KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Aug. 24, 2017) - White Sox first round pick Jake Burger hit for the cycle through his first four at-bats as the Intimidators topped the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 6-5 in 11 innings, on Thursday night at Intimidators Stadium supported by Carolinas HealthCare System. Burger finished 5-for-5 with a double, a triple,
KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (Aug. 24, 2017) - White Sox first round pick Jake Burger hit for the cycle through his first four at-bats as the Intimidators topped the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 6-5 in 11 innings, on Thursday night at Intimidators Stadium supported by Carolinas HealthCare System. Burger finished 5-for-5 with a double, a triple, a home run, three RBI, and a run scored to lead Kannapolis (26-34 Second Half, 65-63).
With the game tied 5-5 in the bottom of the 11th inning, Blake Rutherford drew a leadoff walk. Burger laid down a bunt between first and second base and legged it out for an infield single - his fifth hit of the game - to move the winning run into scoring position. Gavin Sheets, the White Sox second round pick from this June's draft, followed with a game-winning single up the middle to score Rutherford, igniting a celebration as the Intimidators poured out of the third base dugout and onto the field.
Grant Massey, an Intimidators infielder who took the mound in the ninth inning in relief of a depleted pitching staff, worked 3.0 scoreless frames to earn the win. Massey (1-0) worked around three hits while facing the minimum nine batters during his outing, striking out three batters - including one looking - in just his second professional outing on the mound.
Fellow position players came to Massey's aide behind him. In the ninth inning, Rony Cabrera singled to left field, and Aaron Schnurbusch fired a bullet to second base to throw out the batter attempted to stretch for a double. One batter later, Luis Pintor doubled to the gap in left-center field, where Blake Rutherford threw to cut-off man Zach Remillard who relayed to third base where Jake Burger applied the tag to end the inning. In the 10th, Mitch Roman started a 6-4-3 double play to erase a base hit and end the frame. In the 11th, Massey worked a perfect inning, striking out two.
On August 5, Massey also spun 3.0 scoreless innings in an extra-innings loss at Greensboro. He has now thrown 6.0 shutout frames, working around four hits with three strikeouts and no walks in two relief appearances with Kannapolis.
With the game tied 1- in the third inning, Burger belted a 2-run home run (3) to put the Intimidators ahead. Greensboro rallied with four runs in the fifth inning to reclaim the lead, 5-3, and chase starting pitcher Lane Hobbs from the game.
Burger tripled to score Rutherford in the home half of the fifth inning, pulling Kannapolis within a run, 5-4. In the seventh, Alex Call scored on a wild pitch to tie the game.
In the ninth inning, Burger stepped to the plate 3-for-3 needing a double to complete the cycle. He belted a Chad Smith offering off the wall in field and slowed into second base to become the first Intimidators hitter since 2012 to hit for the cycle. Dating back to 1995, there have now been four cycles in franchise history, including one in the Piedmont Boll Weevils era (1995-2000).
The last Intimidators player to hit for the cycle was Wild Bill Rice, also against Greensboro, on July 15, 2012. Dale Mollenhauer hit the first cycle in the Intimidators era against Lake County on July 3, 2008, and Tom Batson hit for the cycle for the Boll Weevils against Hickory on June 28, 2000.
Kannapolis opens a 4-game series against the Lakewood BlueClaws on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. Friday's game features a Stars & Stripes jersey silent auction, and tickets are available by calling the F&M Bank Box Office at 704-932-3267, or by visiting IntimidatorsBaseball.com.
