Staten Island 8, Lancaster 7 (10)

Staten Island skipper Homer Bush utilized the Atlantic League’s new designated pinch runner rule to the utmost on Thursday afternoon.  As part of a tying rally in the top of the ninth, Bush used Justin Twine to run, not once, but twice, for two different batters.  It is believed to be a first in baseball history.

It became a historic footnote to an 8-7 Staten Island, 10-inning win in the rubber game of a three-game series.

With the Barnstormers leading, 6-3, entering the ninth, Roldani Baldwin led off with a double to right center field.  Cristian Santana followed with a single into right, and out came Twine to run as the DPR.  Jack Elliott drove home both runners on a triple blasted to left center.  Kevin Krause, batting for Luis Castro, singled to center to tie the game.  With Twine back in the dugout and reverting to the normal status of being an available player off the bench, out he came again to run for Krause.  His second stay on the bases was short, Mikey Edelman forced him at second with a ground ball.

Staten Island went on to win the game on Jeff Wehler’s two-run, opposite field homer in the top of the tenth off Bret Clarke (0-2).  It was the second home run of the day for the Staten Island shortstop.  He had also produced the FerryHawks’ first run in the fourth inning, connecting off starter Nile Ball.

The FerryHawks (5-10) had to withstand a Lancaster comeback in the bottom of the inning.  Jack Conley singled home “ghost” runner Joseph Carpenter before being forced at second by Jake Hoover.  Pedro Payano (1-1) struck out Melvin Mercedes looking for the second out, but Andretty Cordero kept the inning alive with a single down the left field line.  Mitchell Piatnik, playing in the “no doubles” defense kept Hoover from scoring the tying run and kept Cordero from his fourth two-bagger of the day.  Kelly Dugan grounded to first for the final out.

Lancaster had broken a 3-3 deadlock in the seventh.  With the bases loaded and one out, Chris Proctor singled to right center off lefty Christian Allegretti for a 4-3 lead.  Conley dropped a two-run single into right for the three-run advantage.

Ball started for the Barnstormers and worked six innings, allowing three hits and two runs while striking out six.  Ivan Pineyro went five innings for the FerryHawks, yielding six hits and three runs (only one earned).  He fanned five.

The Barnstormers will entertain the York Revolution on Friday evening at 6:30.  Lancaster will send right-hander Jacob Lemoine (0-1) to the mound against lefty Denson Hull (0-2).  Fans may tune into FloBaseball, beginning at 6:25.

NOTES:  Cordero had his seventh four-hit game as a Barnstormer…Eleven of his 17 hits have been for extra bases (7 2B, 4 HR)…Mike Adams started the ninth, his third appearance in less than 48 hours…The move was necessitated by the absence of Travin Lakins, who was home on a family emergency…Lakins returned to the club during the game…Ball gave the Barnstormers their fifth quality start in the last 10 games…Mercedes extended his on-base streak to 16 games with a single to lead off the game…Ariel Sandoval, the league’s leading hitter, has hit safely in 16 of 17 games…Proctor has nine RBI in seven games…Lancaster is 0-7 in one-run contests.

Frederick 11, Lexington 4

Frederick, MD- The Frederick Atlantic League Team has now won six straight, completing the sweep of Lexington on Thursday by an 11-4 victory.  

They began with yet another big inning in the first. After three walks loaded the bases, a fourth by Leobaldo Cabrera scored a run to even the game at one apiece. Next was Osvaldo Abreu, who launched a grand slam over the left field wall to complete a five-run frame and make it a 5-1 score.  

Lexington got two back in the top of the second courtesy of an RBI groundout and sacrifice fly, but Frederick answered with an RBI double from Craig Dedelow to bring the game to 6-3 after two. 

They added a sacrifice fly in the fourth by Jose Marmolejos and an RBI single by Abreu in the fifth. Abreu finished his night with three hits and five RBIs.  

They closed the book offensively in the eighth with a Kole Cottam sacrifice fly and Dedelow scoring on a wild pitch. 

On the mound, David Kubiak earned the win, going six innings and striking out three. Jack Weinberger added a scoreless seventh inning with two strikeouts, and Tai Tiedemann did not allow a run over the final two frames to close down the win.  

