atlanticleague.com

York 2, Lancaster 1

LANCASTER, Pa. - Both the Lancaster Barnstormers and York Revolution received great pitching efforts on Sunday afternoon, aided by a stiff wind blowing straight from center field, but York prevailed with a 2-1 victory in the finale of a three-game series at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

The loss kept the host Barnstormers from completing a three-game sweep for the first time this season.

Lancaster right-hander Dominic DiSabatino and York southpaw Nick Raquet took a scoreless game into the sixth inning.  DiSabatino (1-1) yielded a leadoff single up the middle to Trent Giambrone who was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jacob Rhinesmith and eventually got to third on a two-out wild pitch.  DiSabatino then issued his only two walks of the afternoon to load the bases, and the Barnstormers summoned Bret Clarke from the bullpen.  Troy Stokes, Jr. reached Clarke for a line drive to left.  Joseph Carpenter darted in but lost control of the thigh-high grab, and both York runs scored.

DiSabatino yielded only four hits and struck out seven in his 5 2/3 innings of work.

Meanwhile Raquet (3-1) bedazzled the Barnstormers all afternoon.  The former Washington farmhand limited Lancaster to two hits over his eight innings, walking one and striking out eight.  Lancaster got one run back in the bottom of the sixth.  Trace Loehr was hit by a pitch and moved up on a bunt by Melvin Mercedes.  Raquet picked up the second out on strikes, but Kelly Dugan slammed a ball down the right  field line that hit about three feet from the top of the wall for an RBI single, trimming the lead to 2-1.

Lancaster had chances to tie in each of the final two innings.  Raquet’s throw on Jake Hoover’s leadoff bunt pulled Nellie Rodriguez off the first base bag.  After Loehr popped up a bunt, Mercedes drew a walk.  Coca’s chopper toward the middle was converted into a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.

In the ninth, closer Blake Rogers walked Andretty Cordero with one out.  Carpenter advanced pinch runner Chris Proctor to second with a two-out single into right, bringing Jack Conley to the plate.  Conley scorched a grounder to the backhand side of second baseman Richard Urena, who handled it cleanly and recorded the final out of the afternoon.

The Barnstormers will head to North Carolina for their next seven games, opening the trip with a doubleheader in High Point at 5:05 on Tuesday.  Lancaster is expected to send left-hander Jared Lakind (2-2) and right-hander Nile Ball (0-0) to the hill for the twin-bill.  Fans may view the action on FloBaseball, beginning at 5:00.

NOTES:  Lancaster went 3-3 on the six-game homestand…Lancaster’s starting rotation posted a 2.27 ERA over the last five games…Chris Proctor became the first Barnstormer to pinch run twice in a game…He was used as the Atlantic League designated pinch runner for Dugan in the seventh, then was used again to run for Cordero in the ninth…The Barnstormers are 0-8 in one-run games.

Gastonia 5, Lexington 3

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Gastonia ace Marcus Walden was in line to start on Sunday against Lexington. However, Walden was signed by the Seattle Mariners Triple-A affiliate Tacoma right before the weekend series, so manager Goose Gozzo had to go with a bullpen game.

And the ‘pen worked wonders, helping the Honey Hunters finish off a three-game sweep of the Counter Clocks as Gastonia won 5-3. Right hander Sal Romano got the start, despite his rough start to the year. Romano had thrown 6.1 innings, giving up nine runs, hits and walks.

But he gave Gastonia exactly what the doctor ordered on Sunday, pitching three innings of scoreless ball and not walking a single batter. Romano’s always had great stuff, and his control was on point all three innings against Lexington.

Romano passed the baton to lefty Gunnar Kines, who pitched two perfect innings.

After Kines finished his second inning of work, Gastonia pitching had retired 12 straight Lexington hitters – between Romano and Kines.

And the two relievers got three runs of support through those five total frames.

The three runs, like all five scored by the Honey Hunters, were produced by the top of the batting order: Jack Reinheimer, J.C. Escarra, Zach Jarrett and Carlos Franco.

Escarra greeted Lexington starter Yeudy Garcia the exact same way he welcomed Kaleb Schmidt on Frdiay – with a long solo shot to right field in his first at-bat, putting Gastonia up 1-0.

The slugger now has five homers and 22 RBIs – driving in the third most runs in the Atlantic League.

Who’s driven in the fourth most runs? Zach Jarrett after Sunday’s game.

The star outfielder hit a run-scoring single in the fifth to make it 3-0 Hunters and also hit a two-run dinger in the top of the seventh to give his team a 5-1 lead.

The homer was Jarrett’s third of the series and eighth of the year, putting him just one shy of Frederick’s Craig Dedelow who leads the league with nine.

He now has 21 runs driven in.

Surely no other Honey Hunter has 20+ RBIs?

Actually someone does – Carlos Franco.

The lefty slugger picked up another multi-hit game on Sunday, his third in a row, and extended his on-base streal to 15 games.

