Staten Island 7, Long Island 0
The Staten Island FerryHawks defeated the Long Island Ducks with a shutout 7-0 victory Thursday evening.
Staten Island’s sticks compiled 17 hits in the ballgame thanks to five players collecting multi-hit games. Nate Scantlin and Alejandro De Aza each had a 4-hit night, with Scantlin scoring once and De Aza crossing home twice. Kolby Johnson went deep in the game, good for his 9th time this season. Johnson finished the night 3-5 with 2 RBI and a run scored. Other notable bats for the Hawks consisted of Pablo Sandoval (2-5, 2 RBI) and new shortstop Jackson Loftin. Loftin’s Staten Island debut featured a 2-5 night alongside a pair of RBI and strikeouts.
John Esposito made his first start with the FerryHawks since May 28th. In his outing against the Ducks Thursday, “Espo” threw 5 innings of 3 hit, no-run ball while striking out 3. To help complete the shutout, lefty Christian Allegretti came on to pitch two innings while only surrendering one hit. Josh James also got an inning of work against his former team, striking out a pair. Robbie Baker pitched a clean ninth inning, and the FerryHawks avoided being swept by the Ducks.
The Staten Island FerryHawks are Lancaster-bound, as they are set to play their weekend series against the Stormers. Don’t miss a pitch of the action, purchase a FloSports subscription today to watch all FerryHawks home and away games!
Gastonia 9, High Point 8
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers fell short in a high-scoring affair against the Gastonia Baseball Club, dropping a 9-8 decision on Thursday night at Truist Point in front of 2,153 fans.
Gastonia wasted no time getting the bats hot against Rockers’ starter Matt Solter (L, 1-2), taking a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Kevin Watson Jr. delivered a two-run triple, driving in the game’s first runs.
In the top of the third, Gastonia broke the game open with a six-run inning. With Hidekel Gonzalez on first after a broken-bat single, Gastonia pushed two more runs across with a timely RBI hit. Jake Gatewood followed with his second single of the night, setting the stage for Jacob Robson, who delivered a bases-loaded single to center, driving in three runs. Steven Flores capped the outburst with an RBI double to center, putting Gastonia up 8-0.
The Rockers’ offense came alive in the bottom of the third. After a DJ Burt walk and a single by Martin Figueroa, Ryan Grotjohn laced a double to right, sending Burt home for High Point’s first run. Quincy Nieporte followed with a two-run triple, cutting the deficit to 8-3. Connor Owings hit a sac fly to score Nieporte, tightening the score to 8-4.
Michael Martinez launched his first home run of the season for High Point, a 354-foot shot to left field in the bottom of the fourth. Burt singled, Figueroa walked, and Gastonia’s starter, Jake Miednick, loaded the bases with another walk. However, Nieporte couldn’t capitalize, leaving the Rockers empty-handed.
After Julian Smith replaced Miednick on the mound in the top of the fifth, Ben Aklinski hit his 20th home run of the season, the second of the night for the Rockers. Martinez followed with a double down the left field line, and Burt’s single brought him home, cutting Gastonia’s lead to 8-7.
The Baseball Club added an insurance run in the seventh when Gatewood doubled home Watson Jr., making it 9-7. Cory Thompson (W, 4-0) kept the Rockers hitless during his two innings of relief in the sixth and seventh.
High Point’s DJ Johnson took the mound in the eighth and held Gastonia scoreless, thanks to a diving catch by Grotjohn and a crucial strikeout of Watson Jr. The Rockers kept the pressure on in the bottom of the eighth, with Evan Edwards scoring on Grotjohn’s out, making it a one-run game at 9-8.
Despite putting runners in scoring position in the bottom of the ninth, the Rockers couldn’t complete the comeback. Gabe Klobosits (S, 9), reliever for Gastonia, shut down the High Point offense, securing the 9-8 win for the Baseball Club.
The Rockers (20-14) are 2.5 games behind Charleston (22-12) in the Atlantic League’s South Division second half pennant race and a half-game back of Gastonia (20-14).
The Rockers head to Charleston to take on the Dirty Birds this weekend, and will face Gastonia again next Tuesday when they return home to Truist Point.
York 6-5, Southern Maryland 4-6
(August 15, 2024 – Waldorf, Md.): Zander Wiel homered in both games of Thursday’s doubleheader and provided the first of three long balls for the York Revolution in a 6-4 victory over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the morning opener. Southern Maryland answered back with a 6-5 win in the second game to force a doubleheader split as well as a four-game series split.
The Revs jumped to an immediate 3-0 lead in the opener. Matt McDermott was plunked by a pitch to start the game before an error on second baseman Aaron Hill put two aboard. Wiel connected on his 20th home run of the season and seventh with York, parking a three-run shot to left to open the scoring.
The first inning had the potential for a bigger run total as the first five all reached, but on his 28th pitch, Crabs starter Ian Kahaloa finally recorded his first out before ending the inning on a double play on the very next pitch.
Southern Maryland got on the board in the bottom of the second as Caleb Marquez drove a two-run double to the fence in left center but was eventually doubled off second to end the inning as the Revs maintained a 3-2 lead.
Jacob Rhinesmith nailed a line drive opposite field homer inside the left field foul pole in the top of the third, inching the lead back to 4-2.
Revs starter Tom Sutera enjoyed a six-pitch third inning but surrendered the lead in the fourth as Miles Williams connected on a two-run homer to right center, tying the game at 4-4.