Frederick will look to continue their momentum into the weekend when they visit the Charleston Dirty Birds, with Dustin Beggs getting the ball on Friday.

Long Island 18, York 3

(Central Islip, N.Y., May 18, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the York Revolution 18-3 on Thursday night in the rubber game of a three-game series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. 

The Ducks batted around against Revolution starter J.T. Hintzen in the first inning and plated four runs to take an early lead. Dustin Woodcock’s two-run double and Daniel Murphy’s two-run single highlighted the inning. 

Philip Caulfield’s two-run single to right in the third extended the Ducks lead to 6-0. Four more runs scored in the fourth on Murphy’s RBI double, Sam Travis’ RBI single and another two-run single from Caulfield to make it a 10-0 ballgame. 

It stayed that way until the eighth when York got on the scoreboard courtesy of an RBI infield single by Ryan January and a two-run home run to left field by Trent Giambrone. However, Long Island responded with an eight-run bottom of the frame to make it an 18-3 ballgame. Alex Dickerson’s RBI single, Woodcock’s three-run homer to right-center, Boog Powell’s RBI single, Adeiny Hechavarria’s sac fly and Travis’ two-run double did the damage.

Ducks starter Wladimir Pinto did not factor into the decision but pitched two scoreless innings, allowing a hit and four walks with three strikeouts. Joe Kuzia (2-1) earned the win with three scoreless innings of relief, giving up two hits and three walks while striking out four. Hintzen (0-3) took the loss, surrendering 10 runs (eight earned) on 10 hits and three walks over three and one-third innings with two strikeouts. James Varela collected the save after pitching three innings out of the bullpen for the Flock.

Seven Ducks starters registered multiple hits in the game and drove in at least one run, while 10 scored at least one run. Murphy led the offense with four hits, three RBIs and three runs scored. Woodcock added three extra-base hits, five RBIs and two runs, while Caulfield finished with three hits, four RBIs and a run.

The Ducks continue their homestand on Friday night when they open a three-game set with the High Point Rockers. Game time is slated for 6:35 p.m., with Fairfield Properties Ballpark gates opening at 5:35 (5:20 for full season ticket holders). It’s a Tap Room Friday, and Ducks staff members will be handing out coupons for 20% off your meal at any of The Tap Room’s five locations on Long Island as fans exit the ballpark. It’s also a Grand Slam Friday! The sixth inning will be designated as the Grand Slam Inning, and if the Ducks fourth batter of the inning launches a home run with the bases loaded, one lucky fan will win $25,000! To be eligible for the grand prize, simply sign up at the Ticket Kiosk before the end of the fourth inning. Left-hander Stephen Tarpley (1-0, 1.74) gets the start for the Ducks against Rockers righty Sam Burton (1-0, 7.20).

Charleston 6, Gastonia 4

The Gastonia Honey Hunters stranded 12 men on base in the last of a three-game set against the Charleston Dirty Birds, losing at CaroMont Health Park for the first time in 2023 by a score of 6-4.

The Honey Hunters were unable to complete the sweep of the Dirty Birds, and stranding a dozen runners was a large reason why.

They put a couple runners on base in each of the first two innings. In both innings, Gastonia failed to score and the frame ended with a strikeout.

From innings five to eight, the Honey Hunters scored one run in each inning.

The good news? They were scoring runs.

The bad news? They stranded seven runners in the process.

The biggest opportunity came in the seventh when Gastonia had the top of its order at the plate.

Jack Reinheimer and Zach Jarrett both drew walks, and Curtis Terry knocked in Reinheimer with a double.

Charleston southpaw Joe Testa came on in relief, and he hit Steven Sensley to load the bases with two outs.

Pedro Gonzalez then hit a chopper to short to end the threat.

Gastonia had a few opportunities that they were either to cash in one run or nothing at all on Thursday night.

“I thought they did a pretty decent job of shutting us down when we did have first and second a lot of times,” said Gastonia manager Goose Gozzo about Charleston’s pitching.

He stressed how important stranding runners can be, especially when the final score doesn’t go your way.

