ABA ROOKIE LEAGUE
JACKSONVILLE NATIONALS AT FT. WAYNE EARTHQUAKES
08/23/2025
 
ABA ROOKIE LEAGUE
JACKSONVILLE NATIONALS AT FT. WAYNE EARTHQUAKES
GAME ID: 9366 - SATURDAY, AUGUST 23RD , 2025 - GAME LOG
  1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Jacksonville Nationals (95-30) 3 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 4 10 1
Ft. Wayne Earthquakes (103-22) 1 0 2 0 0 3 2 0 X 8 6 0
Earthquakes Win Another One, 8-4
The Ft. Wayne Earthquakes defeated the Jacksonville Nationals, 8-4, in part because of shortstop Jose Valdez. Valdez went 3-4 with a triple and 2 doubles. He drove in 4 runs and scored once for the Earthquakes. Ft. Wayne reliever Mario Manrique picked up the win, upping his record to 6-1. Danny Espinoza was saddled with the loss. The 103-22 Earthquakes have won 12 games in a row.

The Earthquakes got a big hit from designated hitter Gary O'Connell. In the bottom of the sixth, O'Connell smacked a 3-run home run off Jacksonville pitcher Danny Espinoza. It was his 18th home run of the season. Suddenly, the Earthquakes were ahead, 6-4.

"The guys come to the ballpark ready," said Earthquakes manager Du-sung Moon. "They're going out there and doing the simple things right."
JACKSONVILLE BATTING LINESCORE FT. WAYNE BATTING LINESCORE
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
J. Johnson SS 4 1 3 1 0 0 0 .394 19 47
M. Higgins 3B 3 1 2 0 1 0 1 .425 26 100
G. Ippolito RF 4 0 0 0 0 3 4 .364 37 150
D. Skiba 1B 4 2 2 1 0 0 0 .419 35 146
T. Johnson CF 4 0 1 1 0 1 0 .357 21 77
B. McFarland 2B 4 0 2 1 0 0 0 .496 25 93
C. Tomlinson DH 4 0 0 0 0 1 3 .431 22 78
E. Cannova LF 4 0 0 0 0 1 2 .418 9 47
O. Naranjo C 4 0 0 0 0 2 0 .284 9 60
Totals 35 4 10 4 1 8 10      
BATTING
Doubles: D. Skiba (65, 1st Inning off K. Phillips, 1 on, 1 out) , J. Johnson (26, 7th Inning off R. Vermillion, 0 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: J. Johnson (19, 1st Inning off K. Phillips, 0 on, 0 outs) , D. Skiba (35, 6th Inning off M. Manrique, 0 on, 0 outs)
Total Bases: J. Johnson 7 , M. Higgins 2 , D. Skiba 6 , T. Johnson , B. McFarland 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: G. Ippolito , E. Cannova
GIDP: M. Higgins , C. Tomlinson
Team LOB: 5

FIELDING
Errors: D. Skiba (8)
Double Plays: 1 (Higgins-McFarland-Skiba)
Player AB R H RBI BB K LOB AVG HR RBI
T. Nelson 3B 3 1 0 0 1 0 1 .430 22 67
C. Koerner C 4 2 2 1 0 0 1 .484 74 180
E. Perez RF 3 1 0 0 1 1 2 .337 19 70
J. Valdez SS 4 1 3 4 0 0 0 .470 39 140
C. Rodriguez 2B 3 1 0 0 1 2 2 .393 17 69
G. O'Connell DH 3 1 1 3 1 0 0 .371 18 88
V. Lara LF 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 .362 15 80
N. Cordova 1B 4 0 0 0 0 0 2 .343 19 93
H. Hilali CF 2 1 0 0 1 1 0 .365 10 49
Totals 30 8 6 8 5 4 9      
BATTING
Doubles: J. Valdez 2 (65, 3rd Inning off E. Southey, 2 on, 2 outs; 6th Inning off E. Southey, 0 on, 1 out)
Triples: J. Valdez (18, 7th Inning off C. Kelley, 2 on, 2 outs)
Home Runs: C. Koerner (74, 1st Inning off E. Southey, 0 on, 1 out) , G. O'Connell (18, 6th Inning off D. Espinoza, 2 on, 1 out)
Total Bases: C. Koerner 5 , J. Valdez 7 , G. O'Connell 4
2-out RBI: , J. Valdez 2
Runners left in scoring position, 2 outs: , C. Rodriguez 2
GIDP: N. Cordova
Team LOB: 3

FIELDING
Double Plays: 2 (Valdez-Rodriguez-Cordova, Rodriguez-Valdez-Cordova)
JACKSONVILLE PITCHING LINESCORE FT. WAYNE PITCHING LINESCORE
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI ERA   
E. Southey 5.1 4 4 4 1 3 1 76 6.13   
D. Espinoza L (0-2), BS (3) 1.1 1 4 4 3 1 1 38 7.11   
C. Kelley 1.1 1 0 0 1 0 0 17 3.06   
PITCHING
Game Score: E. Southey 46
Batters Faced: E. Southey 22, D. Espinoza 8, C. Kelley 5
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: E. Southey 4-9, D. Espinoza 1-2, C. Kelley 2-1
Pitches - Strikes: E. Southey 76-50, D. Espinoza 38-19, C. Kelley 17-10
Inherited Runners - Scored: D. Espinoza 1-1 , C. Kelley 2-2
Player IP H R ER BB K HR PI ERA   
K. Phillips 4.2 8 3 3 0 2 1 76 3.29   
M. Manrique W (6-1) 2.0 1 1 1 0 2 1 30 6.20   
R. Vermillion H (11) 0.1 1 0 0 1 1 0 16 4.15   
R. LeCain 2.0 0 0 0 0 3 0 29 5.91   
PITCHING
Game Score: K. Phillips 38
Batters Faced: K. Phillips 20, M. Manrique 7, R. Vermillion 3, R. LeCain 6
Ground Outs - Fly Outs: K. Phillips 3-7, M. Manrique 3-1, R. Vermillion 0-0, R. LeCain 1-2
Pitches - Strikes: K. Phillips 76-51, M. Manrique 30-19, R. Vermillion 16-9, R. LeCain 29-22
Inherited Runners - Scored: M. Manrique 1-0
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Jose Valdez
Ballpark: Earthquakes Stadium
Weather: Partly Cloudy (78 degrees), wind blowing in from center at 7 mph
Start Time: 1:05 PM ET
Time: 3:22
Attendance: 11365
Friday, February 27th , 2026 - OOTP Baseball 26.8 Build 82