, presented by CMC-NorthEast. Sunday's team photo giveaway (first 1,000 fans) features a pregame autograph party with the entire team presented by the City of Kannapolis from 2:30-2:45pm. Fans can bring their dogs Sunday to Bark in the Park presented by South Ridge Veterinary Hospital. Kids can run the bases after every Kid's Day Sunday game presented by Cornerstone Church.

Broadcast: This season, all 70 home games and select road games can be heard live on the Intimidators Baseball Network available at IntimidatorsBaseball.com and on the TuneIn Radio App. Today's pregame show begins at 6:50 p.m. with first pitch at 7:05 p.m.

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South Atlantic League Stories from May 31, 2014


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