Kannapolis Comes Up Short In Sunday Afternoon Battle With Mudcats

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Two home runs and three multi-hit outings for Ballers batters provided offense, but Kannapolis failed to clinch the series victory, falling 6-2 to the Carolina Mudcats on Sunday afternoon at Atrium Health Ballpark.

LHP Bailey Horn (L, 0-2) got his second start of the series on Sunday for the Ballers. The southpaw from Auburn did not recieve much help behind him, despite having a quality outing on the mound. Horn delivered four innings, allowing two hits and three runs, all unearned, while walking two and striking out four. RHP Jesus Valles entered in relief in the fifth inning, going three innings, allowing three hits and one run, while striking out one.

Carolina opened the scoring in the top of the third inning off a Felix Valerio RBI double that allowed Gabe Holt and Freddy Zamora to cross the plate, giving the Mudcats a 2-0 advantage. Later in the inning, after Ernesto Martinez stole second base, Valerio used the opportunity to score from third, expanding the Carolina lead to 3-0.

Jose Rodriguez ensured the lead would not be out of reach in the bottom of the third, leading off the inning with his fifth home run of the season. The solo shot to left field made it a 3-1 deficit for Kannapolis.

Valerio continued his hot hitting ways for the Mudcats with a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning. The 20-year-old from the Dominican Republic tallied his third RBI of the game to grow the Carolina lead to 4-1.

Yet another home run kept the Ballers in the ballgame in the bottom of the sixth inning. The 418-foot shot from Chase Krogman that landed in the right field bar area cut the lead to 4-2, advantage Mudcats.

Andre Nnebe used a chance in the top of the eighth with runners on to add insurance runs, capitalizing with an RBI single off RHP Marcus Evey, scoring Martinez and Joey Wiemer to make it a 6-2 lead for Carolina.

RHP Nick Belzer (W, 1-2) got the start for the Mudcats on the bump. The Iowa native fired six innings, allowing seven hits and two runs while striking out two and walking two. RHP Abner Uribe entered in the final two innings, sealing the victory for Carolina with two innings of shutout baseball, allowing one hit and striking out three despite giving up four walks.

The Cannon Ballers will recover from the series split with the Carolina Mudcats on Monday before heading out to Kinston, N.C. for a six-game series with the Down East Wood Ducks, Low-A East affiliate of the Texas Rangers. Kannapolis returns home on Tuesday, June 22 to begin a series with the Fayetteville Woodpeckers, Low-A East affiliate of the Houston Astros.

Tickets can be purchased for any of the remaining home games at kcballers.com or at the F&M Bank Box Office located at Atrium Health Ballpark. Fans can also keep up with the action while the Ballers is on the road on the team’s social media outlets, with live in-game updates being provided on Twitter @kcannonballers.