Gastonia 4, Staten Island 1
Gastonia 7, Staten Island 2

The Gastonia Honey Hunters swept the Staten Island Ferry Hawks on Sunday by scores of 4-1 and 7-2. The sweep moves Gastonia to a South division best 13-2.

Game One was an extra inning affair that saw the Honey Hunters outlast an elite level start from Julio Teheran to thwart the Ferry Hawks by a 4-1 score.

Teheran, a former starting pitcher for the Atlanta Braves, pitched six innings, allowing a single run while striking 10 Gastonia hitters.

The Gastonia staff was up to the challenge, as Marcus Walden and three relievers held the Ferry Hawks to a single run on two hits, striking out eleven.

Reece Hampton opened the scoring with a solo shot to right against a gale force wind in the third to take a 1-0 lead.

Staten Island would manufacture a run to level the score as Kacy Clemens would drive home Javier Betancourt.

The game would remain knotted at one going into the ninth, when Gastonia would finish off the Ferry Hawks to win game one.

With Jack Reinheimer at second, Joseph Rosa singled through the box to put runners on the corners. Zach Jarrett doubled home the pair with a looping double down the left field to give Gastonia a 3-2 lead. Luis Castro, making his Gastonia debut, would hit a sacrifice fly to score Jarrett, putting the game in the hands of Gastonia closer Ronald Pena.

Pena converted his fourth save of the season to support Onas Farfan, who earned his first win of the season. Eddy Reynoso was saddled with the loss.

Game Two would feature a solid effort from starter Reilly Hovis and the bat of Jack Reinheimer. 

Hovis pitched five innings to earn his first win of the season for Gastonia. In the effort, he allowed two runs, scattering four hits and striking out 11 Ferry Hawks.

Offensively, Reinheimer collected three hits, including two doubles and a home run, to add the needed pop in the sweep.

In the first, Reinheimer doubled home Johnny Davis to give Gastonia an early 1-0 lead. In the fourth, he would clear the bases with a double to give Gastonia a 5-2 lead.

He would close out his evening with a solo dinger down the left field line to wrap up the scoring for Gastonia.

On the week, Reinheimer finished with six extra-base hits, including three homers and 11 RBI.

The Honey Hunters travel to Southern Maryland to take on the Blue Crabs in a three game set, beginning Tuesday. Deck McGuire will take the ball for Gastonia on Tuesday night, followed by John Anderson on Wednesday and Marcus Walden on Thursday.

The games will be carried on WGNC, am1450 and 101.1fm, as Voice of the Honey Hunters Brian Rushing will bring the call. You can also catch the action at www.gohoneyhunters.com, where a live audio stream will be offered.

Long Island 9, Lancaster 5
Long Island 2, Lancaster 1

Central Islip, N.Y., May 8, 2022) – The Long Island Ducks swept the Lancaster Barnstormers in a single admission doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Fairfield Properties Ballpark, rallying for a 9-5 win in game one before scoring late to take game two 2-1.

Lancaster grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one on Colton Shaver’s RBI single up the middle. The Barnstormers extended their lead to 3-0 on a wild pitch by Ducks starter Brett Kennedy that plated Melvin Mercedes and an RBI single from Kelly Dugan. An RBI double by Dugan and an RBI infield single by Andretty Cordero in the fifth made it a 5-0 game.

The Ducks closed to within 5-3 in the bottom of the fifth against Barnstormers starter. Deibinson Romero’s sacrifice fly to left and Sam Travis’ two-run single up the middle closed the gap to two. Long Island then erupted for six runs in the sixth to take a 9-5 lead. Vladimir Frias’ two-run single tied the game at five and was the 1,000th hit of his professional career. Travis, Joe DeCarlo and Deven Marrero all drew bases loaded walks, and L.J. Mazzilli scored on a dropped third strike.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Kennedy lasted five innings, yielding five runs on eight hits and three walks, while Ball also pitched five innings, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks while striking out three. Cody Beckman (1-0) picked up the win, tossing a perfect sixth inning. Josh Graham (0-1) suffered the loss, surrendering five runs (one earned) on two hits and two walks in one-third of an inning.

