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Gastonia 4, Kentucky 0

GASTONIA, N.C. - The Gastonia Honey Hunters claimed their first playoff berth in franchise history on Tuesday night with a 4-0 win over the Wild Health Genomes at Caromont Health Park.

The win for Gastonia is the clubs 41st of the season and earns the First Half Championship for the Atlantic Leagues South Division.

Gastonia got on the board early, as Joseph Rosa drove a Max Povse offering well beyond the right field wall to give the Honey Hunters a 1-0 open.

In the second, Jake Skole singled home Reece Hampton, who opened the inning with a triple to right center field.

In the fifth inning, Herlis Rodriguez scored on a wild pitch to stretch the lead to 3-0.

In the eighth, Jake Skole lifted his 10th homer of the season to the deepest part of center field to wrap up the scoring.

Ian McKinney secured his first win of the season for Gastonia(41-18), tossing five frames of one-hit ball.

The relief corps of Euclides Leyer, Quintin Torres-Costa, Sam Bordner and Jesus Balaguer closed out the contest, keeping the shutout intact.

The Gastonia Honey Hunters claim the second playoff position in the September postseason, joining Southern Maryland, who clinched the North Division five days ago.

Tomorrow night, the Honey Hunters will continue their three game set against Wild Health(28-30), as Jerry Keel takes the ball against the Genomes. Gates open for this midweek clash at 5:30pm, with first pitch at 6:15pm.

Long Island 1, Staten Island 0

STATEN ISLAND, NY– Four Ducks pitchers combined to blank the FerryHawks on Tuesday night at SIUH Community Park, leading to a 1-0 series-opening win in the 10thedition of the ‘Battle of the Belt.’ Stephen Tarpley’s six scoreless innings marks the fourth straight start he’s failed to give up an earned run. 

 Dakota Freese (1-4) battled Tarpley through the game’s first six innings, allowing just one tally in his eighth start of the season. Alejandro De Aza’s sixth-inning groundball fielder’s choice scored Phil Caulfield from third, giving the Ducks the game’s first and only run. Freese allowed just three hits with four strikeouts and one walk in his six sparkling innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.80 in the 95-pitch effort. 

 Tarpley (3-3), meanwhile, allowed six hits, but failed to allow a run in his six strong frames. He whiffed eight batters and walked one for his first win against Staten Island in four tries this season. The FerryHawks put runners on the corners with one out in the fifth inning and loaded the bases with one out in the sixth inning, but failed to plate a run.  

 Nick Goody and Tyler Webb preserved the Ducks 1-0 lead with perfect seventh and eighth innings, before Kai-Wei Lin earned his first save of the season by working a 1-2-3 ninth inning.  

 Eddy Reynoso and Joe Kuzia emerged out of the bullpen after Freese’s night was over, blanking the Ducks in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings.  

 Staten Island (17-42) and Long Island play the middle game of their three-game set on Wednesday at SIUH Community Park. LHP Anthony Rodriguez gets the ball for the FerryHawks, while RHP Scott Harkin pitches for the Ducks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 PM with the FerryHawks pregame show beginning at 6:15 PM.  

 Postgame Notes: Angel Aguilar (2-for-4) recorded his second straight multi-hit game and team-leading 18thmulti-hit game...his hitting streak is eight games...Dakota Freese has struck out 13 and walked 3 over his last two starts (12.0 IP)...Ricardo Cespedes’ 14-game on-base streak was snapped 

High Point Rockers 7, Charleston 4
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The High Point Rockers scored five times in the first two innings and rookie starter Nick Evangelista pitched five solid innings as the Rockers won their fifth straight game on Tuesday with a 7-4 win over Charleston at Appalachian Power Park.

The win moves the Rockers to 35-25 on the season with six games remaining. Gastonia, at 41-18, has clinched the South Division playoff spot. The Rockers can secure a tie for first by winning their final six games and having Gastonia lose its final seven, but Gastonia owns the head-to-head tiebreaker and will advance to the playoffs as the first half South champion.

Evangelista (W, 1-1), the rookie who was pitching for Fairleigh Dickinson University just a few short weeks ago, received plenty of support in his second professional start. With one out in the top of the first, Ben Aklinski singled and scored on a home run by Jerry Downs, his ninth of the season. After Zander Wiel grounded out, Logan Morrison added his sixth homer of the year to put High Point up 3-0.

Evangelista yielded a pair of singles in the first but escaped unharmed thanks to a 6-4-3 double play.  In the top of the second, Giovanny Alfonzo drew a one out walk before Aklinski hit his 11th homer of the year to put High Point up 5-0.

Charleston got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Evangelista issued a pair of walks and a fielder’s choice to load the bases with one out. Yovan Gonzalez was hit by a pitch to force home one run before Corey Bird drove in two more with a single.

