Braves, Twins advance

Published 12:03 am Saturday, June 2, 2012

D’Backs’ B.J. Anderson knocks a single to left field during his team’s game against the Twins Thursday night. The Twins beat the D’Backs 13-4, and will play the Braves in the semifinals of the end of the season tournament Monday night. | Andrew Garner/Star-News

The Braves and Twins picked up wins at the 11-to-12-year-old end-of-the-season Cal Ripken baseball tournament on Thursday night at Johnson Park.

The Braves topped the Yankees 8-6, while the Twins pulled away late to beat the D’Backs 13-4 in four innings.

Braves 8, Yankees 6

H. Nichols went 3-for-4 with two singles, a double and one RBI to lead the Braves in the win. M. Schulz went 2-for-4 with two singles; and P. Grooms went 2-for-3 with two singles. A. Smith went 1-for-4 with one single.

The Braves scored one run in the first inning, five runs in the second, and added two runs in the seventh to get the win.

Meanwhile, the Yankees scored two runs each in the first and third innings, and tied the game in the fifth at 6-6.

J. Peeples went 1-for-2 with a single; C. Matrullo went 1-for-4 with a double and an RBI; G. Morgan went 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI; and J. Ziglar went 1-for-4 with a double for the Yankees.

Twins 13, D’Backs 4

The Twins scored two runs in the first inning, and two runs in the second inning to take a 4-2 lead.

Tyler Ward and C. Davis scored one run each; Ethan Wilson and C. Cain scored two runs each; D. Sasser and D. Courson scored three runs each; and J.P. Thompson scored four runs to lead the Twins.

Cain went 2-for-2 with two singles.

For the D’Backs, William Strong went 1-for-2 with a double.

The D’Backs scored one run in the first inning to cut the Twins’ early 2-0 lead, and added one run in the second and two runs in the third inning in the loss.

Strong scored two runs, and B.J. Anderson and Will Black had one run each. Anderson hit an RBI single in the first inning.

Tournament action will resume on Monday at 5:30 p.m. on Field No. 1.

The Indians will face the Pirates in the first game, and the Braves will face the Twins in the night cap at 7:30.