Charleston 3, Staten Island 1
The FerryHawks fell to the Dirty Birds by a score of 3-1 on Friday night at SIUH Community Park to open a three-game weekend series against the South Division leader.
The game got off to a quick start thanks to dominant pitching from both sides that led to only 4 hits and 1 run being scored through the first four innings. Right hander, Taylor Lepard was on the bump for the FerryHawks while left hander, Kevin Smith toed the rubber for the Dirty Birds in this one. Lepard, with a final line of 6.1 innings, 9 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks, and 5 strikeouts, picked up the loss in this one. Smith was the winning pitcher, picking up 7 strikeouts while only allowing 1 hit in the contest over 6 innings of work.
After stringing together a number of offensive-heavy performances on the road, the FerryHawks bats fell silent tonight with their return home. Kolby Johnson was the only FerryHawk with a multi-hit performance as he continued his recent hot streak that has his average at .307 on the season and .417 in the month of August!
Charleston tacked on unanswered runs in 2nd, 5th, and 7th innings before the FerryHawks plated one of their own – their only run of the night. The Dirty Birds manufactured 11 hits anchored by leadoff-man, Phillip Ervin. The designated hitter had himself a 3-4 night that included a walk and 2 RBI’s.
The two teams will square off tomorrow as the Hawks look to get back in the win column while the Dirty Birds look to protect a 3.5 game division lead as we head into the final stretch of the 2024 season!
Lancaster 14, Long Island 2
It had been five weeks since Noah Bremer’s last victory. In the interim, the right-hander had to endure three starts shortened by rain and a hectic schedule resulting from the rain. He received little offensive support, and the bullpen let at least one lead escape.
On Friday evening, all of the elements came together for the one-time Texas Rangers farmhand as the Lancaster Stormers lambasted the Long Island Ducks, 14-2, in the opener of a three-game series at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
With the win, the Stormers were able to extend their lead over York to 1 ½ games in the division and take the lead over High Point in a wild card chase.
Bremer (9-6) yielded four hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings without walking a batter. He struck out six. No one for the Ducks advanced beyond first base over the first six innings, in which Bremer faced only 19 batters. Chance Sisco, in his first game back from the injured list, broke up the shutout bit with an RBI double in the top of the seventh.
Lest you think Bremer was living in the lap of luxury based on the final score, truth is, he was not. The game started, like so many have for the native Californian, as a 0-0 tie through 3 ½ innings. Lancaster finally broke the ice in the home fourth. Niko Hulsizer greeted Nick Tropeano (2-1) with a single to left. One out later, Joseph Carpenter pulled a double down the left field line. Both men scored on a triple to the left center gap by Joe Stewart.
Lancaster failed to score the third run there, but doubles by Damon Dues and Isan Diaz staked Bremer to a 3-0 lead in the fifth.
That would be all the support for Bremer until he departed the game in the seventh with Aaron Antonini scheduled as the tying run for the Ducks. Phil Diehl was summoned to pick up the final out.
At that point, Lancaster’s bats went crazy. The home seventh began slowly as Jack Conley bunted for a base hit, and Trace Loehr rolled a grounder through the left side to add a second runner. Dues laid a bunt down to the third base side of the mound. Reliever Peyton Williams looked at third before making a horribly wild throw to first, resulting in a three-base error and a 5-1 lead. Diaz doubled to right center for a 6-1 edge. Mason Martin reached lefty Rolando Casihis for a loud grand slam to right and a 10-1 lead. Joseph Carpenter followed with a blast to dead center. Three more hits and two more runs later, the Stormers tied their biggest inning of the season with a 10-run output and a 13-1 lead.
JC Encarnacion and Martin exchanged homers in the eighth for the final markers.
Lancaster will send Oscar De La Cruz (3-3) to the mound on Saturday evening against right-hander Sal Romano (1-0). Fireworks will follow the game. Fans may follow the action, as always, on FloBaseball.
NOTES: The win was the 451st for manager Ross Peeples…He is one away from tying Butch Hobson for the franchise career record…Martin became only the second Stormer in history to hit three grand slams in a season…Ryan Harvey did it in a span of 10 days in 2013…Martin took the club lead with 15 homers…Carpenter has homers in three straight games he has played…Diaz has hit safely in 12 straight games with 13 extra-base hits and 19 RBI.
Hagerstown 5, York 4
(August 23, 2024 – Hagerstown, Md.): The York Revolution saw their record 12-game winning streak against the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars come to a close, dropping their series opener 5-4 at Meritus Park on Friday evening.
York jumped ahead early as Zander Wiel ripped a two-out RBI double down the left field line in the top of the first.
Hagerstown answered right away, scoring on a Nellie Rodriguez sac fly to center to even things at 1-1.
The Revs went back ahead in the second as Rudy Martin Jr slashed an RBI single past shortstop Osmy Gregorio for a 2-1 lead, but it was the last lead the Revs held on the night.
Hagerstown went ahead with a pair in the third on RBI singles to center from Andrew Moritz and Cito Culver and added two more in the fourth as Tyler Hill and Culver put up another pair of RBI hits.
Wiel drove an opposite field solo homer to right with two outs in the fifth, his second in as many nights, to bring York within 5-3.
The Revs tallied another in the sixth to make it a one-run game. Alerick Soularie singled to right to chase Boxcars starter Yeudy Garcia (3-5) after a season-high 5.1 innings. Soularie stole second and moved to third on a passed ball before scoring on Alfredo Reyes’ ground out to second base to draw within 5-4.