Johnni Turbo and Rusney Castillo each had two hits to lead the Flock, with Castillo adding two runs and two walks. Travis drove in three runs, while Frias had two RBIs, a run and two walks.

Michael Wielansky put the Ducks in front 1-0 in the second inning of game two with an RBI fielder’s choice that scored Travis. Anthony Peroni scored on a passed ball in the third to tie the game at one. It stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth when Romero smacked a two-out RBI double down the left field line to give the Ducks a 2-1 lead.

Ducks starter Akeel Morris did not factor into the decision but pitched five innings, allowing one unearned run on three hits and four walks while striking out four. Joe Iorio (2-0) picked up the win with a scoreless sixth inning. Barnstormers starter Cameron Gann (1-1) took the loss, conceding two runs on six hits and two walks over five and two-thirds innings with four strikeouts. Sandy Baez collected his second save with a perfect seventh inning.

Castillo led the Flock offensively with two more hits in game two.

The Ducks hit the road on Tuesday night to open a three-game series against the Barnstormers in Pennsylvania. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Clipper Magazine Stadium. Fans can follow all the action on the Long Island Ducks Broadcast Network. Live streaming HD video and audio will be available via BoxCast on LIDucks.com as well as on the Ducks official Facebook page and YouTube channel. Right-hander Scott Harkin (1-1, 6.43) gets the start for the Ducks against Barnstormers righty Dominic DiSabatino (0-2, 5.54).

Long Island returns home on Friday, May 13, to begin a three-game set with the High Point Rockers. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with the Fairfield Properties Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). It’s an Angela’s Pizza Friday! If the K-Man on the Rockers strikes out during the game, fans will be able to redeem their game ticket for a special offer at Angela’s Pizzeria in Islip during the rest of the weekend. Tickets for the game, and all Ducks games, are available by visiting the Fairfield Properties Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or CLICKING HERE.

The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball. Over 8 million fans have enjoyed the Ducks brand of affordable, fun entertainment at Fairfield Properties Ballpark since inception in 2000. For further information, visit LIDucks.com or call 631-940-DUCK (3825).

Southern Maryland 9, Kentucky 7

(Lexington, KY, May 8, 2022) After the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes snapped the Blue Crabs 12-game winning streak on Saturday night, Southern Maryland rebounded on Sunday, defeating the Genomes 9-7. The Crabs poured on the runs early in the matinee and staved off the comeback hungry Genomes in the latter stages of the contest, picking up the series win.

By the time Daryl Thompson (W, 1-1) took the mound for the Crabs in the bottom of the first inning, Southern Maryland held a 4-0 lead. Kickstarting the offense, Rubi Silva poked his first of four singles in the game before Jared Walker roped a line drive to right field, scoring Silva. Alex Crosby kept the runs coming, lining a base hit to left field, allowing Walker to score. With two outs and a 2-0 lead, Austin Rei blooped a single into right field, scoring a pair to give the Crabs a 4-0 lead.

Thompson was sharp from the first pitch on a sunny afternoon, and after allowing a two-out solo homer from Moises Sierra, the back-to-back Atlantic League Pitcher of the Year found a groove.

After Southern Maryland added an insurance run in the fifth on a David Harris double, the Genomes’ offense came alive, when Luke Becker narrowed the scoring margin with a two-run blast. The Crabs, however, responded in the following frame, plating four runs. Austin Rei came through again with his third and fourth RBIs of the game, before Michael Baca and Matt Hibbert followed with an RBI a piece, giving the Blue Crabs a healthy 9-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

The Genomes kept fighting against Daryl Thompson, who needed just 45 pitches in the game’s first five innings. After allowing one run in the sixth, Thompson came back out for the seventh. After getting two quick outs, Wild Health rallied with a pair of singles, knocking Thompson out of the game. Bradley Roney relieved Thompson in the seventh, allowing a three-run Riley Mahan homer, trimming the Blue Crabs lead to 9-7.

The game suddenly intensified, as both teams looked to secure a series win. Stan Cliburn turned to his top options out of his bullpen, for the eighth and ninth innings. Endrys Briceno fanned a pair in a scoreless eighth inning to continue a marvelous season, the Venezuela native has struck out 17 batters in his first eight innings of work this season. Mat Latos (S, 6) blanked the Genomes in the ninth, securing a 9-7 victory.

