SAL1 Kannapolis Cannon Ballers

Game Notes: Kannapolis Intimidators (White Sox) vs. Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) - June 11, 2014

Published on June 11, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers News Release


**For Immediate Release** . Media Relations: Josh Feldman | jfeldman@intimidatorsbaseball.com | Tel: 704-932-3267 | Fax: 704-938-7040 | 2888 Moose Rd., Kannapolis, NC 20803 | www.intimidatorsbaseball.com

KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS vs. SAVANNAH SAND GNATS

29-34 (Chicago White Sox)

42-20 (New York Mets)

Wednesday, June 11, 2014 - 7:05 p.m.

CMC-NorthEast Stadium - Kannapolis, N.C.

Game #64 (of 138)

RH Tyler Barnette (2-4, 5.96) vs. RH Robert Gsellman (3-3, 2.84)

Today's Preview: Former Charlotte 49ers pitcher Tyler Barnette takes the mound for the Intimidators (A, White Sox) in the series rubber match against the SAL Southern Division-leading Sand Gnats (A, Mets). Kannapolis is coming off a 3-2 loss on Tuesday in Game 2 of this 3-game series, while Savannah is now in position to clinch the First Half Division crown with a win after second place Asheville lost earlier today in Lexington. This is the last game between Kannapolis and Savannah this season, with each team having won once.

Intimidating Starter: Tyler Barnette, 21, makes his eight start of the season and his fifth in Kannapolis when he faces a Mets affiliate for the first time today. The Hickory, N.C., native is coming off one of his better starts of the season, working 5.0 innings at Asheville and allowing two runs (one earned) in a no decision. The reliever-turned-starter is 2-4 with an 8.80 ERA (29 ER/29.2 IP) in seven starts compared to 0-0 with 0.57 ERA (1 ER/15.2 IP) in six games out of the bullpen. Barnette set a new career-high with seven strikeouts in his May 14 win against Delmarva in the first quality start of this career, tying his career-high with six innings of work. The White Sox selected Barnette in the 14th round of the June 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of UNC Charlotte where he earned Atlantic 10 Freshman of the Year in 2011. Last season during his professional debut, he went 1-4 with a 5.73 ERA in 13 games (six starts) but did not face the Advanced Rookie Kingsport Mets.

Savannah Starter: Robert Gsellman, 22, makes his ninth start of the season and second straight on the road. He is coming off a no decision at Charleston on June 6, allowing four runs on 10 hits over 4.2 innings, after picking up a win against Rome on May 31 in one of three 7.0-inning outings Gsellman has worked this year. He threw a complete game at Lakewood on April 25 in the first game of a doubleheader. This year, he is 2-0 with a 3.75 ERA in four road starts compared to 1-3 with a 1.77 ERA in four starts in Savannah. He made five appearances with Savannah in 2013, going 2-3 with a 3.72 ERA after a late-season promotion from Short-Season Brooklyn, where he was 3-3 with a 2.06 ERA in 12 starts. The Mets drafted Gsellman in the 13th round in June 2011 out of Hawthorn (Calif.) HS.

About Last Night: Robinson Leyer struck out a career-high nine batters over 7.0 scoreless innings, but the Sand Gnats scored three runs over the final two innings to beat the Intimidators, 3-2, Tuesday. Leyer, who took no decision, was perfect through three innings. In the seventh, he fanned two more to surpass his previous career-high of seven strikeouts, set on May 5 against Hickory. Once Leyer left the game, Savannah went to work on the Intimidators' 1-0 lead. Amed Rosario led off the eighth with a triple against Jose Brito, and two batters later, Colton Plaia drove him in with a game-tying single. In the ninth, league batting leader Jeff McNeil drew a leadoff walk and moved to second on a Mazzilli base hit. Two batters later, Jorge Rivero's grounder to shortstop Tyler Shryock brought home the go-ahead run, 2-1. Rosario added an RBI-fielders choice for an insurance run, 3-1. Kannapolis had a chance in the bottom of the ninth to steal the victory. Shryock bounced back with a clutch 2-out single to drive in Christian Stringer and move Hunter Jones from first to third, putting the tying run 90 feet from home. Trey Michalczewski, who extended his career-long hitting streak to 14 games with an eighth-inning single, was called out on strikes to end the game.

Ski Streaks: Trey Michalczewski used an 8th inning single to extend his career-long hitting streak to 14 games, tied with Hickory's Joe Jackson for the longest active hitting streak in the SAL (both streaks started when Kannapolis played Hickory on May 27). Michalczewski is batting .373 (19-51) with 15 RBI 4 HRs, 6 doubles, and a triple during the streak. His has also reached base safely in 16 straight games, setting a new career-long streak.

Losing Late: Kannapolis led through seven innings on Tuesday before eventually falling to the Gnats for the team's first home loss when leading through seven innings this season. The Intimidators are now 18-4 when leading through seven, including 7-1 at home. The game was tied 1-1 through eight innings, and with the loss, Kannapolis is now 1-6 in games tied after eight innings this season (0-2 at home).

Close Calls: The Intimidators are now 11-9 in 20 one-run games this season, tied for the 4th-most one-run games in the SAL this season (West Virginia 7-16, Rome 12-10, and Augusta 11-10). Kannapolis has the fourth-best winning percentage (.550) in one-run games in the league while today's opponent, the Savannah Sand Gnats lead the league at .667 (12-6), including Tuesday night's win.

The Bounty Hunter: Hunter Jones went 2-5 on Tuesday to reach base safely in 15 straight games since May 26, including an 8-game hitting streak from May 26 to June 2. He is now batting .309 (21-68) in his last 18 games after hitting just .071 (2-28) in his first 8 games.

Cloud 9: Robinson Leyer struck out a career-high nine batters over 7.0 scoreless innings on Tuesday, matching his career-long outing set in his previous start at Asheville on June 5. He has had one of the hottest arms in the SAL since mid-April going 4-1 with a 1.59 ERA (10 ER/56.2 IP) in his last 10 starts, the best ERA in the league since April 16. The 7-inning outing by Leyer is his second of the year and fourth by an Intimidators pitcher in 2014 to match a team season-high. He has now made four quality starts including three straight.

Broadcast: This season, all 70 home games as well as 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 June 11, 2014


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