Hagerstown’s bullpen preserved the lead from there, as York’s biggest threat came in the eighth when Jacob Rhinesmith and Soularie both worked walks and moved up on a wild pitch but were stranded when Boxcars reliever Aneudy Cortorreal induced an inning-ending ground out.
The Revs’ 12-game winning streak against Hagerstown wasn’t the only record-setting streak that came to an end on Friday night, as York starter Ethan Lindow (11-5) saw his franchise record-tying nine-game winning streak halted, charged with five runs (four earned) in four innings in his first loss and his first start not going at least five innings since June 6 after being lifted during fifth inning warmups due to an apparent ailment.
York’s bullpen was excellent in keeping the game close. Cody Scroggins settled into his third outing with York, tossing a scoreless fifth and working out of trouble after a leadoff walk and stolen base. Scroggins received help on the final out when third baseman Alejandro Rivero attempted an over-the-shoulder grab on a pop up down the left field line, deflecting the ball in the air for Soularie to make a miraculous diving catch, saving a run. Originally ruled to have hit the ground before the Revs’ left fielder secured it, the call was overturned resulting in the final out of the inning.
It was the second of three great plays involving Rivero, who made a diving backhand stab on a grounder in the third and threw from his knees to retire Gregorio to end the inning. Also initially ruled safe as Gregorio knocked the glove off Wiel’s hand at first base, the call was overturned in York’s favor, wiping a run off of the board.
Rivero made another diving stop on a grounder in the sixth as Revs reliever Frankie Bartow fired two perfect innings, using three ground ball outs in the sixth before striking out the side in the seventh.
Alex Valverde handled a scoreless eighth with help of a pickoff to erase pinch runner Demetrius Moorer at first base and a diving catch by Wiel on a liner at first. Valverde has allowed just one earned run in 16.1 innings over his last 11 outings.
In total, the Revs bullpen put up four scoreless innings and allowed just one bloop hit.
York falls to 15-4 against Hagerstown while suffering its first loss at Meritus Park (6-1). The Revs remain one win shy of a franchise record for victories against one opponent in a season series with five matchups still remaining.
York falls to 69-35 overall and 37-17 on the road. The Revs are now 26-15 in the second half, 1.5 games out of first place.
Hagerstown improves to 30-74, snapping a six-game losing streak. The Boxcars improve to 10-31 in the second half.
Notes: Lindow’s nine straight wins had tied Mitch Atkins (2019) for a Revs franchise record. Matt McDermott notched a pair of singles extending his hitting streak to 11 games and his league-leading hit total to 135. Wiel’s homer is his 10th with York and 23rd overall this season; he now has 25 doubles and 50 extra-base hits, ranking in the top five in the league in both categories. Wiel has 38 RBI in 39 games with York and is 5-for-9 with two doubles, two homers, and six RBI over the last two nights. York lefty Aaron Fletcher faces Hagerstown’s Parker Markel on Saturday at 6 p.m. Revs fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 98.9 FM & 1350 WOYK, 989woyk.com, The New WOYK app, and FloBaseball.TV beginning at 5:40 p.m.
Southern Maryland 3, High Point 1
WALDORF, Md. (August 23, 2024) – The High Point Rockers dropped a 3-1 decision to Southern Maryland on Friday night at Regency Furniture Stadium.
After falling behind 3-1 after seven innings, the Rockers put two men aboard in the eighth but were unable to score. In the ninth, High Point loaded the bases but was again unable to push a run across the plate.
High Point starter Derrick Adams (L, 1-2) held the Blue Crabs to just one hit through the first five innings. In the sixth, Michael Baca singled to right and moved to second on a ground out to first by Isaias Quiroz. Josh Broughton fouled out as Evan Edwards stretched into the second row of the rightfield stands to snag the pop out. Aaron Hill then bounced a grounder to third that went under Connor Owings glove for an error that allowed Baca to score from second. Hill then stole second and scored on a single by Jomar Reyes to give the Blue Crabs a 2-0 lead.
In the top of the seventh, Ryan Grotjohn lined a first pitch single to right and stole second before scoring on a single back up the middle by Owings to cut the deficit to 2-1.
Adams allowed just three hits and two unearned runs over his six innings of work while striking out three and not allowing a walk.
Justin Lewis came on in the bottom of the seventh for the Rockers. Juan Kelly greeted him with a solo homer to right to put the Crabs up 3-1.
In the eighth, Southern Maryland closer Endrys Briceno walked Edwards and Michael Martinez to open the frame then struck out Brian Parreira, induced a ground out from D.J. Burt and then struck out Martin Figueroa to end the inning.
Grotjohn opened the ninth with a single to right and moved to second on a wild pitch. With one out, Owings drew a walk before Briceno struck out Ben Aklinski and Quincy Nieporte. Briceno walked Edwards to load the bases and Martinez struck out to end the game.
Grotjohn and Owings each finished with a pair of hits for the Rockers. Reliever Derek Casey (W, 3-4) three three hitless innings at the Rockers aftger reliever starter Shawn Semple in the fourth.
The loss leaves the Rockers at 22-19 in the second half, 5.5 games behind Charleston (28-14) which who beat Staten Island 3-1 on Friday. Gastonia, a 4-2 winner over Lexington on Friday, is in second place in the South at 24-17.
The three-game series with Southern Maryland continues on Saturday at Regency Furniture Stadium at 6:35 p.m.
Gastonia 4, Lexington 2