Columbus Clippers rout Durham to win Class AAA International League title: Minor League Report

Jason Kipnis hits for the cycle as the Clippers win their eighth International League championship and first since 1996. The Clippers win the best-of-five series, 3-1.

AAA Columbus Clippers

Clippers 13, Bulls 2 Columbus DH Jason Kipnis hit for the cycle, and the Clippers beat host Durham, N.C., on Friday to the win their eighth International League championship and first since 1996.

The Clippers won the best-of-five series, 3-1.

Left fielder Jerad Head went 4-for-4 with two doubles, four runs scored and two RBI.

Righty Paolo Espino started for Columbus and pitched six innings. He allowed two earned runs on nine hits and two walks while striking out five.

A Lake County Captains

Late Thursday: LumberKings, 8, Captains 7 (18) Lake County third baseman Adam Abraham let a groundball through his legs in the bottom of the 18th inning Thursday as the winning run scored, and host Clinton (Iowa) evened the best-of-five Midwest League championship series at 1.

Captains center fielder Delvi Cid hit a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to tie the game, 6-6. In the 12th inning, Captains catcher Roberto Perez hit a solo home run to give Lake County a 7-6 lead, but the LumberKings plated a run in the bottom half to extend the game.

The teams combined for 32 hits, five errors, 14 walks, 37 strikeouts and 34 men left on base.

Lake County right-hander Owen Dew pitched six innings (11th through 16th) and allowed one run on three hits and four walks.

Captains lefty Giovanni Soto, who was scheduled to start today's Game 3 in Eastlake, came on in the 17th and took the loss. With two outs and no one on in the 18th, Soto walked consecutive batters to bring up Clinton's Mario Martinez, who would hit the groundball Abraham couldn't handle.

Tonight's first pitch at Classic Park is scheduled for 6:30. Game 4 on Sunday also begins at 6:30 p.m.

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