Lou Gehrig Major 'A' Nationals split recent contests

The Lou Gehrig Major "A" baseball game between the Nationals and Athletics had four lead changes but the Nationals ended up on top, 11-7.

Jeremy Recoon got the Athletics going in the bottom of the first inning when he crushed a ball over the center field fence for his third home run of the season.

The Nationals' Casey Davis doubled home a run in the top of the second to tie the game.

Bobby Gonzalez had a bases-loaded double in the bottom of the second to put the Athletics up by three, but again, the Nationals drew even with Tommy Styn's double and singles by Scott Baum, Jake Shine and Adam Hepp.

Mark Lesinski put the A's ahead again with another bases-loaded double, but the Nationals' offense took over from there, highlighted by a Jim Davis double, Mitch Wagner's RBI single, and Shine's first home run of the season.

Brewers 7, Nationals 4

The Brewers got great pitching performances from Ryan Winkler and Kyle Zurak, who combined for 10 strikeouts.

At the plate, Winkler had a single and double and scored twice and Zurak provided excitement with a monstrous three-run homer over the left center field fence in the fourth inning. Josh Sadkin chipped in an RBI double for the Brewers.

The Nationals got on the board when Dom Penna's base hit to left field scored two runs. Adam Hepp's double scored Penna and Jake Shine had an RBI single in the sixth.

'AAA' baseball

Orioles 3, Cubs 2

This was a game with too many good defensive plays that runs were hard to come by.

Ben Wald of the Orioles scored what turned out to be the winning run in the top of the sixth inning on a Brandon Quagliana RBI single.

The Cubs loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth with two outs, however Orioles pitcher Andrew Spitznogle struck out the last batter on a three-balls, two-strike count to end the game in dramatic fashion.

Orioles 12, Red Sox 9

The Orioles led 12-5 going into the bottom of the sixth inning and barely held on to beat the Red Sox.

With four runs already in, two outs and the bases still loaded, it took a great fielding play by Andrew Spitznogle at shortstop to Stephen Frost at first base to end the Red Sox rally.

Solid pitching was turned in by the Orioles' Matt Schwallie and Mike Paolini, who allowed no runs each.

The Red Sox's Tyler Eldridge struck out the first three Orioles batters. Connor Thomas and Taylor Kurtz led the Red Sox offense while Brendan Quagliana's two hits and Mike Shanahan's two-RBI triple led the Orioles.

Minor 'A' softball

Angels 18, Red Sox 3

The Angels' Lexi Mulone was a perfect 6 for 6 at the plate and scored three runs, Ellie Garrity contributed five hits and four runs scored, and Megan Fish had four hits, including a double in the first inning, as the Angels defeated the Red Sox, 18-3, on May 17.

Jamie Zwink and Brianna Reaser also had five hits each and Olivia Faracca and Morgan Simon chipped in four hits apiece. Miranda Fish had three hits and scored three runs.

In the field, Simon, Mulone and Megan Fish teamed up to record three outs on the bases. In the third, Simon fielded a grounder and threw to Mulone at first in time to beat the runner. In the fifth, Megan Fish scooped up a hot shot to short and threw to Simon covering third to get the lead runner. In the sixth, Mulone chased down a grounder and threw to Megan Fish at first to record the second out of the inning.

Kylie Smith and Sydney Hall had outstanding efforts for the Red Sox. The Angels had loaded the bases in the top of the fifth with no outs but were limited to one run in the inning when the pair teamed up to record two outs at the plate. Smith had to react quickly on consecutive plays to field two hard grounders, throwing to Sydney covering home to beat the Angels base runners. Smith also recorded three unassisted outs at first base.

Maribeth Vain and Sydney Sadkin also provided the Red Sox strong defensive play throughout the game. Smith and Hall were each 3 for 3 at the plate, while Vain, Abby Gnozzo, Anna Zuefle, Olivia Sharf, and Jessica Weaver contributed two hits each.

