White Sox Minor League Update: April 19, 2025
A close victory kept the Barons at the top of Southern League North
Nashville Sounds 10, Charlotte Knights 4 (Gameday box) (Statcast box)
There’s no way to sugar-coat Charlotte’s uneventful loss. Although the lineup only struck out four times, Charlotte simply didn’t generate enough scoring opportunities. Solo shots from Bobby Dalbec, Travis Jankowski, and Tim Elko (someone please call this man up to replace Andrew Vaughn), and an RBI ground out from Bryan Ramos made up the only scoring plays. The Knights had a chance to tally a few runs during the first inning with the bases loaded and one out, but they came up empty.
Owen White left the Knights in a rough spot when he departed. He gave up seven earned runs off nine hits, two of which were home runs. Although he fanned six, he gave Nashville plenty of room for error as the Knights struggled to rally runs throughout the game.
Birmingham Barons 6, Biloxi Shuckers 5 (Gameday box)
Birmingham pulled off an efficient win, using every one of their one of their seven hits to get there. They got some help from Biloxi’s starter Abdiel Mendoza making a throwing error to score their first two runs, but the rest was all thanks to the hitters. An eventful fifth inning carried the Barons through the rest of the game, with William Bergolla’s two-run double immediately followed by a Wilfred Veras two-run home run. Even though half the lineup was cold, the Barons made do with what they had.
Riley Gowens put a lot of pressure on the bullpen. He didn’t finish a full inning, allowing four hits, four earned runs, and three walks off merely 35 pitches. Fortunately, the relief pitchers rung up nine batters and only allowed three hits and an earned run over 8 1⁄3 innings. Given the shaky start, Birmingham’s bullpen should be getting a standing ovation.
Greenville Drive 10, Winston-Salem Dash 9 (12 innings) (Gameday box)
Well, at least the Dash won in a thrilling match that went into extras. No one had a breakout night, but the lineup’s bats were popping, putting 14 hitters in scoring position. Winston-Salem’s five-run third inning off nothing more and nothing less than moving runners along the bases put the pressure on Greenville. Jeral Perez’s two-run shot to center field cushioned the lead, but it didn’t last long.
Galveston quickly responded with a five-run inning of their own off a balk that brought in a run, two-run double, and RBI single, and another two-run double. The Drive tied the game in the eighth, sending everyone into extras. While Winston-Salem stayed strong through the 10th, but Jake Peppers gave up the tying run in the 11th with a wild pitch and a walk-off single, costing the Dash their third loss to Greenville.
Kannapolis Cannon Ballers 14, Columbia Fireflies 4 (Gameday box)
Nearly every Cannon Baller contributed something valuable to Kannapolis’ blowout win. Outside of the seventh inning, Kannpolis scored a run in every frame, using almost every method one could think of: home run, ground out, throwing error, wild pitch, along with plenty of base hits. It’s hard to boil down all the action into a few sentences, so it’s best just to watch for yourself.
Pitching-wise, things were less impressive. Starter Luis Reyes pitched five full innings, but he gave up three earned runs and two home runs. Jack Young also didn’t get out of his outing easily. He gave up an earned run, walk, and hit in one inning, striking out three. In the end, though, the pitching crew did its job.