Happy Opening Day! Triple-A Omaha opened their season on March 29 but the rest of the Royals full-season affiliates got underway on Friday. With all four affiliates underway, there were plenty of notable performances on the day. Here’s a recap of the action:
Omaha Storm Chasers
Final: Omaha 5, Columbus 8
Tonight’s game was started by Andrew Hoffmann. Hoffmann was sharp through the first three innings, allowing zero hits and striking out four. Then, in the top of the fourth, the Omaha offense got rolling. Drew Waters, Devin Mann, and Nate Eaton all brought in runs to give the Storm Chasers a 5-0 lead entering the home fourth. Unfortunately, Hoffmann’s dominance quickly ended. He wasn’t able to escape the fourth inning, allowing five runs to score in the inning.
Tyler Duffey pitched in relief, allowing a sixth run to score in the fourth inning. He pitched two full on the night allowing just the one run and striking out two. Jacob Wallace pitched the sixth inning allowing Columbus to score two more runs and take the lead, 8-5. That’s where the game would finish. Omaha drops to 4-5 on the season. Reliever Tyler Duffey was charged with the loss.
Northwest Arkansas Naturals
Final: Northwest Arkansas 4, Tulsa 6
The Naturals sent LHP Noah Cameron to the mound to open their season. He was sharp early on and needed just six pitches to escape the first inning unscathed. He allowed one run to score in the second inning on a sacrifice fly but was otherwise solid on the night. Cameron wasn’t quite as dominant as we’ve seen him be at times in the past and finished his night just short of a quality start.
The Naturals tied the game in the home third on a home run by catcher Rodolfo Durán. That tied the game at one but the Drillers chipped back the very next half-inning. Noah Cameron walked two Tulsa batters in the inning and allowed three hits, resulting in two more runs for the Drillers. After a relatively quiet night from the offense, the Naturals finally broke through in the bottom of the ninth. First baseman Dillan Shrum doubled home Cayden Wallace to score a run. Immediately after, outfielder Diego Hernandez doubled home Gavin Cross and Dillan Shrum to trim the Drillers’ lead to just two. That’s where the lead would finish, as the Naturals fell just short.
Quad Cities River Bandits
Final: Quad Cities 1, South Bend 3
Shawnee Mission, Kansas native, Ben Kudrna, got the Opening Day start for the River Bandits. It was a bumpy first start for Kudrna. He averaged more than 20 pitches per inning over his first three innings of work. South Bend got a home run in the first to take the lead, then added a second run in the top of the third inning against Kudrna. In all, he pitched 3.2 innings on the night allowing three hits and two earned runs. He struck out four but walked three in the process.
It was a relatively quiet night for the Quad Cities offense. Drew Gray allowed just one hit over three innings of work. The Bandits scattered two more hits across the first five innings but struggled greatly with strikeouts. The Cubs struck out 13 River Bandit hitters. OF Carson Roccaforte finally broke through, bringing in Quad Cities’ only run on the night with an RBI double in the ninth.
Columbia Fireflies
Final: Columbia 1, Augusta 2
In the best pitching performance of the night, Columbia sent Mauricio Veliz to the mound in their Opening Day matchup against the Braves Low-A affiliate, Augusta. Veliz allowed one unearned run to score in the home half of the third. Another unearned run came across in the home fifth, but Veliz was otherwise outstanding. The Fireflies got their lone run on the night across in the top of the fourth inning. Infielder Jhonny Perdomo — the Designated Hitter on the night — poked a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring right-fielder Erick Peña.
The Green Jackets got their second run across in the home fifth on a fielding error by catcher Blake Mitchell. That made the score 2-1, which it would remain for the rest of the game. Jacob Widener was strong over his two innings of work, allowing just one hit and striking out five Green Jackets hitters.
Top Performers
- RHP Mauricio Veliz (A): 5.0 IP, 3H, 0 ER, 2 BB, 9 SO
- LHP Jacob Widener (A): 2.0 IP, 1H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 SO
- RF Drew Waters (AAA): 2/4
- LF Nate Eaton (AAA): 2/4, 2 RBI
- C Brian O’Keefe (AAA): 2/4, 2 2B, 2 RBI
Farm to Fountains Top 10 Prospects today:
Carson Roccaforte (2): 1/5, 2B, 2K
Tyler Gentry (3): 0/4, 3K
Cayden Wallace (4): 0/3
Blake Mitchell (5): 0/4, 3K
Ben Kudrna (6): 3.2IP, 3H, 2ER, 3BB, 4 SO
Javier Vaz (7): 1/4, K, OF Assist
Noah Cameron (9): 4.2IP, 4H, 2ER, 4BB, 5 SO