Banks, Litsch burn bright

Sunday, April 09 2006 @ 09:35 AM EDT

Contributed by: Mike Green

Josh Banks and Jesse Litsch threw pitching gems as the farm affiliates went 2-1 on Saturday.

Syracuse 4  Rochester 1  Box score

Josh Banks, Brandon League and Lee Gronkiewicz threw a combined 3 hitter, as the Sky Chiefs clipped the Red Wings.  Banks threw 5 innings, allowing the 3 hits and no walks with 5 strikeouts.  League followed with 3 perfect innings and 2 Ks; his stint included inducing the first batter he faced to hit into a double play with runners on to get out of a jam. Gronk got the save with a perfect ninth.  John-ford Griffin's 2 run homer in the 4th provided the only runs the Sky Chiefs would need, but they put it away with 2 runs in the fifth on an error, 2 singles and a wild pitch. Griffin had 3 hits on the day, while Wayne Lydon reached base 3 times in 5 trips.

New Hampshire @ New Britain ppd., rain

Dunedin 3  Clearwater 1  Box score

Welcome to the Florida State League, Jesse Litsch.  After giving up a first inning homer, Litsch was unhittable for 6.2 innings.  He walked nobody, struck out 8, gave up a ground ball single and retired eight by groundball, two by pop-up and two by flyball.  Milton Tavarez earned the save by pitching a scoreless ninth.  The D'Jays scored all their runs in the sixth inning.  Aaron Mathews led off the inning with a walk, and Robinson Diaz followed with a single.  Ryan Patterson followed with a run-scoring double, and Dustin Majewski capped the inning with a 2-run double. Mathews reached base twice in four plate trips at the top of the lineup.

Lansing 1 @ Southwest Michigan 2, 12 innings  Box score , Lansing State Journal game story

The young Lugnuts had trouble making contact against tough Devil Ray pitching, whiffing 16 times over 12 innings. They could manage only 3 hits, with Sean Shoffit's ground out driving in their only run.  Russ Savickas started, and threw 5.2 innings of 3 hit ball, while walking 2 and striking out 4.  Lefty Jordan Timm and Edward Rodriguez held the Devil Rays for 5.1 innings, surrendering 2 hits each and walking nobody.  In the twelfth inning, Aaron Tressler surrendered the winning run on a walk, a single a Brian Pettway fielding error and a suicide squeeze bunt.

Your 3 star selection

3rd star-Dustin Majewski

2nd star-Josh Banks

1st star- Jesse Litsch

 

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