High Point extended its lead to 6-3 when Downs doubled in the seventh to score Alfonzo who had walked. It was a 7-3 Rocker lead after Zander Wiel reached on an error in the eighth and eventually scored on a Tyler Ladendorf ground out. The Dirty Birds matched that run in the bottom of the eighth off reliever Bryce Hensley when Diego Goris and scored on a Rocker infield error.

Evangelista earned his first professional win with 5.2 innings of work, allowing seven hits and three runs while walking two and striking out four. Ryan Dull allowed a pair of hits in the ninth but threw a shutout inning to earn his third save of the season.

The Rockers and Dirty Birds will meet again on Wednesday at 6:35 at Appalachian Power Park in the second game of the three-game series.

Lancaster 3, Lexington 2

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Lancaster’s pitching combined on a 15-strikeout performance on Tuesday evening as the Barnstormers slipped past the Lexington Legends, 3-2, in an 11-inning game at Wild Health Field.

 It was the Barnstormers’ second overtime win in the last five games and gives the club a 4-6 record on the current 12-game road trip.

 The final inning was breathtaking.  With one out and courtesy runner Andretty Cordero at second, Colton Shaver laced a single into center.  Boog Powell came up firing and nailed Cordero at the plate with Shaver heading to second on the throw.  Trayvon Robinson banged a single into right off Yaramil Hiraldo (0-1), sending Shaver to third.  Hiraldo walked Anderson Feliz after a lengthy at bat, then walked Trace Loehr on five pitches to force home the lead run.  He got Shawon Dunston, Jr. to ground out to first ending the inning.

 Cole Aker induced a pop up to second out of part-owner and part-time player Brandon Phillips for the first out in the bottom of the inning.  Isaias Tejeda struck out looking.  That brought up another former Cincinnati Red, Phil Ervin.  Ervin took a pitch from Aker and slammed it out of the yard barely foul down the left field line.  He then hit a sharp grounder on the left side, stopped by a diving Loehr and turned into the final out of the night.

 Action in the 10th was not much slower.  After Anderson Feliz advanced to third on a diving play made by Legends third baseman Manuel Geraldo, he was thrown out at the plate by Phillips on a chopper from Dunston.  Dunston stole second and third as Melvin Mercedes and Kelly Dugan drew walks.  Andretty Cordero grounded into a force out.

 West Tunnell (1-0) fielded a bunt by Geraldo and threw out Pete Yorgen at third to start the bottom of the inning.  Pinch hitter Montrell Marshall singled to right advancing Geraldo to second.  Tunnell struck out Powell, but it took a running catch by Mercedes into shallow right to flag a pop up by Tillman Pugh to save the inning and the game.

 Lancaster took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second when Loehr singled home Feliz with two outs.  Lexington tied the game in the bottom of the frame when starter Nile Ball hit Ervin and walked Dwight Smith, Jr.  Yorgen drilled a liner at Mercedes for what would have been an easy double play, but the ball ticked off the second baseman’s glove for an error, allowing Ervin to score.

 Cordero singled home Mercedes with Lancaster’s second run in the top of the third.

 Ball carried a no-hitter into the sixth when it was spoiled by Phillips on his 41st birthday.  The three-time NL All-Star launched a solo homer to left, bringing the game to the 2-2 tie.

 In his third straight seven inning stint, Ball gave up two hits and one earned run.  He walked one and struck out 10.

NOTES:  For the first time in franchise history, four different Lancaster starters have struck out 10 or more in a game in one season (Teller, Gann, De La Cruz, Ball)…It was the third time Lancaster pitchers have fanned 15 in a game this season…Three of the last four series have opened with an extra-inning game…Dunston lost his 15-game on base streak but he stole two bases after reaching on the fielder’s choice in the 11th…Ball has a 2.77 ERA in his last four starts…He hit at least one batter for the ninth time in 10 starts.

Southern Maryland 2, York 0

(6/28/2022, Waldorf, MD)  The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs defeated the York Revolution in a pitcher's duel on Tuesday night, winning by a score of 2-0. The win was the Blue Crabs' 44th of the year.

Blue Crabs Starter Mckenzie Mills (8-1) pitched six shutout innings to earn his league-leading eighth win of the season. Patrick Baker, Nick Wells, and Mat Latos ( SV,17) threw the final three frames to finish off the shutout effort. 

York’s pitching was nearly as great tonight. Starter Nick Travieso pitched six strong innings of his own, giving up only one run on a solo shot by Blue Crabs First Basemen Joe Deluca. The fifth-inning home run proved to be enough to put Travieso on the short end of the stick tonight. 

David Harris added an RBI single in the eighth to extend the Crabs' lead and put a little less stress on closer Mat Latos in the ninth.

The Blue Crabs are back in action against York for Game Two of the Series on Bark in the Park Day tomorrow at 6:35.