Southern Maryland 2, Lancaster 1

WALDORF, Md. - After all these years, the Lancaster Barnstormers still cannot find a way to beat Daryl Thompson.

The right-hander, the all-time Atlantic League wins leader, was knocked around for eight hits over six innings on Tuesday night but only allowed one run to keep his team in the contest.  Then, the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs won their ninth straight on Jared Walker’s two-out RBI double in the seventh with a 2-1 triumph over the ‘Stormers in the opener of a three-game series at Regency Furniture Stadium.

Lancaster lost for the seventh consecutive time on the road.

Southern Maryland broke through against Dominic DiSabatino in the home third.  With two outs, the Lancaster right-hander walked Rubi Silva and Walker in succession.  David Harris then slapped a double inside first base for the lead run.

The Barnstormers answered immediately.  Kelly Dugan ripped a single into right, Andretty Cordero into left, and Mark Zagunis picked up the run with a liner into center.  Thompson froze the Barnstormers in their tracks.  Anderson Feliz flied out to shallow right.  Trace Loehr scalded a grounder off Walker’s glove at first, but Silva found the loose ball in time to feed Thompson and retired the lefty batter.  Jake Hoover popped out to second for the third out.

Lancaster threatened Thompson again with two-out singles by Feliz and Loehr in the sixth, but center fielder Jack Sundberg snagged Hoover’s liner with a slight leap to end the threat.

Then, in the seventh, lefty Nick Wells (2-0) allowed a walk to Colton Shaver and a single to right by Dugan before escaping the inning.

That set up the Blue Crabs.  Sundberg dropped a one-out double off the glove of a diving LeDarious Clark in right center against Chase Johnson (0-1).  One out later, Walker took Johnson into the right field corner for the winning hit.

Crabs’ skipper Stan Cliburn marched out the back end of the bullpen, Endrys Briceno and Mat Latos.  Lancaster managed one baserunner, a single by Loehr in the eighth against the duo as Latos earned his fourth save.

Augie Sylk (0-2) will take the mound for the Barnstormers on Wednesday at 6:35 against fellow lefty Denson Hull (0-0).  Fans may tune into the Barnstormers YouTube Channel, starting at 6:30.

NOTES:  Southern Maryland’s outfield recorded 12 putouts in the game…Shaver lost an eight-game hitting streak…Dugan is 9-for-18 in the last four games…Loehr and Zagunis recorded multiple hits as did Melvin Mercedes…Lancaster is 0-3 in one-run games.

High Point 3, Long Island 1

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Justin Nicolino admitted that anything short of having his arm fall off and he would not leave the game.

And that’s exactly the way High Point’s starting pitcher made it through seven nearly scoreless innings during a 3-1 Rockers victory over the Long Island Ducks on Tuesday night at Truist Point.

               Nicolino (2-0) came to the foul line early in the game, suffering from a blister that was bleeding but not affecting his pitching. In fact, he had opened a cut on top of his thumb that was being aggravated by the nail on his index finger when he threw his cutter.

               But that was the only time all night that Nicolino was out of rhythm, holding the Ducks, the best-hitting team in the Atlantic League, to just five hits and a single run in earning his second win of the season.

               In fact Nicolino was so in rhythm that the game took just 2 hours and 17 minutes.

               “I didn’t have my best stuff. I was just pitching,” said the three-year Major League veteran. “But I didn’t have to tonight. The defense was really working for me.”

               The Rockers got on the board early when Michael Russell led off the game with a single, stole second, and scored on Zander Wiel’s two-run homer to left. The next batter, designated hitter Quincy Latimore, made it back-to-back blasts with his own shot to left.

               That was it for the Rockers’ scoring. Nicolino allowed a run in the second when his only walk of the game came to L.J. Mazzilli leading off the second. After Mazzilli stole second, he scored on a single by Sam Travis.

               “We got up early and we just settled in,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. “The ball came out of Justin’s hand really well tonight. And tip your cap to Long Island. They threw the ball great as well.”

               The Ducks entered the game with a .315 batting average, the best in the Atlantic League. Nicolino was aware of that.

               Nicolino and fellow Rocker Jay Gonzalez were youth teammates in Orlando for several years as pre-teens but they had not played together in over a dozen years.

               “It was like told times,” said Nicolino. “Jay and I talked and I was just going to throw it up there and let Jay catch it.” Gonzalez finished with five putouts, snagging every fly ball hit to right.

               Center fielder Johnny Field turned in his own highlight play, making a dazzling over the shoulder catch in deep center with nobody out in the eighth, robbing Deven Marrero of extra bases.

               The win improves the Rockers to 8-3 on the season while the Ducks fall to 5-5. Long Island starter Brett Kennedy (0-1) took the loss despite allowing just four hits and striking out five over his six innings of work.

               The two teams will meet in the second game of the three-game series on Wednesday night at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

Gastonia 3, York 1

(May 3, 2022 – York, Pa.):  The York Revolution finally returned home for the 15th home opener in club history on Tuesday night and weather wise, could not have asked for a better night. On the baseball side of things, however, York once again found themselves missing too many opportunities, going hitless with runners in scoring position in a 3-1 loss to the Gastonia Honey Hunters at PeoplesBank Park.

In his first start in front of the home faithful, Nick Travieso was nearly spotless through his first four innings, striking out six hitters including four in-a-row at one point.

The York offense mustered just one hit and three walks in five innings against Gastonia’s starter, lefty John Anderson, who struck out seven along the way.

Travieso ran into trouble in the fifth as leadoff batter Stuart Levy was hit by a pitch. After a sacrifice bunt, back-to-back singles and a wild pitch scored two for Gastonia before back-to-back fly outs ended the frame.

Travieso started the sixth inning, retiring the first two before walking Jake Skole and ending his night. Johsson Arias relieved him but was not able to record the out needed to finish the frame. A hit batter and two walks plated the third run of the night before Jhoendri Herrera entered, retiring Jack Reinheimer on a fly out to escape further damage, keeping the deficit at 3-0.

The Revs had their biggest chance of the game to that point in the sixth, as Stokes Jr. picked up his second hit of the ballgame, leading things off with a double to right. After lefty Michael Gunn retired the next two hitters, he walked Carlos Franco and JC Encarnacion before finally striking out Elmer Reyes with the bases loaded.

After a 1-2-3 top of the seventh by Herrera, York once again loaded the bases with one away in the home half and finally mustered its first run when a Melky Mesa groundout scored Jack Kenley who had reached on a leadoff walk. Unfortunately, that was all they could manage in the inning, as Franco hit a tapper back to newly entered lefty reliever Onas Farfan to end the inning.

Isaac Sanchez and Alberto Rodriguez retired six straight in the eighth and ninth respectively out of the York bullpen, giving the Revs one final shot against closer Ronald Pena. 

After a leadoff walk by pinch hitter Josue Herrera, Pena struck out the next three to shut the door on his third save of the young season and locking down the Honey Hunters' 10th straight victory to improve to 10-1.

Game two of the series will take place on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., as righty Alex Sanabia makes his home season debut against former first round pick Deck McGuire in a matchup of big league veterans.  It is Star Wars Night and a PeoplesBank Kids Eat Free Wednesday.  Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.

Charleston 9, Kentucky 6

Staten Island 4, Lexington 1