Charleston 10, High Point 2
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The High Point Rockers could not hold onto an early lead and fell to Charleston 10-2 Sunday afternoon at Charleston’s GoMart Park.
The loss moved High Point (20-17) to 4.5 games behind South Division-leading Charleston (25-13) and two games in back of second place Gastonia (22-15).
For the second consecutive day, a solo homer in the first put the Rockers on the board. On Sunday, it was Connor Owings who took Charleston starter Keyvius Sampson (W, 2-0) deep to center to give the Rockers a 1-0 lead.
The Dirty Birds loaded the bases in the bottom of the second on a walk and a pair of singles off High Point starter Derrick Adams (L, 1-1). Luis Curbelo and Matt Hibbert each delivered sacrifice flies to give Charleston a 2-1 edge.
High Point tied the game at 2-2 in the third on a lead-off single by Brian Parreira, a sac bunt from D.J. Burt and an RBI single off the bat of Ryan Grotjohn.
But Charleston would score the next eight runs to take the game 10-2.
Adams walked a pair of runners in the third and then yielded a three-run homer to Tillman Pugh as Charleston took a 5-2 lead. Justin Lewis allowed a solo homer to Joseph Rosa in the fifth as the ‘Birds went up 6-2. A four-run outburst against High Point reliever D.J. Johnson, including a second three-run homer by Pugh, put the game out of reach in the seventh inning.
Four of the six batters that High Point walked wound up scoring.
With a day off on Monday, the Rockers will return to action at Truist Point on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m., starting a three-game series with Gastonia.
NOTES: Ryan Grotjohn’s third inning single stretched his hitting streak to 14 games, the longest by a Rocker this season.
York 10, Hagerstown 6
(August 18, 2024 – York, Pa.): The York Revolution powered their way to a sweep against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars on Sunday afternoon at WellSpan Park, launching a season high six home runs in a 10-6 victory. Matt McDermott led the way with a three-homer game as the Revs won their 12th consecutive game against the Boxcars.
Just like Saturday night, the scoring got started in the first inning courtesy of David Washington who blasted his 30th home run of the year over the lawn in right center field. His 440-foot two-run shot made it 2-0 York right out of the gate.
Ozzie Abreu answered back for Hagerstown with a long home run of his own, a solo shot in the second inning to put the Boxcars on the board with a 2-1 score.
Rudy Martin Jr and McDermott kept the offense rolling in the bottom of the third inning with a pair of solo home runs. Martin Jr lined a laser to left center while McDermott turned on an elevated fastball, clearing the Arch Nemesis to make it 4-1. York got the next two on but Parker Markel forced an inning ending double play to stifle any further York offense in the inning.
Now with a three-run lead, Revs starter Aaron Fletcher got some help from his defense in the top of the fourth. With a runner on second and two outs, Abreu drove a ball to deep right field where Alerick Soularie saved a run with a leaping and tumbling effort to end the inning. The incredible effort and hard landing forced Soularie to exit the game as he walked off under his own power.
Hagerstown played small ball to scratch across a run in the top of the fifth inning, moving the first two runners of the inning into scoring position with a successful sacrifice bunt before getting one home on an RBI groundout, cutting the lead to 4-2.
McDermott kickstarted a big fifth inning with a two-run blast to left center field for his second home run of the day. After Zander Wiel tripled to deep center field, Jacob Rhinesmith followed by launching a two-run home run of his own to right field, stretching the lead to 8-2 after the four-run frame.
Fletcher ran into a jam in the top of the sixth inning as the first four reached with a hit by pitch of Abreu on an 0-2 count forcing in a run and ending Fletcher’s day.
Chris Vallimont relieved Fletcher (6-5) but allowed two inherited runners to score on a single off of the Nemesis by Dillon Rosario. Vallimont stranded the bases loaded in the inning, striking out a pair in the process to keep York ahead 8-5.
McDermott continued his historic day in the bottom of the sixth, knocking out a wall-scraping two-run home run to right field, his third blast of the afternoon. He became the fourth Revs hitter to hit three home runs in a game, joining Ian Bladergroen (2010 at Lancaster), Telvin Nash (2019 vs High Point), and Melky Mesa (2019 vs New Britain).
Vallimont struck out two more in a scoreless seventh inning and Frankie Bartow pitched a scoreless eighth out of the Revs bullpen.
Hagerstown got one more run in the ninth on a single from Osmy Gregorio, but Oliver Garcia shut the door with a game ending double play to close out the Revs’ ninth sweep of the season, tied with the 2023 club for second most in a season in franchise history behind only the 2011 squad who enjoyed 11 sweeps.
