Flying Tigers win third straight as Garrett Pennington homers

Scores, news, and notes from around the Detroit Tigers’ farm system for Wednesday, April 23, 2025.

Toledo Mud Hens 8, Omaha Storm Chasers 4 (box )

Both starters were roughed up on Wednesday, but the Mud Hens offense continued to pour it on while their bullpen slammed the door on the Storm Chasers.

Lefty Dietrich Enns got the start for the home team. Old buddy Hittin’ Harold Castro doubled in a run for Omaha in the first, but Enns quickly got some run support of his own.

Jahmai Jones hit his first homer of the year for the Hens in the second inning to tie things up 1-1, but Enns gave up another run in the top of the third as MJ Melendez doubled and scored on a Brian O’Keefe single. In the bottom of the third, Andrew Navigato doubled in two runs for a 3-2 lead.

The Storm Chasers fought right back and plated two more in the fourth and knocked Enns out of the game, but Sean Guenther shut the door in the fifth and sixth. Brandon Seelinger handled 2 ¹⁄₃ innings comfortably to get them through eight, and by then the Hens had taken over.

In the bottom of the sixth, Ben Gamel reached on an error to lead off the inning and Jones tripled him in. Bligh Madris singled in Jones, and it was 6-4 Hens. In the eighth, Jones was hit by a pitch and then stole second and took third on a wild pitch. Ryan Kreidler singled him in and then went first to third on a Madris single. An Austin Murr sac fly made it 8-4.

Andrew Chafin, back to sitting 90-92 mph, carved up Nick Gordon and Dustin Dickerson in the ninth and got Nick Loftin to fly out to end the game.

Jones: 2-3, 3 R, 2 RBI, 3B, HR, K

Hicklen: 2-4, R, 2B, BB, SB

Enns: 4.2 IP, 4 ER, 7 H, BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: The Hens look to make it three in a row on Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. ET.

Erie SeaWolves 10, Harrisburg Senators 3 (box )

The SeaWolves took down the Senators for the second straight night on Wednesday. Troy Melton had one shaky inning but the offense racked up nine hits and six walks to pull away and win easily.

Melton retired the first six he faced, and in the top of the third, the SeaWolves put together a sustained rally to score three runs. Carlos Mendoza singled in Jim Jarvis. Jake Holton walked and Justice Bigbie singled in Mendoza, while Eliezer Alfonzo knocked in Holton for a 3-0 lead.

Melton got the first out after a long wait in the dugout. However, he gave up a single and then back-to-back doubles. A wild pitch and a sacrifice fly made it a tie ballgame before Melton locked things down. That was the end of his night as the SeaWolves went with a split start between Melton and Austin Bergner. The game settled in to a pretty quiet affair in the fourth and fifth innings.

In the sixth, Chris Meyers singled with one out and Eduardo Valencia doubled him to third. A Jarvis ground out made it 4-3 and a lead the SeaWolves would only keep extending.

Carlos Mendoza cracked a solo shot in the seventh for his first homer of the year and a 5-3 lead. In the eighth, Alfonzo, Meyers, and Valencia all walked to start the inning. Jarvis drilled a sharp single to plate Alfonzo, and Brady Allen cleared the bases with a double. A pair of sac flies moved Allen to third and then home to make it 10-3.

Bergner allowed just two hits in three innings of work before left-handed starter Carlos Pena shut the Senators down for good with three perfect innings and four strikeouts.

Mendoza: 2-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, HR, 2 BB

Jarvis: 2-4, 2 R, 2 RBI

Melton: 3.0 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, BB, 2 K

Pena (S, 1): 3.0 IP, 0 R, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K

Coming Up Next: The SeaWolves will try to make it three in a row on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Dayton Dragons 5, West Michigan Whitecaps 2 (box )

The Dragons evened the series at a game apiece on Wednesday as Kenny Serwa finally had a bit of a rough outing. The knuckleballer was knocked out of the game in the second inning and charged for three earned runs.

The Whitecaps had briefly taken the lead in the top of the second when Luke Gold doubled and Bennett Lee homered. After Serwa’s struggles in the bottom half, in which he gave up a leadoff homer to Yerlin Confidan and then struggled with his command a bit the rest of the inning, the game was 3-2. RHP Marco Jimenez cleaned up the second and looked very good with three punchouts among the four outs he collected.

Unfortunately, Max Alba allowed a run in the fourth and one more in the seventh, and the offense just couldn’t get anything going. Josue Briceño and Brett Callahan, among others, hit the ball hard with nothing to show for it. Their last good scoring opportunity was in the top of the eighth when Luke Gold doubled again and advanced to third on a balk, but there were already two outs, and Peyton Graham struck out to end the inning.

Jordan Marks put together a strong relief outings, striking out the side in the eighth. Max Clark drew a walk in the ninth, but again it came with two outs and the ‘Caps couldn’t capitalize.

Gold: 3-4, R, 2 2B, K

Lee: 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR

Serwa (L, 1-1): 1.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K

Coming Up Next: The two clubs will get back it on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. ET with the series tied at a game apiece.

Lakeland Flying Tigers 5, Bradenton Marauders 2 (box )

This was a pretty well pitched game and the Flying Tigers’ offense took a while to get going. Finally they seized control with a five-run eighth inning to make it two in a row over Bradenton.

Lefty Paul Wilson got the start in a short outing, and his control continues to improve rapidly. He allowed a pair of singles and a walk in his two scoreless innings of work, but he also struck out four along the way. His velocity is also ticking up, and Wilson topped 97 mph in this one while sitting 94-95 mph comfortably. He got whiffs with both his fourseamer and slider along the way.

Chris Williams Jr followed suit with a pair of scoreless frames. Lucas Elissalt took over for a scoreless fifth, but surrendered the first two runs of the game in the sixth. From there, left-hander Ethan Sloan, the Detroit Tigers 8th rounder last summer out of Regis College in Colorado, cruised with three scoreless innings of work with a pair of strikeouts.

The first 10 Flying Tigers hitters went down in order before Bryce Rainer drilled a single with one out in the bottom of the fourth. Franyerber Montilla drew a walk, but Carson Rucker grounded into a double play to end the inning. The offense went quiet again and the next hit was a 105.3 mph line drive single from Montilla in the seventh. Rucker grounded into his second double play of the game to end that inning.

Finally in the eighth, the Marauders turned to Adolfo Oviedo in relief, and Garrett Pennington greeted him with a solo shot to make it a 2-1 Bradenton lead. Nomar Fana followed with a double and Jose De La Cruz and Enderson Delgado singled back-to-back to score Fana and tie the game at 2-2. Patrick Lee flared a third straight single, and Woody Hadeen was hit by a pitch to score David Smith, who pinch ran for De La Cruz. A Rainer sacrifice fly scored Delgado for the shortstop’s first pro RBI, and Montilla followed suit with a deep enough drive to left for Lee to tag and score to make it 5-2.

Pennington: 1-3, R, RBI, HR

Montilla: 1-2, RBI, BB

Sloan (W, 2-2): 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 2 K

Coming Up Next: The Flying Tigers look to make it three straight over Bradenton and four straight overall, at 11:00 a.m. ET on Thursday.