York 6, Southern Maryland 4
(August 13, 2024 – Waldorf, Md.): Just 11 days after a tragedy involving a young fan at Regency Furniture Stadium, the York Revolution returned to Southern Maryland and pulled out a 6-4 victory over the Blue Crabs on an emotionally draining day in their series opener on Tuesday.
York fell behind in the first as Jomar Reyes battled his way on with a two-out walk after despite having beenh further behind in the count. Anthony Brocato cashed in with an RBI double to right center for the game’s first run.
The Revs answered in the third. Alfredo Reyes reached on an infield single to lead off, and Alerick Soularie clubbed an RBI triple off the base of the fence in left center to tie it up. Matt McDermott followed with an RBI single to center for his league-leading 120th hit of the year and a 2-1 lead.
Southern Maryland muscled its way in front on back-to-back homers in the bottom of the fourth. Reyes again set the table, battling his way on with a single to left after again falling behind in the count. Brocato put the Crabs ahead with a long two-run homer to left center, and Reyes went back-to-back, slugging a homer to left to make it 4-2.
York inched closer in the sixth as Joe Perez led off with a single to center and stole second before scoring when Jacob Rhinesmith’s deep drive to right center tied the score at 4-4.
The Revs rallied with two outs in the eighth as Alfredo Reyes reached on a single and stole second. That set up Soularie’s game-winning RBI single up the middle for a 5-4 lead.
York added a run in the ninth when David Washington motored home on a wild pitch to make it 6-4.
The Revs bullpen was outstanding in relief of Aaron Fletcher who battled through five. Valverde retired all six in relief while Holiday (2-0) picked up the win. Schulze is credited with a hold while Turner notches his 11th save, striking out the side to leave the bases loaded in the ninth.
Gastonia 3, High Point 2
HIGH POINT, N.C. – Gastonia’s Justin Wylie hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth inning to give the Baseball Club a 3-2 win over the High Point Rockers on Tuesday night at Truist Point.
With Charleston taking an 11-9 decision from Lexington, the Rockers fell two games out of first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division. Charleston leads the division with a 21-10 second half record while the Rockers are second at 19-12. Gastonia is third at 18-14, 1.5 games behind High Point.
High Point starter Derrick Adams, making his first start at Truist Point, was perfect through three innings and retired the first 11 batters of the game. Josh Stowers doubled with two outs in the fourth and he scored on a single by Jake Gatewood for a 1-0 Gastonia lead.
The Rockers knotted the game at 1-1 in their half of the fourth off Gastonia starter Morgan McSweeney. Connor Owings drew a one out walk before McSweeney walked Evan Edwards. Trent Fennell came in from the bullpen and walked Michael Martinez to load the bases. Aklinski came home on a Fennell wild pitch.
A double by Eric De La Rosa to lead off the sixth led to Gastonia taking a 2-1 lead. De La Rosa moved to third on Richie Martin’s ground out to first then scored on a wild pitch by High Point reliever Justin Lewis.
Aklinski scored the tying run in the bottom of the sixth, reaching base after being hit by a pitch from Cory Thompson. Thompson then walked Edwards and Martinez bounced to a 4-6-3 double play that moved Aklinski to third. A wild pitch then brought home the tying run.
Will Carter put Gastonia down in order in the eighth and closer Dakota Chalmers struck out the first two men he faced in the ninth before Wylie launched his homer to left for a 3-2 Gastonia advantage. Gabe Klobosits (W, 5-4) struck out the side in the ninth to preserve the Gastonia win.
Gastonia finished with five hits in the game and the Rockers had four.
Game two of the series will take place on Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.
Lancaster 5, Hagerstown 2
The entire Lancaster attack came in one inning.
Lancaster struck for five runs in the bottom of the seventh on Thursday evening to topple the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars, 5-2, in the opener of a three-game series at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
With the win, the Stormers remained one game ahead of York in the second half North race. Long Island remained within three games of the division-leading Stormers.