Franco hit a sacrifice fly in the third inning to pick up RBI No. 20.

A major reason why Escarra, Jarrett and Franco are all in the top five in runs plated this season is because of leadoff hitter Jack Reinheimer.

Escarra and Jarrett scored themselves on their homers.

The other three runs – on the Franco sac fly, as well as Jarrett’s single and longball – were scored by Reinheimer.

The Honey Hunter shortstop has now touched home 26 times, seven more times than any other hitter in the league.

He walked and stole twice on Sunday, picking up his 12th steal which also leads the ALPB.

The offense is clicking in a huge way for Gastonia right now, as the order is structured in a perfect way.

Reinheimer gets on, steals, and Escarra, Jarrett and Franco drive him in.

It’s been working ever since Escarra was moved from the five-hole to the two-hole, and it’s a top-of-the-order that has been crucial in winning ball games for the Honey Hunters.

The rest of the pitchers used for Gastonia – Ryan Williamson, David Richardson, Bryan Blanton, Tyler Thomas and Jaime Schultz – took care of business to finish off the sweep of Lexington.

Schultz picked up his sixth save in as many opportunities, closing the door on the Counter Clocks in the ninth.

The Honey Hunters improved to 15-6 after winning seven of their last 10.

The only other team to go 7-3 in that span is Frederick, Gastonia’s next opponent.

The Hunters will travel to Maryland to take on the Question Marks for a three-game set. The first game is on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Long Island 4, High Point 2 (Game 1)
Long Island 8, High Point 3 (Game 2)

(Central Islip, N.Y., May 21, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks swept the High Point Rockers in a day/night doubleheader on Sunday at Fairfield Properties Ballpark, taking game one 4-2 and game two 8-3. 

Sam Travis gave the Ducks an immediate 3-0 lead in game with a first inning three-run home run to left field off Rockers starter Chris Rollins. A run-scoring groundout to third by Travis in the second made it a 4-0 ballgame. 

John Nogowski’s RBI single in the third off Ducks starter Joe Iorio closed the gap back to three. It stayed that way until Ryan Grotjohn hit a solo homer to right in the seventh, but High Point would get no closer. 

Iorio (2-2) earned the win, tossing six innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out three. Rollins (0-1) took the loss, conceding four runs (three earned) on three hits and three walks in two innings with four strikeouts. Kevin Quackenbush picked up his fifth save despite allowing a run in the seventh. 

Travis led the Flock offensively with two hits, four RBIs and a run. 

High Point struck for three runs in the opening inning of game two against Ducks starter Stephen Woods Jr. on Nogowski’s RBI fielder’s choice, Zander Wiel’s RBI single and a sac fly to left by Grotjohn. The Ducks closed to within 3-2 in the fourth on Alex Dickerson’s sac fly to left and Jesse Russo’s RBI single through the right side off Rockers starter Liam O’Sullivan. 

Long Island then sent 10 men to the plate in the fifth, scoring six runs to take an 8-3 lead. Joe DeCarlo’s RBI single, Daniel Murphy’s three-run homer to right and Edward Salcedo’s two-run single did the damage. 

Woods Jr. (3-0) picked up the win, tossing five innings of three-run ball, allowing six hits and three walks while striking out four. O’Sullivan (1-1) took the loss, giving up six runs (four earned) on seven hits and a walk in four innings with one strikeout. 

Murphy led the Ducks offense with two hits, three RBIs and two runs. DeCarlo and Philip Caulfield each added two hits. 

The Ducks hit the road on Tuesday night to open a three-game series against the Staten Island FerryHawks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park. Fans can follow all the action live on Flo Baseball by CLICKING HERE.

Game 1
(Central Islip, N.Y., May 21, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the High Point Rockers 4-2 in seven innings on Sunday afternoon in game one of a day/night doubleheader at Fairfield Properties Ballpark.

Sam Travis gave the Ducks an immediate 3-0 lead with a first inning three-run home run to left field off Rockers starter Chris Rollins. A run-scoring groundout to third by Travis in the second made it a 4-0 ballgame. 

John Nogowski’s RBI single in the third off Ducks starter Joe Iorio closed the gap back to three. It stayed that way until Ryan Grotjohn hit a solo homer to right in the seventh, but High Point would get no closer. 

Iorio (2-2) earned the win, tossing six innings of one-run ball, allowing four hits and a walk while striking out three. Rollins (0-1) took the loss, conceding four runs (three earned) on three hits and three walks in two innings with four strikeouts. Kevin Quackenbush picked up his fifth save despite allowing a run in the seventh. 

Travis led the Flock offensively with two hits, four RBIs and a run.

So. Maryland 15, Staten Island 1

(Sunday, May 21st, Waldorf) The series was split with one game apiece, with the Crabs winning the day before 1-0 due to the conditions. Having snapped their four-game losing streak, the Blue Crabs were trying to close the book with a win on the six-game homestand.   

Frederick 6, Charleston 2