With Sunday’s series win, the Crabs have won each of their first five series of the year, outscoring opponents on the season 114-61. Southern Maryland holds the best record in the Atlantic League in 2022 at a 13-2 clip, and will host the Gastonia Honey Hunters for three game set beginning on Tuesday. The Honey Hunters hold the second best record in the league at 12-2, setting up a bash of the best.

High Point 5, York 1
High Point 8, York 7 (8)

YORK, Pa. – The High Point Rockers swept a doubleheader from the York Revolution on Sunday afternoon at Peoples Bank Park. The Rockers took the first game 5-1 and then posted an 8-7 win in eight innings in the night cap.

The doubleheader was necessitated due to rainouts on Friday and Saturday in York. The Rockers conclude the three-game series with an 11 a.m. game on Monday morning.

In the opening game, High Point starter Justin Nicolino carried a no-hitter into the sixth while High Point’s bats backed him up with five runs. Nicolino (3-0) did not allow a hit until there was one out in the sixth. Yefri Perez singled to left and scored on a single by Melky Mesa.

Nicolino went six innings and allowed just three hits, walked two and struck out four while allowing just one run. Ryan Dull pitched a three-up, three-down seventh with a pair of strikeouts to close out the Game One victory.

The Rockers tallied in the first inning when Ben Aklinski lined a single to center and moved to second on a single by Jerry Downs. Quincy Latimore then singled to right to drive home Aklinski.

High Point took a 2-0 lead in the second when Johnny Field led off the frame with a double and then scored on a single by Chris Proctor.

The Rockers broke the game open when Tyler Ladendorf doubled with the bases loaded in the top of the seventh, driving home all three runners to give the Rockers a 5-1 advantage.

In the nightcap, York took a 2-0 lead in the second off High Point starter Austin Glorius. A walk to Nellie Rodriguez led to a Carlos Franco two-run homer.

The Rockers scored five times in the third inning. Mike Gulino led off with a single and Jay Gonzalez drew a walk from Revolution starter Duke von Schamann. Zander Wiel plated two runs with a double to center. Latimore’s single scored Wiel and Michael Russell doubled to left to score Latimore and Ladendorf who had reached on a single.

York cut into High Point’s 5-2 lead with a single run in the bottom of the third when J.C. Encarnacion scored on an infield ground out by Carlos Franco.

The Rockers added a run in the top of the seventh when pinch-hitter Liam Scaffariello drew a walk and stole second. He moved to third on a ground out by Russell and then scored on a single by Michael Martinez to give the Rockers a 6-3 lead.

But York would not go quietly into the night. Elmer Reyes led off the bottom of the seventh with a base hit off Rockers’ closer Chasen Bradford. After striking out the next two hitters, York’s Troy Stokes, Jr. reached on a fielding error and then Melky Mesa hit his first homer of the year over the wall in left to knot the game at 6-6.

In the top of the eighth with Johnny Field starting the inning at second, Aklinski homered over the wall in left to give the Rockers an 8-6 lead.  High Point reliever Tanner Duncan yielded a single run in the bottom of the eighth and secured his first save of the year as the Rockers finished on top 8-7.

The Rockers will complete the three-game series on Monday with a seven inning game starting at 11 a.m. at Peoples Bank Park. High Point will return home for a three-game set with the Charleston Dirty Birds starting on Tuesday, May 10 with the first pitch at 6:35 p.m.

Lexington 2, Charleston 0

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Lexington Legends scored twice in the third inning and made it stand up in posting a 2-0 shutout win at Charleston on Sunday afternoon.

Nate Thompson and Dominic Bethancourt hit back-to-back homers to account for all of the Legends’ runs.

Lexington’s J.J. Hoover (2-1) went eight innings and scattered six hits while walking one and fanning six. Austin Adams pitched the ninth inning in earning his fourth save of the season.

Jordan Stephens (0-1) took the loss for the Dirty Birds, though he allowed just three hits, struck out eight and did not allow a walk in seven innings of work.