White Sox 18, Diamondbacks 3

On a sweltering Thursday night at Lou Gehrig, the White Sox bats continued to be red-hot.

Amanda Greenwald and Elena Kotrides each scored four runs and Clare Ahern had seven RBIs as the White Sox defeated the Diamondbacks, 18-3. Abby Welch was a perfect 5 for 5 as the White Sox leadoff hitter also scored two runs and added an RBI. Rachel Kieffer and Heather Hurley each scored three runs and played solid defensively for the White Sox.

Julia Gaglio had four hits, scored a run, and turned in a great defensive play at second base to end a Diamondbacks threat in the sixth inning. Kotrides continued her stellar defensive play, with putouts from both the pitcher and shortstop positions. Kieffer, Ahern, Greenwald, and Welch all contributed outstanding defensive plays for the White Sox.

Chelsea Bennett went 3 for 3 with a run scored for the Diamondbacks. Lea Cutler also went 3 for 3 and turned in several great defensive plays. Erin Fabian also stood out defensively for the Diamondbacks and went 2 for 3 with a run scored.

White Sox 10, Royals 7

The White Sox won their third in a row with a come from behind victory over the Royals on Saturday at Lou Gehrig.

After retiring the Royals in the first inning, the White Sox loaded the bases, but failed to score.

The Royals took a 2-0 lead in the second when Emily Trotman hit an RBI single and the Royals again silenced the White Sox bats. The White Sox then held the Royals to one run in the third on stellar defensive play by Amanda Greenwald, Elena Kotrides, Clare Ahern, and Abby Welch.

The White Sox bats' came alive in the bottom half of the inning, scoring five runs with a two-out rally started by Kotrides and ended with runs by Julia Gaglio and Rachel Kieffer.

Neither team could score in the fourth but both teams turned in some outstanding defensive plays. Alexandra Jehle made a great catch of a pop fly to third base for the Royals and Brooke McKinnon and Kendal Rehak made two solid putouts for the White Sox.

The Royals got four runs in the fifth to take a 7-5 lead when Rachel Migliore scored her second run of the game and Trotman collected another RBI. However, the White Sox hit seven straight singles in the bottom half of the fifth inning which led to runs by McKinnon, Shannon McNulty, Rehak, Welch, and Kotrides to take a 10-7 lead. The Royals got their first batter on in the top of the sixth, but back-to-back putouts by McNulty from the pitcher's mound snuffed out the rally and preserved the White Sox victory.

White Sox 22, Angels 13

The White Sox offensive juggernaut continued on Sunday afternoon at Lou Gehrig as they pounded out 36 hits in a 22-13 win over the Angels.

Abby Welch, Kendal Rehak, and Julia Gaglio each scored four runs and Clare Ahern and Amanda Greenwald each had five RBIs to lead the White Sox. Miranda Fish had three hits and scored two runs and Lexi Mulone had four RBIs for the Angels, who made some early defensive plays to keep the game tight at 4-4 after two innings.

Brooke McKinnon led off the third inning with a single and the next seven batters followed with base hits to give the White Sox a five-run third inning and a lead that they would never relinquish.

Shannon McNulty had a key hit and collected the first of her three RBIs on the day. After holding the Angels scoreless in the bottom of the third, the White Sox added five runs in the fourth with Elena Kotrides starting the rally. Kotrides was 6 for 7 at the plate.

The Angels scored in the bottom of the fourth but the White Sox again responded with five runs in the fifth. The Angels rallied for two runs in the bottom of the fifth with Margaret Niederpruem and Miranda Fish scoring and Megan Fish pounding an RBI single.

The White Sox got three insurance runs in the sixth when McKinnon lined an RBI single down the left field line to score Gaglio.

The Angels rallied for six runs in the bottom of the sixth before Rehak fielded a sharp grounder at short and threw to Welch at third for the final out to snuff out the rally.