Chris Proctor opened the home seventh with a triple that skipped through the gap in left center against Rodolfo Sanchez (1-2). Sanchez struck out Kyle Kasser for the first out, but Damon Dues was able to slap a ground ball past shortstop Osmy Gregorio to tie the game at 1-1. Dues stole second and moved to third on a ground out. Isan Diaz singled to center to break the tie. Niko Hulsizer’s hard grounder down the third base line was smothered by Ozzie Abreu, who was not able to get enough on the throw from his knees. Abreu later kept Mason Martin alive by failing to catch a foul pop up near the railing. Martin then took left-hander Rob Klinchock over the left field wall for a three-run homer.
Phil Diehl surrendered a run in the top of the eighth on a double by Nellie Rodriguez and a fly ball dropped by Hulsizer down the left field line. Stephen Nogosek survived a two-out error, striking out two in the ninth for his league-leading 13th save.
Oscar De La Cruz and Parker Markel were brilliant in the starting roles. De La Cruz worked the first six innings, yielding six hits and a run on a Blake Berry homer to right center leading off the fourth inning. Markel was even better, limiting the Stormers to four hits in six shutout innings while walking three and striking out eight.
Adam Wibert (2-0) allowed two hits in the seventh but got Welington Dotel to ground into a force play to end the threat. Wibert earned his second win in August.
Lancaster will send Brady Tedesco (1-3) to the hill on Wednesday against fellow lefty Mike Kickham (5-10). Fans may view the game on Blue Ridge 11 or FloBaseball, starting at 6:40.
NOTES: Lancaster’s starter, other than three rain-shortened starts by Noah Bremer, lasted five or more innings for the 18th straight game…Martin doubled along with the three-run homer to extend his hitting streak to 13 games…He is batting .404 (21-52) with six homers in the streak…The win was the 445th for manager Ross Peeples, leaving him seven shy of Butch Hobson’s franchise record.
Long Island 7, Staten Island 5
(Staten Island, N.Y., Aug. 13, 2024) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Staten Island FerryHawks 7-5 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park.
Ryan McBroom gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead in the first inning with an RBI double to center field off FerryHawks starter Noe Toribio. It stayed that way until the fifth when a two-out, two-run single to right field by Nate Scantlin off Ducks starter Mike Montgomery gave the FerryHawks a 2-1 lead.
Long Island took the lead back at 5-2 in the sixth with a four-run frame. RBI doubles from Nick Heath and Ryan McBroom plus an RBI single by Yoelquis Cespedes highlighted the inning. JC Encarnacion added a two-run single up the middle in the seventh, increasing the Ducks lead to five.
A two-run homer to right by Alejandro De Aza and an RBI single up the middle by Luis Castro in the bottom of the seventh trimmed the Ducks advantage to 7-5. However, the hosts could not pull even.
Montgomery (6-4) earned the win, tossing six innings of two-run ball, allowing three hits and two walks with one strikeout. Noe Toribio (1-2) took the loss, giving up five runs on five hits and a walk in five and one-third innings with two strikeouts. Ramon Santos picked up his eighth save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out two.
Encarnacion and McBroom led the Ducks offense with two hits, two RBIs and a run each.
The Ducks and FerryHawks continue their three-game series on Wednesday morning. First pitch is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park. Fans can follow all the action live on FloBaseball by CLICKING HERE. Right-hander Daniel Corcino (5-7, 5.04) takes the mound for the Ducks against FerryHawks righty Mike Shawaryn (6-7, 6.28).
The Ducks return home on Friday, August 16, to begin a three-game set against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. 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). The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive Dental Health Bags, courtesy of the Stony Brook School of Dental Medicine. It’s also a Tap Room Friday, and Ducks staff members will be handing out coupons for 20% off your entire check and 50% off your first online or mobile app order as fans exit the ballpark. Tickets for the game, and all Ducks games, are available by visiting the Fairfield Properties Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or CLICKING HERE.
Charleston 11-5, Lexington 9-7
Charleston maintained its share of first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division by splitting two games with Charleston. Charleston prevailed 11-9 in eight innings in the first game, using a three-run eighth inning to break an 8-8 tie.
The Legends won the night cap after entering the bottom of the seventh trailing 5-3. J.T. Riddle smashed a three-run homer to give Lexington a 7-5 victory.
Charleston is 21-11 in the second half and holds a 1.5 game lead over High Point (19-12) and a three-game lead over Gastonia (18-14).