June 30, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Cup of Coffee: Early fires six no-hit innings; Campbell and Tibbs play first base
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The Red Sox tried a new approach to help out the struggling Tanner Houck, but the results did not improve. Jovani Moran worked a spotless inning as the opener, and then Houck came in to start the second. He kept the RailRiders off the board for his first two innings, but he gave up two home runs in the fourth. In all, he allowed four runs on seven hits over 3 2/3, walking one and striking out three. A double off the bat of Vaughn Grissom and a single from Corey Rosier were Worcester’s only two hits. Kristian Campbell went 0 for 2 with two walks while playing first base for the third time in a week.
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The Sea Dogs took a no-hitter into the eighth as they snapped a four-game losing streak. Connelly Early improved to 6-1 as he fired six shutout frames with three walks and seven strikeouts. Jeremy Wu-Yelland kept the no-no alive through the seventh, but allowed a leadoff single in the eighth. Christopher Troye earned the save by recording the final four outs via strikeout. A solo home run from Max Ferguson opened the scoring, and Allan Castro added an RBI single as part of a 3-for-4 day. Mikey Romero went 3 for 5 with a stolen base, and James Tibbs III went 1 for 4 with a walk and made his professional debut at first base.
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Greenville Drive @ Rome Emperors (ATL), PPD (rain)
The series finale got postponed, and it will be made up in August when Rome visits Greenville.
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Salem got one-hit in the first game of the day. A single by Fraymi De Leon and a walk by Justin Gonzales was all the offense for the day. Both players added steals but never made it past second base. Luis Cohen cruised through his first four innings, but was visited by a trainer in the fifth and then came out of the game a batter later. Both runners he left on base came around to score, as he was charged with two runs over four innings with two walks and seven strikeouts. Joe Vogatsky was excellent as he struck out the side in the seventh.
After a non-descript first inning, things snowballed for Griffin Kilander in the second. Five singles, a walk, and a hit by pitch brought in four runs and loaded the bases. Jay Allmer came on in relief and allowed a grand slam that put the game out of reach early. The offense was quiet again, with Gonzales leading the way, going 1 for 3 with a double. A single by Andruw Musett accounted for Salem’s only other baserunner.
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Player of the Day: Six no-hit innings from Connelly Early made him the clear choice on Sunday. His ERA dropped to 1.94, and he now has 81 strikeouts in 55 2/3 innings. The start punctuated an outstanding June for Early as he pitched to a 1.64 ERA with 26 strikeouts in 22 innings. The 23-year-old from the University of Virginia has his eyes set on Worcester, and he is just shy of hitting 100 career innings in Double-A.
Photo Credit: Connelly Early by Kelly O’Connor