Lancaster 4, Long Island 3

LANCASTER, Pa. - For the second consecutive night, the Barnstormers were able to dump the ice bucket on a walkoff win.

 On Wednesday, Ariel Sandoval got drenched.  On Thursday, it was Melvin Mercedes.

 The Lancaster second baseman looped a base hit into left center field to score pinch runner Jake Hoover with the decisive tally as the Barnstormers complete a three-game sweep of the Long Island Ducks, 4-3.

 That victory, combined with a Southern Maryland loss at York, pushed the Barnstormers’ North Division lead to 4 ½ games with a 15-game Lancaster road trip looming.

 Anthony Peroni led off the ninth against left-hander Jose Jose (3-1) and lined a single into left, his third straight hit.  Hoover took over at first base and raced ahead to second when Carlos Castro’s pickoff attempt was misplayed by Jose Sermo.  Trace Loehr advanced Hoover with a sacrifice bunt, bringing up Mercedes.  With the infield playing at the edge of the grass, Mercedes was able to punch a 2-1 pitch in front of center fielder Anfernee Seymour for the game winner.

 Lancaster had the opportunity to win as the bullpen squirmed out of three straight Long Island threats.  In the seventh, Dominic DiSabatino walked the first two batters.  Phil Caulfield bunted into a force out at third, and Seymour was picked off second by Colton Shaver.  L.J. Mazzilli lined to left to close the inning.

 Josh Graham allowed singles to Alejandro de Aza and Jose Sermo in the eighth, putting runners at first and third with one out.  He coaxed a 5-4-3 double play out of Castro, the league’s #3 hitter.

 Then, in the top of the ninth, West Tunnell walked Dustin Woodcock and hit Vladimir Frias with a pitch.  Woodcock was picked off second for the first out.  Seymour fanned.  Frias kept the inning going by stealing second, and Tunnell walked Caulfield before striking out Mazzilli to end the threat.

 Deibinson Romero doubled and scored on groundouts in the top of the second for a 1-0 lead.  Lancaster answered as starter Akeel Morris walked Loehr with the bases loaded.

 Long Island again went ahead against Brooks Hall in the top of the third.  Seymour tripled to right center with one out and scored on a single to center by Caulfield.  Mazzilli walked, and de Aza singled to right to load the bases.  Romero produced the second run of the inning with a fly ball to right.  First baseman Andretty Cordero cut the throw toward the plate and doubled off de Aza trying to go to second.

 Shaver singled home Cordero, who had doubled, to get a run back in the third, and Peroni tied the game with a two-out RBI single in the sixth that plated Sandoval.

 The Barnstormers open a three-game series at Staten Island Friday at 7:00.  Oscar De La Cruz (7-2) will make the start for Lancaster.  Fans may tune into the team’s YouTube channel, starting at 6:55.

 NOTES:  The Barnstormers clinched all tiebreakers with Long Island with the win, their fifth straight against the Ducks…Peroni went 3-for-3 and is now 23-for-50 in a 13-game hitting streak…Sandoval stole three bases in a game for the second time and now has 14 in 27 games as a Barnstormer…He has hit safely in 23 of those games…Cordero’s double was his 155th hit of the season…The two teams combined to have seven runners thrown out on the bases…Lancaster and Kentucky (Wild Health) are tied for the top wild card spot with Lancaster holding that tiebreaker.

Lexington 4, High Point 0
 

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Four Lexington pitchers combined to shutout the High Point Rockers Thursday night in front of a crowd of 2,636 at Truist Point. The Rockers were held to four hits and were only able to advance four runners to second base.

The loss leaves the Rockers with a 58-53 overall record and a 19-26 mark in the second half of the Atlantic League season.

Lexington starter Jose Santamaria (W, 2-1) kept the Rockers scoreless through his five innings of work while High Point starter Craig Stem (L, 5-5) was pitching to contact but keeping the Legends from scoring.

Lexington broke the ice in the fourth when Manual Geraldo reached on an infield single and moved to second on a walk to catcher Henderson Perez. DH Jesus Tavarez singled to bring home Geraldo with the first run of the game.  The Legends added two runs in the fifth when Courtney Hawkins led off the frame with a single and moved to second on a walk to Isaias Tejeda. Tillman Pugh singled to score one run and Geraldo’s infield out scored a second as the Legends took a 3-0 lead.  High Point reliever Bryce Hensley came on in the sixth and allowed a lead-off homer to Montrell Marshall in the eighth as Lexington went up 4-0.

