The Surprise Rafters would travel to Phoenix to defeat the first-place Desert Dogs by one run. In the close game the Rafters would take the lead in the first inning and were able to maintain it through two. The Desert Dogs would eventually tie the game in the third inning and take the lead in the fourth off of an RBI triple and a sacrifice fly that would score two runs for the team. In the top of the fifth Surprise would tie the game again as a result of a home run by Texas prospect Doug Hogan and a runner scored on a wild pitch by Heath Rollins. In the seventh inning both teams would earn another run each as the game would remain deadlocked, this time, at five a piece. In the bottom of the 11th inning, the Rafters would be able to earn one more run off of an RBI double by Marcus Lemon to win the game in extra innings.

In another close game in Scottsdale the Javelinas would beat the Scottsdale Scorpions as they maintain their lead in their division. The productive third inning for the Javelinas would end up being all that they needed as they would score three runs in the inning. Jordan Danks, Russ Mitchell and Lucas May would each drive in a run for the Javelinas in the third inning. In the bottom of the fifth inning Jose Tabata would be able to drive in a run for the Scorpions who would not score again until the ninth inning. The Scorpions were only able to gather on run as the Javelinas hang on to win the game. Pitcher Josh Butler would get the win as he would throw for three innings, striking out four and allowing no earned runs.

The Peoria Javelinas would defeat the Scorpions in Scottsdale with the help of Los Angeles Dodgers’ prospect Lucas May. May, the catcher, would hammer one homerun and gather three RBI for the Javelinas. For the Scorpions, their catcher, Giants’ prospect Buster Posey would have a homer of his own. Posey’s two run shot would come in the second inning to give the team the lead. The Javelinas would come back to take the lead and hold on for the win.

The Peoria Saguaros would travel to Mesa to face the Solar Sox in the final game of the day. The Saguaros would earn two runs immediately in the bottom of the first inning. The runs would come off of an RBI triple and an RBI single. The Sox would answer, in the bottom of the first inning. With the two runs in the first inning for the Solar Sox and the three runs in the fifth, it would give the Sox a bit of an advantage. While tacking on two more runs in the seventh. The Saguaros would be unable to score again as the Mesa Solar Sox take the game.

The Phoenix Desert Dogs were able to hold off the Solar Sox in Saturday’s action as they squeeze in a victory in Mesa. Scoring would begin in the second inning when the Desert Dogs would score one off of an RBI double by Corey Brown. The Sox would answer in the bottom of the same inning with a run of their own on a sacrifice fly to right field. The Desert Dogs would be able to produce one more run an inning for the next three innings as the Solar Sox were only able to provide two more. Washington Nationals’ prospect Drew Storen would get the save as the Desert Dogs were able to hold off the Solar Sox by a score of 4 to 3.

In Peoria, the Scorpions were able to give the Saguaros a taste of their own shutout medicine as they blank the Saguaros by a score of 6 to 0. For Scottsdale, Domonic Brown of the Phillies organization would have three RBI in the victory over Peoria. Four Scottsdale pitchers would combine for ten strikeouts for the victory as they were able to silence the bats of the Peoria Saguaros.

Mesa and Scottsdale would square off at Scottsdale Stadium as the two teams would go head-to-head in another close matchup. Mesa would get off to a strong lead early by driving in four runs in the third inning. At the bottom of the third, the Scorpions would score one run to pull within three. The following inning, Scottsdale would score one more run to tie the game. In the bottom of the fifth, the Sox would regain the lead only to have the Scorpions tie again in the sixth. Both teams would remain deadlocked through eleven innings as a tie was called for the game.

The Rafters would start the game with the lead by scoring three runs in the first inning. The team would maintain their lead for the majority of the game. In the fourth inning the Saguaros would pull within one off of an RBI triple and a ground out. Surprise would score two more runs in the top of the seventh, which would appear to be insurance runs. In the bottom of the eighth, the Saguaros would tie the game off of an RBI single and a two RBI ground-rule double. To end the game, in the bottom of the ninth, the game-winning run would score off of a Rafters’ fielding error as the Saguaros win by a run.

The Peoria Saguaros continued to boast the strength of their pitching staff as they blank the Rafters for their second shutout thrown so far this Fall. Steve Garrison would lead the pitching onslaught with three scoreless innings. Six other Saguaro pitchers would combine for the shutout as they gets some offensive support from their bats. Like Garrison, Lance Zawadzki sports the Friars’ jersey as he would go 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBI. Houston’s Jonathan Gaston and Cincinnati’s Yonder Alonso would also have themselves a pair of RBI as they help launch the Saguaros to their sixth victory. While still in last place due to their early season struggles, the Saguaros continue to close the gap in their division.

The Mesa Solar Sox would make a statement early on by punishing the Scottsdale pitching with eleven runs in the first four innings of play. During those same innings, the Mesa pitching staff was able to hold the Scorpions to four scoreless innings. Andrew Cashner, of the Chicago Cubs, would pitch the four scoreless innings, striking out four. Despite the two Scottsdale homers delivered by Steve Susdorf and Brandon Crawford, the Sox would have enough of a lead that these two shots would not be a factor in the game. The Sox would pummel the Scorpions, winning by seven runs, by a score of 5 to 12.

