Chris Rusin tossed a complete-game five-hitter as Iowa blanked Omaha, 2-0, Monday afternoon in the last of four meetings at Principal Park. The Storm Chasers dropped three of four in the series to slip to 30-38 and 3 1/2 games behind Memphis in the American Conference North Division as they await the outcome of the Redbirds series finale tonight in Albuquerque.

Rusin allowed singles to Adam Moore and Willy Taveras to open the third inning but retired the next three hitters without the runners advancing. The left-hander stranded Johnny Giavotella at third base in the fourth and then did not allow another runner to advance past first base. He walked one and struck out eight in finishing off his first career complete-game shutout in 94 minor league starts. [Read more...]

Eddie McKiernan was fantastic in a spot start, and the Saltdogs (18-13) exploded for eight runs in the sixth to run away with a 10-2 victory over the Sioux City Explorers (13-17) in front of 2,793 fans at Haymarket Park Monday night.

McKiernan (5-1) was named the starter in the late afternoon after the league’s strikeout leader Joe Bisenius (who was scheduled to pitch) had his contract purchased by the Atlanta Braves. McKiernan went six strong, allowing just one earned on five hits while striking out eight and walking one to earn the win.

Lincoln busted open a 2-2 tie with eight runs on seven hits in the bottom of the sixth, highlighted by a Daniel Carroll two-run single and a Matt Forgatch two-run double. [Read more...]

Trey Porter delivered a go-ahead, two-run single in the eighth inning Monday, carrying Mississippi State over Indiana 5-4 in the College World Series.

The Bulldogs were trailing 3-2 in the eighth when they struck for three runs off Hoosiers reliever Ryan Halstead. Henderson’s one-out single sent Brett Pirtle (3-for-5) home with the equalizer and Porter later added a two-out hit, chasing home Henderson and Wes Rea with the key tallies. [Read more...]

Ben Wetzler’s 6 1/3 solid innings Monday staked Oregon State to an 11-4 win over Louisville, eliminating the Cardinals from the College World Series.

Wetzler yielded three runs on eight hits with six strikeouts for the Beavers, who advanced to take on Indiana in a Wednesday elimination match-up.  Max Gordon and Dylan Davis each provided two RBI for Oregon State, which was leading 3-0 before breaking the game open with seven runs in the fourth. [Read more...]

Yordano Ventura tossed five solid innings to earn his first Triple-A win and the bullpen provided four scoreless innings in relief to preserve Omaha’s 3-1 decision over Iowa Sunday afternoon in the third of a four-game set at Principal Park. The Storm Chasers improved to 30-37 and moved to within 3 1/2 games of Memphis in the American Conference North Division, pending the outcome of the Redbirds game later tonight in Albuquerque.

Edwin Maysonet’s solo home run staked the Cubs to a 1-0 lead in the first inning and was the only dent against the hard-throwing Omaha right-hander. The Storm Chasers countered with a Brett Hayes solo blast, his seventh home run of the year and first against a team other than Nashville, that got the game even in the third. [Read more...]