Notes: York’s six home runs as a team are a new season high, surpassing the five they hit 7/20 vs Lexington. It marks the seventh time in Revs history they’ve hit at least six home runs in a game (first since 6/1/23 at Long Island) and the fifth time at home (first since 8/31/22 vs Staten Island). Martin Jr finished the day a triple shy of the cycle. Washington’s first inning HR was his 30th of the season, tying Carlos Franco’s 2022 campaign for the third most in a single season by a Revs hitter. It was also the 99th of his Atlantic League career, as he looks to become the 13th player in league history to hit 100 home runs. Rhinesmith extended his hitting streak to 10 consecutive games and his RBI streak to six straight with 10 driven in on that stretch. Hagerstown center fielder Demetrius Moorer suffered an injury on Wiel’s triple in the fifth and was forced to leave the game. York signed Alejandro Rivero prior to the game; Rivero rejoins the Revs after spending most of the summer in the Mexican League. He served as York’s primary third baseman last season and went 1-for-4 in his Revs season debut on Sunday. York is now a franchise record 34 games above .500 at 67-33. They move ahead of Lancaster into first place in the second half with a 24-13 record. Their 12 consecutive wins against Hagerstown adds to a franchise record for longest winning streak against one opponent, while their 15-3 head-to-head mark has them one win shy of tying a franchise record for most wins against one opponent in a season series; the two teams will meet six more times, all in Hagerstown.
Staten Island 7, Lancaster 4
The Staten Island FerryHawks reached Oscar De La Cruz for seven runs in a three-innings stretch early Sunday evening to topple the host Lancaster Stormers, 7-4, at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
With the loss, the Stormers fell into second place, one-half game behind York in the North.
After Isan Diaz belted a solo homer in the first to stake De La Cruz (3-3) to the early advantage, Alejandro De Aza leveled the game with a solo shot in the second.
It was the third inning that spelled doom for the Stormers. It all started when De La Cruz hit Kolby Johnson with an errant two-strike breaking ball. Johnson promptly stole second and scored when Luis Castro grounded a single into right. Pablo Sandoval’s grounder up the middle sent Castro to third, and Ben Norman’s sacrifice fly to left made it 3-1. Calvin Estrada then reached the right field deck for a 5-1 cushion.
RBI singles by Sandoval and Estrada in the fourth extended the lead to 7-1.
Meanwhile, Noe Toribio (2-2) kept Lancaster in check. The right-hander limited the host club to four hits and a run over 5 1/3 innings. He walked three and struck out six.
Lancaster’s bullpen combined to toss five scoreless innings to give the Stormers a chance, and they made noise over the final two innings. Diaz keyed a two-run eighth with a double to deep left center. Joe Stewart opened the ninth with a triple to the same zone and scored on a grounder by Shawon Dunston, Jr.
The Stormers will open a three-game series at Hagerstown on Tuesday with lefty Brady Tedesco on the mound. Mike Kickham (5-11) is the anticipated starter for the Flying Boxcars. Fans may tune into FloBaseball at 6:25 to catch the action.
NOTES: De La Cruz had an ERA of 1.53 in his previous five starts…He became the first starter since July 20, other than for rain or on short rest, not to last five innings…Lancaster relievers struck out eight in the final three innings…Diaz is 5-for-8 with four extra base hits and five RBI in his last two games…Stewart’s triple was his third in 68 at bats…The game was delayed 10 minutes by rain after 3 ½ innings.
Southern Maryland 7, Long Island 5
(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 18, 2024) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 7-5 on Sunday evening in the final game of a three-game series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark.
Jomar Reyes gave the Blue Crabs a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a two-run home run to left-center field off Ducks starter Mike Montgomery. Aaron Hill’s solo homer to left in the second and Anthony Brocato’s three-run homer to left-center in the third stretched Southern Maryland’s lead to six.
Down 7-0 in the sixth inning, the Ducks rallied for four runs off Blue Crabs starter Garrett Martin to close to within three. RBI doubles by Yonny Hernandez and Leobaldo Cabrera along with a two-run home run to right field by Aaron Antonini highlighted the inning. Nick Heath added an RBI single to right in the ninth, closing the gap to 7-5, but Long Island would get no closer.
Martin (6-7) picked up the win, tossing six innings of four-run ball, allowing six hits while striking out three. Montgomery (6-5) took the loss, conceding seven runs (six earned) on seven hits in four innings with five strikeouts. Endrys Briceno earned his 14th save of the season after recording the final five outs despite allowing a run on two hits and a walk.
Kole Kaler led the Ducks offense with two hits and a run scored, while Heath added two hits, an RBI and two steals.
The Ducks continue their homestand on Tuesday night when they open a three-game series against the Staten Island FerryHawks. 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 Fans’ Choice Night at the ballpark, and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive Ducks Silicone Smart Wallets. There will also be food, beverage and merchandise specials as well as promotional elements voted on by fans earlier this season. It’s also a Francesco’s Trattoria Tuesday and Triple Play Tuesday. Right-hander Daniel Corcino (5-7, 5.16) gets the start for the Ducks against FerryHawks righty Mike Shawaryn (6-7, 6.08).
Gastonia 13, Lexington 10