York 4, Staten Island 3
(May 27, 2024 – York, Pa.): After a slow start to the day offensively, the York Revolution offense came alive late, scoring four in the final two innings for a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Staten Island FerryHawks, 4-3 on Memorial Day afternoon at WellSpan Park to earn a series split and move back into a tie for first place. Kobe Kato played the hero with a two-run walk off blast in the ninth in one of the more memorable victories for the Revs in recent memory.
York trailed throughout the afternoon before the late game heroics.
After a scoreless first inning, Aaron Fletcher allowed two baserunners to start the second. A double steal by the FerryHawks set up Luis Castro who scored on a two-out wild pitch to put Staten Island on the board first.
Pablo Sandoval drove in a run on a single in the third inning, scoring leadoff man Nate Scantlin who was hit by a pitch to begin the frame. Castro drove in a run of his own on a single, giving Staten Island the early 3-0 cushion.
Fletcher settled in after that, retiring the next nine he faced until a two out double from Robert Brooks in the sixth. It was part of a stretch on which 12 of 13 were retired by Fletcher who finished his day with a quality start, giving up just three runs over seven innings.
York did not have many answers against Staten Island starter Aaron Leasher. The southpaw retired the first 11 Revs hitters he faced before Donovan Casey reached on an error by Castro in the fourth inning. Leasher worked around it, getting David Washington to fly out one pitch later.
The Revs recorded their first hits in the fifth as Kato knocked a single to right center and Alfredo Reyes followed with a bunt single. Leasher escaped the jam one pitch later, getting Paul Mondesi to ground out and end the threat.
Matt McDermott reached on an infield single in the sixth, but Leasher breezed into the eighth inning with a three-hit shutout intact.
Michael Horrell tossed a perfect top of the eighth out of the Revs bullpen, and York finally got on the board in the bottom half.
With two outs and a runner on, Donovan Casey drove a ball to the lawn in right center field against Leasher for his second home run of the season and weekend. Casey’s 440-foot blast cut the deficit to 3-2, injecting some life into the crowd and momentum into the home dugout, setting the stage for the dramatic finish.
Matt Turner (1-0) fired a perfect ninth as Revs pitchers combined to allow just one FerryHawk hit from the fourth inning on.
Staten Island turned to closer Robbie Baker (1-1) in the ninth, coming off a four-out save the day before. Baker retired Trey Martin on a ground out to start it, but Colton Welker worked a clutch walk on a 3-2 count to bring up Kato.
Kato delivered, driving a two-run walk off blast to right center field and walking down the first base line with his bat flipped skyward as teammates came rushing out of the first base dugout for a wild celebration at home plate as the Revs took the 4-3 win and salvaged a split with Staten Island, moving back into a tie for first place with both teams now 17-12 on the season.
York will welcome the Charleston Dirty Birds for the first time on Tuesday as the homestand continues at WellSpan Park. Jon Olsen (1-0, 0.82) makes his first start in a Revs uniform at 6:30 PM, opposite Charleston’s Casey Cobb (0-2, 6.47). It is Ritmo de York presented by Bilingual Conexion and WellSpan Sports Medicine Silver Sluggers Tuesday. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
Notes: York’s walk off win is its first of the season and first since Trent Giambrone’s walk off single to beat Lancaster on 9/9/23. It is the 21st walk off HR in franchise history and first since Nellie Rodriguez walked off Southern Maryland with a two-run blast on 9/23/21. Kato’s homer is his third of the season; he is now 9-for-16 with four extra-base hits over his last five games after going 2-for-4 on Monday. McDermott singled in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to 14 games; it also extended his Revs career opening on-base streak to 25 games. Washington lost his 20 game on-base streak with an 0-4 day. Leasher retired the first 11 Revs he faced to begin the game, the longest stretch against York to open a game this season. Fletcher recorded his third consecutive quality start in a no-decision.
Gastonia 4, Southern Maryland 3
As Justin Wylie was batting with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Kevin Watson Jr took his lead off third base.
Southern Maryland lefty reliever Alex Katz was having trouble locating, as he walked two straight Gastonia batters prior to Wylie strolling up to the dish.
On a 1-1 pitch, Katz airmailed the catcher Isaias Quiroz, the ball bouncing off the netting behind home plate and caroming right back to Quiroz.
Watson Jr took off as soon as the ball got by, and he raced for home as Quiroz flipped the ball to Katz, who was covering the plate.
The speedster slid in just ahead of the tag in a bang-bang play, resulting in a walkoff wild pitch that gave Gastonia a comeback 4-3 victory on Memorial Day.
The Club’s offense was lackluster for the first half of Monday’s game against the Blue Crabs. Gastonia mustered up no runs on just two hits through the first four innings, facing right-hander Garrett Martin.
But the team was aided by a phenomenal start from Zac Lowther.
The southpaw allowed one run, unearned, in the contest and struck out 12 batters – a season-high for a Gastonia pitcher in 2024.
Southern Maryland led 2-1 in the sixth inning – both runs as a result of Gastonia errors.
Jake Hoover’s fielding error in the first inning led to Matt Hibbert scoring on Michael Wielansky’s double. Jack Reinheimer’s errant throw in the sixth allowed Anthony Brocato to trot home.
Wielansky then tacked onto the lead with a run-scoring single in the seventh, giving the Crabs a 3-1 advantage.
Jake Gatewood cut into the deficit in the eighth.
Gatewood entered the game leading the team in home runs, RBIs and OPS. Well, it stayed that way through Monday’s contest.
The eighth-inning solo shot – an absolute no-doubter to left-center – was Gatewood’s 10th long ball of the season and 25th RBI.
A few batters later, Dean Miller lined a ball the other way down the right field line, scoring Eric De La Rosa to tie the game at 3.
Katz came on for the ninth inning, and the southpaw retired the first two batters he faced.
Watson Jr hit an opposite-field single to keep the inning alive for the Club.
The reliever then lost his control, throwing eight straight out of the zone to walk Gatewood and De La Rosa.
With the count 1-1 on Wylie, Katz threw the pitch well over the head of Quiroz and Watson Jr scored on a very close play at the plate to walk it off.
Gastonia has won six consecutive series – taking down Hagerstown, York, Charleston, Lexington, Lancaster and now Southern Maryland – since the first week of May.
The Club becomes the first ALPB team to 20 wins on the year, improving to 20-9 before heading up North to Long Island, New York.
First pitch of the three-game set between Gastonia and the Ducks is on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.