Catfish beat Savannah, extend division lead, Rollins wins 16th

Heath Rollins scattered 5 hits over 5, struck out 5, and allowed 3 runs en route to his 16th win of the season, as the Columbus Catfish pounded out 22 hits and beat the Savannah Sand Gnats (Mets) 15-6 on Friday night.

The 22-year-old right-hander leads the South Atlantic League with 145 strikeouts. Josh Geer also won his 16th game for Double-A San Antonio of the Texas League on Friday.

Hunter Davis notched his first save, despite yielding a run on three hits and two walks with three strikeouts over two frames.

Spring fell a single shy of the cycle, smacking a two-run shot, his third, in the second, then doubling in the fifth. He roped a two-run triple, his first since 2005, and scored again in the eighth. The 22-year-old catcher is 7-for-21 with two homers and 10 RBIs in eight games since being re-assigned from Double-A Montgomery. He batted .205 with two homers and 14 RBIs in 78 games with the Biscuits.

Brett Grandstrand and Cesar Suarez contributed four hits apiece, Seth Dhaenens chipped in three and three RBIs and Maiko Loyola went 3-for-6 with his fourth homer and three runs scored. Ryan Royster belted his league-leading 27th homer for the Catfish (36-23), who set a season high with 22 hits and lead Charleston by 1 1/2 games in the Southern Division.

The Catfish have 3 more home games with Savannah, then face 2nd place Charleston in 3 games, before ending the season with 4 games at Savannah.

Update: The win eliminated Greenville from the 2nd half. Six of the 8 teams in the division are mathematically alive, with only Greenville (27-34) and Savannah (20-39) officially eliminated. Kannapolis is on the cusp, with 3 Catfish wins or Intimidators losses needed to eliminate.

Overall, the Catfish need wins or opponent losses totaling 9 to win the division.