Kahaloa struck out the side in three consecutive innings through the fourth including fanning five straight hitters at one point, but the Revs got to the righty again with two outs in the fifth. Rhinesmith came up with a big single to keep the inning alive and Joe Perez launched a towering two-run homer onto the deck in left, thrusting the Revs back on top, 6-4.
Nelvin Correa (3-1) retired all six batters across the fifth and sixth innings, going multiple innings for just the second time this season and first time in exactly two months. He struck out four including striking out the side in the sixth, earning the win.
Matt Turner picked up his 12th save and second of the series, handling a 1-2-3 seventh as Revs pitchers combined to retire the final 12 Blue Crab batters of the game.
York again jumped to a 3-0 lead in the first inning of game two. McDermott led off with a base hit to left and moved ahead on a passed ball before scoring on Rudy Martin Jr’s single to right center. Martin Jr advanced on an errant pickoff attempt, and with one out, took third base for his league leading 65th steal. David Washington walked and stole second, setting up Rhinesmith who drove in both runners on a single to right.
Southern Maryland scored all six of its runs in the bottom of the third inning, rallying for eight hits on 50 pitches from Revs starter Michael Horrell (4-5). Ian Yetsko got Southern Maryland on the board with an RBI single. Jomar Reyes knifed the Revs lead down to one on a sac fly, and Juan Kelly tied the game when a potential inning-ending double play ball took a bad hop over the shoulder of Washington at first base for a game-tying RBI single. Williams completed his combined cycle over both games with a two-run triple down the first base line, and Hill singled up the middle to plate another run as the Crabs led 6-3.
York loaded the bases in the fourth and McDermott cracked a deep drive to right center, but center fielder Josh Broughton made a fine running grab to save three runs, maintaining his team’s three-run lead.
Wiel crushed a two-run homer to left in the top of the fifth, bringing the Revs within one run at 6-5 but they were never able to find the equalizer.
The Revs return home this weekend to host the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars. Friday’s series opener gets underway at 6:30 p.m. with LHP Zach Neff facing RHP Marvin Gorgas. Promos include Scout Sleepover, Umpire Appreciation Night, and Beach Towel Giveaway presented by WellSpan Health to the first 1,000 fans. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
Notes: The series split marks just the third time in 17 road series that the Revs have not been victorious (14-2-1). York had not scored as many as three runs in a first inning since July 19 before plating three runs in the first inning in both games of Thursday’s doubleheader. It was just the third doubleheader of the season for the Revs, having split all three. Wiel becomes the ninth player in Revs history to homer in both games of a doubleheader and first since Nellie Rodriguez did so in 2021. Denny Bentley tossed two scoreless innings in relief for the Revs in game two, extending his scoreless streak to six consecutive outings; he has also allowed just one run in his last eight appearances and benefited from a great diving grab by center fielder Alerick Soularie to save at least one run in the fifth. Washington has a stolen base in three consecutive games. Rhinesmith went 4-for-7 in the doubleheader and is now 13-for-27 on a seven-game hitting streak. Martin Jr lost an eight-game streak in the opener.
Hagerstown 9, Lancaster 8 (10 innings)
The Hagerstown Flying Boxcars took flight after a bench-clearing brawl and rallied past the Lancaster Stormers, 9-8, in ten innings Thursday evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
With the loss, the Stormers’ lead over second place York was trimmed to 1 ½ games. York split a doubleheader with Southern Maryland earlier in the day. Long Island remained three back.
Lancaster had taken an 8-6 lead off Yoelvin Silven in the bottom of the eighth inning. Kyle Kasser and Gaige Howard set the stage with singles. Isan Diaz delivered both with a two-run double into the right field corner to tie the game at 6-6. Mason Martin followed with a two-run homer onto the walkway down the left field line, jolting the Stormers into the lead.
Joseph Carpenter was hit by the next pitch. Cool heads prevailed until the end of the inning when Silven was ejected from the game, and the Stormers engaged him as he was departing down the first base line. Benches and bullpens emptied, and it took several moments for the umpiring trio to straighten the mess and issue ejections.
Closer Stephen Nogosek yielded a leadoff home run to Ozzie Abreu in the top of the ninth inning. Osmy Gregorio singled into center with one out. Nogosek struck out Welington Dotel for the second out, but Nellie Rodriguez crushed a game-tying double to left center.
In the top of the tenth, Phil Diehl (4-3) retired the first two batters before catcher Joe Campagna lined a double off the top of Chad Sedio’s glove for the 9-8 lead.
Carlos Gomez (1-0) retired the side in order in both the ninth and tenth innings for the win in his Hagerstown debut.
The Stormers had battled back earlier in the game after the Flying Boxcars reached starter Max Green for three runs in the second inning. Joseph Carpenter homered onto the right field deck to lead off the fourth. In the fifth a wild pitch from Jose Lopez scored Gaige Howard from second. Carpenter followed with a double inside the third base bag to knot the game at 3-3.
Green retired 12 straight before Rodriguez reached him for a homer to right in the top of the sixth. Cito Culver added a two-run homer later in the inning.
The Stormers host Staten Island on Friday night. Matt Swarmer (2-2) will make the start for the Stormers. Fans may tune into FLoBaseball at 6:40.
NOTES: Martin extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a single in the first…Howard had his 34th multi-hit game and his eighth with three or more hits…Carpenter had his third straight multi-hit game…Lancaster is 2-4 in extra inning contests.
Charleston 4, Lexington 3