The Mesa Solar Sox and the Peoria Javelinas would play a close game in Mesa as the Solar Sox would take an early lead with one run in the first and one more in the third inning. In the top of the fifth inning, the Javelinas would get one run to score off of a sacrifice fly by Lucas May scoring Andrew Lambo. The Javelinas would be able to hold Mesa to no more runs as they score two in the eighth inning to come from behind to win the game by a run.

The Surprise Rafters would also have a strong performance from their pitching staff as they blank the Scottsdale Scorpions at Scottsdale Stadium by a score of three to nothing. St. Louis Cardinal Mike Parisi would pitch five scoreless innings, striking out four while only allowing two hits. Arizona Diamondback Bryan Augenstein would notch his second loss during the Arizona Fall League.

Thr Peoria Saguaros would continue their winning as they return from their early season slump to defeat the second place Scorpions in Scottsdale. Saguaro pitching would have another excellent day as they held the Scorpions scoreless through seven. The Saguaros would score two runs in the fifth to be the first team on the board. The two runs would score on a Lance Zawadzki triple and a passed ball. The Saguaros would then have an explosive eighth inning as Chris Heisey homers and Jonathan Gatson hits a grand slam for a total of six runs in the inning. Peoria was able to hold on to the lead as they defeat Scottsdale by a score of 10 to 2.

In the final game of the day, there would be no grand slams as the Javelinas keep in close with the Rafters with their seventh victory of the season. In a game where the hitters were deemed powerless, there were only a total of three runs scored. The Javelinas would score with a Jordan Danks RBI single in the bottom of the third and an Andrew Lambo RBI single in the fifth. The Rafters would score their lone run in the top of the eighth off of a walk by Zach Braddock with the bases loaded. Surprise pitching would combine for a total of eight strikeouts as the Saguaros would counter with ten of their own.

In the Peoria showdown, the Saguaros would earn the 2009 AFL’s first shutout as Mike Minor would take the mound and earn the victory. Six other Saguaro pitchers would combine for the shutout. On the offensive side of things for the Saguaros, Brandon Hicks and Yonder Alonso would have two RBI each, putting four of the six runs on the board for the Peoria team. As for the Javelinas, the team would end up leaving eight runners in scoring position for the game as they fall to the last place Saguaros.

Phoenix continues to do well in 2009 AFL play as they share the lead with the Surprise Rafters but are first in the AFL East. The beginning of the game would look negative as the Scottsdale Scorpions would take the lead first. Making things more difficult for Phoenix was Joe Martinez as he would throw four scoreless innings, striking out three. Martinez continues to be one of the Fall League’s top pitchers with the best ERA for having pitched 10 or more innings. In the bottom of the fifth inning, Phoenix would surge as the team would hit Diamondback prospect Cesar Valdez all over the park, giving up four runs in the five-run fifth. The Desert Dogs would end up holding onto the lead as the defeat Scottsdale by a score of 7 to 3.

For the Phoenix Desert Dogs, Grant Desme would hit his seventh homer of the AFL in their battle against the Rafters. In another game that would yield several runs, there would be plenty of offensive contribution from both teams. For the Rafters, Yankees’ prospect Brandon Laird would drive in five runs, going 3-for-4 with a homerun and a double to add some numbers for the team.. With a score of 15 to 12, the Rafters would prevail as they downed the Desert Dogs in one of the two afternoon games.

In Scottsdale the Scorpions would flirt with a scoreless game as the team contributed eight total runs in the game. While no homeruns were hit, Colorado prospect would deliver three RBI for the Scorpions. Arizona Diamondback Bryan Augenstein had appeared to find his stuff as he would strike out five in three innings pitched for Scottsdale. While the Javelinas were silenced for the majority of the game, Jordan Danks of the White Sox would lead the mission to come from behind in the top of the ninth with three RBI. The Javelinas would score a total of seven runs that inning to tie the game. The Scorpions’ Brandon Crawford would drive in Buster Posey for the game winning RBI on a sharply hit single to the Peoria pitcher.

The Surprise Rafters would have themselves a close game as the faced the Saguaros in Peoria. The Rafters would score their first run in the second inning and seemed to be pulling away in the fifth, when the Saguaros answered with four runs of their own. However, Peoria would continue to trail for the remainder of the game before a two-run homerun another RBI were scored in the bottom of the ninth that would help close the gap. In what appeared to be a Saguaros comeback, they fell short one run in the bottom of the ninth to lose the game by only one run.

In Scottsdale the Scorpions and the Solar Sox would play in what turned out to be another close game for the day. In the evening matchup, the Solar Sox would take the lead first by scoring four runs in the first and second innings before the Scorpions answered with one run in the third. Both teams would remain scoreless until the Sox added one more insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. The Scorpions would score three more runs but end up falling short as they take the loss. One performance of note was a contribution by San Francisco Giants’ catcher Buster Posey as he would drive in two runs. On the other side of the diamond, Josh Vitters would have a couple of RBI of his own.