Cannon Baller Chronicle: Week Two 

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The Kannapolis Cannon Ballers return home for the second homestand of the season at Atrium Health Ballpark after a trip to Fayetteville to face the Woodpeckers. The Ballers picked up their first win of the season on Saturday night, but were unable to get much more, going 1-5 overall on the trip. Here are some key performances from the trip to Fayetteville:

(all stats are reflective of games from 5/11 to 5/16)

RHP Jerry Burke:

1-0, 0.00 ERA, 5.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

Burke’s second appearance in the Cannon Baller Chronicle is notable in Cannon Baller history books. The Georgetown Hoya tallied the first win in Cannon Ballers history, entering in relief of Andrew Dalquist on Saturday. Burke looked sharp in his five innings of work, keeping the Woodpeckers off the scoreboard despite allowing four hits and two walks.

RHP Tyson Messer:

0-0, 0.00 ERA, 2.2 IP, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K

Messer has not appeared in long relief situations, but the former Campbell Camel has looked unhittable in his short stints of work. Messer appeared twice on the road trip to Fayetteville, giving skipper Guillermo Quiroz a dependable arm out of the bullpen early in the season.

1B/3B/LF A.J. Gill:

.250 AVG, 4 H, 2 R, 2 RBI

Gill continued his hot start to the 2021 season, keeping his season batting average at .292, good for third best on the team. The Division III product leads the team in RBI and is one of five Cannon Ballers with a home run in the first two weeks of the season.

2B/LF/RF Jagger Rusconi:

.250 AVG, 4 H, 2 BB, 2 R, 1 RBI

The former Red Sox farmhand joined the team on May 11 and immediately contributed. Rusconi turned in his best performance as a Cannon Baller on Saturday, going 2-4 with a double and a walk. The California native will continue to contribute while Kannapolis has outfielders Chase Krogman and Caberea Weaver on the Injured List.

LOOKING AHEAD:

05/18-05/23

Columbia Fireflies (T-2nd Low-A East South Division, 6-6)

The Fireflies, Low-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, are coming off a series split with their South Carolina rival Charleston. The Fireflies are no stranger to Low-A baseball, having been the Low-A affiliate of the New York Mets from 2016-2020 before switching to the Royals before the 2021 campaign. They are the first team from the now-defunct South Atlantic League to return to Kannapolis.

Columbia holds three of the top 30 prospects in the Royals system in RHP Ben Hernandez (No.15), SS Brady McConnell (No.20), and OF Darryl Collins (No.23).

Hernandez has appeared twice for the Fireflies, allowing three earned runs and striking out seven in his 6.2 innings of work. The 19-year-old righty is scheduled to pitch Wednesday night against the Ballers. McConnell, a 2nd round pick in 2019 out of Florida, had a breakout night on May 15, going 1-4 with a grand slam in their 19-6 loss to the RiverDogs. Collins appeared in three games against Charleston, notching a triple and two RBIs.

Columbia’s notable source of offense in their series against Charleston was SS Maikel Garcia. The 21-year-old from Venezuela holds an active five-game hit streak and added six RBIs in five appearances against the RiverDogs.

On the mound, lefty A.J. Block has appeared twice and started once for the Fireflies. In his eight innings of work, Block has allowed no earned runs and given up just one hit while tallying a team-high 16 strikeouts. RHP Ismael Aquino has started the season strong for Columbia out of the bullpen, appearing in four games, allowing one hit in 6.1 innings, and striking out eight on his way to a 0.00 ERA.

Fans can purchase tickets for the home series with the Columbia Fireflies 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.