Michael Russell had a pair of hits and was able to reach second on both occasions before being stranded. Zander Wiel reached second on a single and misplayed ball in the outfield to start the seventh but only advanced as far as third on Ben Aklinski’s single. Aklinski then stole second to become the fourth Rocker to get into scoring position. Aklinski’s single in the seventh was High Point’s final hit of the night.

Hawkins finished with three hits for the Legends while Russell was the only Rocker with two hits.

High Point will start a three-game series with Gastonia on Friday night at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. The Rockers will send righty Mitch Atkins (0-0, 6.35 ERA) out to face Gastonia’s Zack Godley (3-0, 5.28 ERA). Friday’s game will be followed by a fireworks show as fans are invited to watch the show from the field.

York 6, Southern Maryland 4

(8/25/2022, York PA) The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs fell in the rubber match of the series against the York Revolution on Thursday night.  Daryl Thompson (L, 12-3) ran into trouble in the second inning, surrendering five runs.  The Blue Crabs clawed their way back within one, but ultimately fell, 6-4. 

 After a 1-2-3 first inning, Daryl Thompson allowed five runs on five hits in the second inning. With runners on first and second, Yefri Perez drilled a double into the left field corner, scoring Melky Mesa to give York a 1-0 lead.  With runners still on second and third, Jhon Nunez ripped a single into center, scoring two runs, to give York a 3-0 lead.  With Nunez on first, Troy Stokes Jr. slammed a two-run homer over the wall in left, giving the Revs a 5-0 lead. 

 The Blue Crabs quickly responded.  With Michael Baca on second base, David Harris knocked a single into left field, scoring Baca to cut the deficit to 5-1.  

 In the fourth inning, Zach Collier singled and came around to score on an error, cutting York’s lead to 5-2.  Later in the inning, Jared Walker roped a single into right before Ian Yetsko smashed a two-run home run over the wall in left, cutting the deficit to 5-4. 

 From there, the Blue Crabs’ bats were quiet.  Courtney Mack (W, 2-1) exited the game after five and two-thirds innings, while the bullpen dominated.  

 The score remained 5-4 until the seventh inning, when Elmer Reyes hit a sacrifice fly, giving the Revs a 6-4 lead.  

 Jim Fuller (Sv. 16) entered the game in the ninth inning.  Fuller allowed a bunt single to Jack Sundberg, extending his on-base streak to 27 games. From there, Fuller retired the side, securing a 6-4 victory for the Revs.  

 The Blue Crabs look to get back on track as they take on York for three more games at home.  Southern Maryland sends Alex Merithew to the mound for the series opener tomorrow at 6:35 pm.

Gastonia 9, Charleston 1

GASTONIA, N.C. - The Gastonia Honey Hunters collected seven extra-base hits on Thursday night and took a no-hitter into the eighth inning at Appalachian Power Park, defeating the Charleston Dirty Birds 9-1.

Alex Sanabia earned his second win for Gastonia, striking out 10 Charleston batters over the span of six innings of hitless work.

Offensively, Gastonia reached double figures in hits for the 51st time this season. Luis Roman and Joseph Rosa scratched a pair of hits in the game, each collecting three RBI.

Alex Holderbach added two knocks for the effort, pushing his average to .253 on the season. Jack Reinheimer reached three times, scored three times and swiped a pair of bases for the Honey Hunters (76-35,31-14).

Jake Skole launched his 21st homer of the year off Denson Hull in the seventh, his second homer in as many games.

Gastonia took their second bid for a no-hitter into the eighth inning, but Cosimo Cannella singled to center with two outs off Sam Bordner, foiling the bid.

Sanabia´s win pushes his record to 6-5 for 2022, while Michael Gunn suffered the setback for Charleston (45-64, 19-24), falling to 3-5 on the season. 

Zack Godley takes the mound for Gastonia in Friday's 6:35pm game against High Point´s Mitch Atkins.

Kentucky 13, Staten Island 11