Gastonia Ghost Peppers 6, High Point Rockers 4
GASTONIA, N.C. – Matt Hartman allowed a two-run homer in the first inning off the bat of Evan Edwards.
The ALPB Pitcher of the Month of July proceeded to retire the next 16 High Point batters he faced, including a streak of nine consecutive punchouts.
Hartman cruised through the sixth inning, and the Ghost Peppers plated five in the sixth to defeat the Rockers 6-4 in Game 1 of the South Division Championship Series on Saturday night.
The right-hander was outstanding, using a heavy dosage of curveballs to record the nine straight Ks – striking out the side in both the fourth and fifth. He ended with 12 strikeouts, not walking a batter through six.
But Hartman trailed for his entire outing, as Fin Del Bonta-Smith had a dominant start for the majority of his outing. The Rockers’ Game 1 starter was perfect through four innings and faced the minimum through five.
Entering the bottom of the sixth, it remained a 2-0 High Point lead from the first-inning long ball.
The Peppers scored five runs on six hits in the frame, connecting on three straight RBI doubles from the top of the order – Shed Long Jr., Justin Wylie and Cole Roederer. Gastonia took the lead on Roederer’s two-bagger – a bullet deep to right that went off the end of Luis Gonzalez’s glove.
Carter Aldrete followed up the three doubles with a two-run homer to left – a moonshot that eventually landed in the parking lot beyond the fence. Aldrete ended the season with nine more RBIs than games played, and he recorded a pair of RBIs with one swing to make it 5-2 Ghost Peppers.
Jack Reinheimer tacked onto the lead an inning later, bringing in Eric De La Rosa with a groundout to short. De La Rosa bunted his way aboard, swiped second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the catcher Nolan Watson. The captain made it 6-2 Gastonia after seven.
Nick Horvath and Tyler Wilson combined for a 1-2-3 eighth, finishing off a stretch where Gastonia pitching retired 22 straight hitters.
High Point rallied in the ninth, scoring two and bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. But Sam Bordner got Alex Dickerson to chase a pitch low and fly out to deep center field to end the ball game.
Gastonia held on for the 6-4 victory, taking the opening game of the series. Game 2 of the South Division Championship Series also takes place at CaroMont Health Park, with first pitch on Sunday at 4 p.m.
York Revolution 6, Lancaster Stormers 2
Noah Skirrow and the Lancaster Stormers carried a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the sixth inning in the North Division Series opener at WellSpan Park Saturday evening.
Then, with only one ball hit out of the infield, the York Revolution rallied for six runs in the bottom of the sixth to grab a 6-2 decision and a 1-0 lead in the series.
Kyle Martin doubled off Skirrow to start the inning. A wild pitch sent Martin to third, and Skirrow was lifted after hitting Ryan Higgins with a pitch. Billy Sullivan (0-1) hit Shayne Fontana to load the bases. Chris Williams drew a bases loaded walk to force the first run across the plate. Sullivan recorded one out on a strikeout of Jeffrey Wehler.
Jackson Rees became the third pitcher of the inning and, like Sullivan, hit the first batter he faced, forcing home a second run. Jaylin Davis rolled a grounder to shortstop Yeison Coca, but the defender was unable to gain his footing to make a throw. A fourth run scored on a wild pitch, and a squeeze bunt by Jeremy Arocho made it 5-2. A passed ball charged to Joe Campagna allowed a sixth run to score.
The Stormers had taken a 1-0 lead in the second on a double to left by Campagna and Alex Isola’s single to center. Their second run was picked up without the benefit of a base hit. Isola walked to lead off the fifth, took second and third on a wild pitch and scored on Coca’s sac fly to left.
Lancaster had an opportunity in the eighth, loading the bases on a Luis Castro double and pair of walks, but Branden Celucci struck out Quincy Hamilton on a 3-2 pitch to end the threat.
Jimmy Burnette (1-0) faced one batter in the top of the sixth to earn the win.
Noah Bremer will make the Sunday start for the Stormers against right-hander Alex Valverde. Fans may tune into the action on FloBaseball, starting at 3:55.