ABA ROOKIE LEAGUE
JACKSONVILLE NATIONALS AT RIVERSIDE WOLVERINES
04/07/2026
 
ABA ROOKIE LEAGUE
JACKSONVILLE NATIONALS AT RIVERSIDE WOLVERINES
GAME ID: 5002 - TUESDAY, APRIL 7TH , 2026 - GAME LOG
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Jacksonville Nationals (1-0) 2 0 1 11 4 3 0 3 0 24 25 0
Riverside Wolverines (0-1) 3 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 7 0
Great Day for Higgins -- 7 Hits
It doesn't happen very often, but it did for Matt Higgins -- a 7-hit effort. He went on a rampage at Wolverines Ballpark and paced the 24-5 Nationals win over the Riverside Wolverines.

After his dynamite batting performance, the Jacksonville second baseman told reporters that he "just tried to get in a good count and have a good at-bat. That's all I can control."

His philosophy paid dividends today. He slammed 7 hits in 7 tries and put his name in the record book. Matt Higgins singled in the 1st, doubled in the 3rd, hit an RBI single in the 4th, hit a solo-shot off Armando Rivera in the 5th, singled in the 6th, doubled in the 8th and singled in the 9th.

JACKSONVILLE BATTING LINESCORE RIVERSIDE BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
M. Higgins 2B 7 6 7 2 0 0 0 1.000 1 2
K. Bates RF 7 4 4 5 0 1 3 .571 1 5
B. McFarland SS 6 1 4 6 0 0 1 .667 1 6
D. Skiba 1B 3 2 0 0 2 1 2 .000 0 0
   a-J. Feliciano PH, 1B 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
O. Naranjo C 5 3 2 4 1 1 1 .400 1 4
J. Roberts CF 5 2 2 0 0 1 3 .400 0 0
Y. Hirata DH 5 2 2 1 1 3 2 .400 0 1
C. Toledo LF 6 2 2 4 0 2 1 .333 1 4
J. Unknown 3B 6 2 2 0 0 0 3 .333 0 0
Totals 50 24 25 22 4 9 16      
a - J. Feliciano pinch hit for D. Skiba in the 8th

BATTING
Doubles: M. Higgins 2 (2, 3rd Inning off R. Neely, 0 on, 1 out; 8th Inning off M. Esparza, 1 on, 0 outs) , B. McFarland (1, 4th Inning off R. Diaz, 3 on, 1 out) , K. Bates 2 (2, 5th Inning off A. Rivera, 0 on, 0 outs; 6th Inning off M. Esparza, 2 on, 0 outs) , Y. Hirata (1, 5th Inning off M. Esparza, 0 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: B. McFarland (1, 1st Inning off R. Neely, 1 on, 1 out) , C. Toledo (1, 4th Inning off R. Diaz, 2 on, 2 outs) , M. Higgins (1, 5th Inning off A. Rivera, 0 on, 0 outs) , O. Naranjo (1, 5th Inning off A. Rivera, 2 on, 1 out) , K. Bates (1, 8th Inning off M. Esparza, 2 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: M. Higgins 12 , K. Bates 9 , B. McFarland 8 , O. Naranjo 5 , J. Roberts 2 , Y. Hirata 3 , C. Toledo 5 , J. Unknown 2
2-out RBI: B. McFarland , Y. Hirata , C. Toledo
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: Y. Hirata , C. Toledo
GIDP: D. Skiba
Sac Bunt: J. Roberts
Hit by Pitch: J. Feliciano
Team LOB: 5

BASERUNNING
CS: J. Roberts (1)

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Unknown-Higgins-Skiba)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
T. Cantu 2B 5 1 2 1 0 0 2 .400 1 1
B. Tedder 1B 2 2 1 0 1 0 0 .500 0 0
   a-M. Esquibel PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0
   c-A. Ryan LF, RF 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 .000 0 0
S. Robinson LF 1 2 0 0 2 0 0 .000 0 0
   b-J. Rodriquez PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .000 0 0
   d-I. Martinez 1B, LF 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
   f-R. Gribble PH 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 .000 0 0
D. Stainbrook C 2 0 0 0 2 0 0 .000 0 0
S. Taylor 3B 3 0 1 1 0 0 2 .333 0 1
   e-D. Espinoza PH, 3B 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 0 0
B. Irwin DH 4 0 1 1 0 1 2 .250 0 1
M. Laur RF, 1B 4 0 0 0 0 2 3 .000 0 0
M. Blankenship CF 3 0 0 0 1 1 2 .000 0 0
C. Cordero SS 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 .500 0 0
Totals 33 5 7 3 6 7 15      
a - M. Esquibel pinch hit for B. Tedder in the 7th
b - J. Rodriquez pinch hit for S. Robinson in the 7th
c - A. Ryan substituted for M. Esquibel in the 8th
d - I. Martinez substituted for J. Rodriquez in the 8th
e - D. Espinoza pinch hit for S. Taylor in the 8th
f - R. Gribble pinch hit for I. Martinez in the 9th

BATTING
Doubles: B. Irwin (1, 1st Inning off A. Mendez, 1 on, 2 outs) , T. Cantu (1, 9th Inning off B. Acosta, 1 on, 1 out)
Home Runs: T. Cantu (1, 1st Inning off A. Mendez, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: T. Cantu 6 , B. Tedder , S. Taylor , B. Irwin 2 , C. Cordero 2
2-out RBI: B. Irwin
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: T. Cantu , R. Gribble , M. Laur , M. Blankenship
GIDP: S. Taylor
Team LOB: 7

FIELDING
Double Plays: 1 (Cordero-Cantu-Tedder)
JACKSONVILLE PITCHING LINESCORE RIVERSIDE PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI ERA   
A. Mendez 3.0 4 5 5 5 2 1 82 15.00   
B. Acosta W (1-0) 6.0 3 0 0 1 5 0 88 0.00   
PITCHING
Game Score: A. Mendez 26
Batters Faced: A. Mendez 17, B. Acosta 22
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: A. Mendez 5-1, B. Acosta 6-7
Pitches - Strikes: A. Mendez 82-44, B. Acosta 88-54
WP: A. Mendez
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI ERA   
R. Neely L (0-1) 3.1 8 8 8 1 2 1 64 21.60   
R. Diaz 0.1 4 6 6 2 0 1 31 162.00   
A. Rivera 0.2 3 4 4 1 0 2 17 54.00   
M. Esparza 2.2 8 6 6 0 3 1 46 20.25   
T. Hernandez 2.0 2 0 0 0 4 0 40 0.00   
PITCHING
Game Score: R. Neely 11
Batters Faced: R. Neely 19, R. Diaz 7, A. Rivera 6, M. Esparza 15, T. Hernandez 9
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: R. Neely 5-3, R. Diaz 1-0, A. Rivera 2-0, M. Esparza 4-0, T. Hernandez 0-2
Pitches - Strikes: R. Neely 64-42, R. Diaz 31-15, A. Rivera 17-10, M. Esparza 46-31, T. Hernandez 40-28
Inherited Runners - Scored: R. Diaz 3-3
WP: R. Diaz
Hit Batsmen: T. Hernandez
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Matt Higgins
Ballpark: Wolverines Ballpark
Weather: Partly Cloudy (48 degrees), wind blowing out to center at 11 mph
Start Time: 2:05 PM PT
Time: 4:10
Attendance: 10847
Special Notes: Matt Higgins ties the JAC regular season game record for runs with 5. Matt Higgins ties the JAC regular season game record for hits with 6. Matt Higgins ties the SC regular season game record for runs with 6. Matt Higgins ties the SC regular season game record for hits with 7.
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