“One of the stats that I keep on my card in the dugout is left-on-base,” Gozzo said. “So I know exactly how many [runners are left on base.]... When you lose, that seems to be a stat that you really look at and say, ‘If this’ or ‘If that.’ But we have to do a better job of cashing in on our opportunities.”

It also didn’t help that the Honey Hunters were playing catch-up for most of the contest.

Zack Godley was coming off a start where he pitched five innings against High Point, allowing six runs – all coming in the third.

Thursday night was almost a carbon copy of his start against the Rockers.

Godley was cruising through three innings, retiring all nine batters he faced. But the second time through the order was a different story.

The right hander gave up five runs in an inning – this time in the fourth frame and on four hits.

Godley then went out and struck out the side in the fifth.

That makes two straight outings where he pitched dominantly in all but one inning, causing his team to be playing from behind for the entirety of the game.

Gozzo said that Godley’s tendency to let up a big inning has to do with locating his pitches.

“I think he’s got such a good breaking ball, such a good slider,” Gozzo said. “I think he might get a little happy with it at times – to where sometimes if he was to kind of go in and then make a good away… Obviously his stuff is good. The velocity is good, the breaking ball good. But it ends up being location.”

In the fourth, Diego Gorris’s RBI single, Daniel Brito’s bases-clearing double and Zachary Bridges’s run-scoring single combined for the five runs off Godley.

The sixth run scored by the Dirty Birds was a Goris solo shot to left field that Sensley didn’t even move at because it was that much of a no-doubter.

Lefty Bryan Sammons then came in for Gastonia to pitch the seventh and eighth. Usually a starter, Sammons is unable to pitch in the team’s next series against Lexington, so he pitched a bit on Thursday.

Sammons retired all six batters he faced, striking out four.

What once was a 6-1 Charleston was cut to 6-4 after Reinheimer plated Luis Curbelo with an RBI double in the bottom of the eighth.

But Reinheimer was stranded on second, and ended up being the best chance for Gastonia for the remainder of the game.

The Honey Hunters were 8-0 at home heading into the night, so they fell in front of their crowd for the first time.

Gastonia is now 12-6 and still in second in the South, while Charleston improved to 4-12. The Dirty Birds remain in last place because Frederick won its sixth game in a row on Thursday night – the longest winning streak in the league.

Gastonia will travel to Lexington for a weekend series with the Counter Clocks. First pitch on Friday is at 6:45 p.m.

High Point 5, So. Maryland 1

WALDORF, Md. – The High Point Rockers won their fourth straight game and improved to 16-3 on the season with a 5-1 win over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs on Thursday afternoon at Regency Furniture Stadium.

At 16-3, the Rockers own a winning percentage of .842, the highest winning percentage in professional baseball.  The win was No. 997 for Rockers manager Jamie Keefe who is chasing his 1,000^th career victory in his 21^st season as a manager.

Rockers’ starter Mickey Jannis (W, 3-0) made his knuckleball dance for seven innings and held the Blue Crabs to just four hits while striking out eight.

High Point started the scoring with three runs in the second inning. After So. Maryland starter Sandro Cabrera (L, 1-2) walked Ryan Grotjohn and Daikan Yoh to open the inning, John Daly singled to center to put High Point ahead 1-0. It marked Daly’s fourth consecutive game with a run batted in. After Daly stole second, Michael Martinez followed with a double to left, scoring Yoh and Daly to pad the lead to 3-0.

High Point added a fourth run in the top of the third when Zander Wiel blasted his fourth home run of the year with nobody on for a 4-0 advantage.

The Blue Crabs scored their lone run in the bottom of the third when Jannis yielded a leadoff double to Michael Baca who then moved around the bases on a pair of infield groundouts to make it 4-1.

Neither team would score again until the top of the ninth when Daly walked, stole second and scored on a Martinez single to left.

Martinez, John Nogowski and Wiel each finished with a pair of hits while Martinez accounted for three RBI. A.J. Cole and Jeremy Rhoades each worked a scoreless inning over the final two frames to secure the win.

The Rockers will remain on the road and head to Long Island where they will open a three-game series with the Ducks on Friday night at 6:35 p.m.  The game will be available on the Mixlr audio app with a live video stream at FloSports.com.