Schnell Walks off Columbus Again, Cocos Locos Make It Six in a Row

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Schnell Walks off Columbus Again, Cocos Locos Make It Six in a Row

May 31, 2025 - International League (IL)
Rochester Red Wings News Release


Cocos Locos de Rochester looked to extend their winning streak to six games on Saturday night, coming off the back of two-straight walk-off victories. After Columbus jumped up 6-0 early, LF Juan Yepez got things going with his first of two home runs on the night. The rest of Rochester's rally came in the eighth inning thanks to a pair of two-run shots by Yepez and SS J.T. Arruda. RF Nick Schnell said goodnight for the second straight game, this time on a 464-foot solo shot into the Rochester sky.

Valeros de Columbus got the scoring started in the top of the first, with a two-out walk drawn by DH Chase DeLauter. LF Johnathan Rodriguez kept things going with a single through the right side to beat the shift, before RF C.J. Kayfus plopped in a double to left that dropped right in front of two outfielders, scoring DeLauter to make the score 1-0.

Columbus got right back to work in the second inning, this time doing so with no outs. C Dom Nunez led things off with a double to right, followed by an RBI single produced by 2B Milan Tolentino. 3B Christian Cairo then laced a double down the left field line, to give Valeros second and third with nobody down. RHP Adrian Sampson got CF induced a strikeout, but SS Brayan Rocchio responded with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

The Valeros did not let up in the third inning, as Johnathan Rodriguez made a splash, knocking a leadoff home run out to left just off the top of the left fielder's glove. Sampson then settled in and retired the next three Columbus batters in order, leaving the score at 4-0.

The scoring entourage for Columbus continued into the fourth inning, started off by a single to right by 2B Milan Tolentino. A couple batters later, Brayan Rocchio notched his seventh home run of the season on a moon shot sent out to right center field. A groundout ended the top of the frame, but not before Columbus extended their lead to six.

Rochester finally got on the board in the bottom sixth inning. With one out in the inning, LF Juan Yepez belted a line drive down the left field line, sneaking inside the foul pole for his second home run of the season.

Rochester continued their comeback bid in the eighth inning. After a leadoff walk to RF Nick Schnell, Juan Yepez sent a home run deep to left field for his second bomb of the game. C Brady Lindsly singled to keep the Wings rolling, and J.T. Arruda sent the first pitch he saw over the center field wall to cut the lead to one. 3B Brady House and 1B Andrés Chaparro hit back-to-back doubles with two outs to complete the comeback and tie the game heading into the final frame.

Nick Schnell wasted no time leading off the bottom of the ninth in a tie game. On the first pitch he saw, Schnell sent the ball 464 feet over the right field wall for the walk-off home run. This marked the second straight game Schnell walked off the Veleros, after hitting a two-run double for the win in Friday's matchup. 464 feet is the farthest home run in the International League this season.

RHP Adrian Sampson started the game on the mound for Rochester. Through 4.0 innings, Sampson allowed six earned runs on eight hits and struck out three batters. RHP Jack Sinclair came in for two innings of relief, striking out four hitters without allowing a run. RHP Todd Peterson pitched the seventh for Rochester, a perfect 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. LHP Konnor Pilkington followed with his own perfect inning in the eighth. With the game tied in the ninth, the Cocos Locos counted on RHP Patrick Weigel. After the first batter struck out, the Veleros showed life with a base hit to left field. Weigel then struck out the next two Columbus batters to keep the game tied.

RF Nick Schnell is your Player of the Game for the second straight night, as he launched a bomb into the night sky to end it in the bottom of the ninth inning, his second straight walk-off hit, the first Red Wing to do so in back-to-back games since at least 2004. Schnell finished 1-for-4 with a walk to go along with his 464-foot homer, the longest by any International League player this season.

Rochester looks to make it seven in a row and sweep the series against Columbus tomorrow. RHP Chase Solesky gets the ball for Rochester tomorrow and will face southpaw Joey Cantillo. First pitch will be at 1:05 ET back at Innovative Field.

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