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Staten Island 4, Long Island 1

STATEN ISLAND, NY— On the shoulders of another six-inning effort, Anthony Rodriguez and the Staten Island FerryHawks finished off the first-half of the Atlantic League season with a 4-1 win over the Long Island Ducks, splitting a two-game series and earning their fifth win in the “Battle of the Belt” rivalry. The FerryHawks, who debuted their “Wild Turkeys” uniforms for Tuesday’s matchup, finish the first half of their inaugural campaign with an 19-47 record.  

 Despite leading hitter Angel Aguilar sitting out, the FerryHawks offense recorded eight hits with the top eight batters in the lineup reaching base safely at least once during the contest. Antoine DuPlantis and Mariel Bautista finished with two knocks apiece.  

 Dilson Herrera’s first inning two-out two-bagger drove in DuPlantis and Bautista, giving the FerryHawks an early 2-0 lead against Ducks starter Akeel Morris. The FerryHawks got to Morris for one more run in the second inning (Duplantis RBI single) and another in the third inning (Andres Noriega sacrifice fly) to give Rodriguez and company a 4-0 cushion. 

 Rodriguez (3-4) won his second straight start, tossing six innings of one-run baseball against the Ducks for the second time in a week. The lone Ducks run was plated in the fourth inning when Rusney Castillo grounded into a 4-6-3 double play with the bases loaded. Rodriguez gave up seven hits, struck out two and walked three.  

 Morris (4-5) also lasted six innings and gave up seven hits, but was touched to the tune of four earned runs. He struck out three and walked three. He was relieved by Ryan Meisinger, who tossed two perfect innings to preserve the 4-1 deficit for the Ducks.  

 RHP Eddy Reynoso held the three-run lead for Staten Island by pitching perfect seventh and eighth innings. RHP Victor Capellan garnered his sixth save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.  

 Staten Island (19-47) and Long Island meet again on Wednesday and Thursday, but at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. RHP Matt Solter takes the mound for the FerryHawks, squaring off against LHP Cody Beckman on Wednesday. First pitch is at 6:35 PM with the FerryHawks pregame show beginning at 6:20 PM. 

 Postgame Notes: Ricardo Cespedes and Antoine Duplantis recorded multi-hit games for the second straight night...Anthony Rodriguez matched a career-high going six innings...Victor Capellan has not allowed an earned run in 12 consecutive appearances (14.0 innings, 15 K, 5 BB)... 

York 4, Lancaster 2
York 3, Lancaster 1

YORK, Pa. - Duke von Schamann fired six shutout innings to lead the York Revolution to a 3-1 victory in the second game of a doubleheader and a sweep over the Lancaster Barnstormers.

 Troy Stokes, Jr. capped a four-run second as York took the opener, 4-2.

 Von Schamann (3-2) yielded four hits, all singles, and two walks while striking out five.  Lancaster managed to get one runner into scoring position during his tenure as Shawon Dunston, Jr. bunted his way aboard and Melvin Mercedes singled into center with one out in the third.

 Lancaster finally scored in the top of the seventh off closer Josh Martin in the seventh.  Anderson Feliz doubled off the wall in left, took third on a grounder by Trace Loehr and came home on a slow roller up the third base line that Jake Hoover beat out for a single.

 York reached Cameron Gann (4-6) for a run in the third.  Jack Kenley led off with a single to center and took third when Jhon Nunez found the gap in right center for a double.  Yefri Perez hit a slow grounder to the left of second baseman Melvin Mercedes who made a wide throw home.

 In the sixth, the Revolution scored two insurance runs.  Elmer Reyes led off with a double into the left field corner and scored on a single to center by Carlos Franco, who extended his on base streak to 48 games.  Franco took second on the throw home.  Cole Aker replaced Gann and allowed a two-out single to Connor Lien off the glove of a diving Feliz.

 Augie Sylk (3-7) gave up all four runs in the bottom of the second in the opener.  The lefty walked Nellie Rodriguez before Franco singled him to third.  Lien walked to load the bases, and another walk to Josue Herrera forced home a run. 

 Sylk struck out Perez, but Lenin Rodriguez gave York a 2-1 lead with a force play grounder behind second base.  Stokes followed with his drive to left center for a 4-1 edge.

 Trayvon Robinson singled, and Feliz doubled for Lancaster’s second run in the top of the fourth.  The Barnstormers could not produce an extra run there and left the bases loaded in the top of the fifth as eventual winner Brett de Geus (1-0) retired Feliz, the only batter he faced on a 3-1 grounder.

 Lancaster will host York on Wednesday evening at the start of a 14-game homestand.  Erik Manoah (1-1) will take the hill against right-hander Jorge Martinez (6-4).  Fans may watch the game on Blue Ridge 11 or the Barnstormers YouTube Channel, starting at 6:30.

 NOTES:  Lancaster finished the first half at 29-37 in fourth place…They are 0-1 to start the second half…Kelly Dugan was held to just one hit in the three-game series…Lancaster leads the War of the Roses, 10-8…The Barnstormers are 1-7 in scheduled doubleheader games this year and now 11-25 on the road.

Southern Maryland 6, West Virginia 1

(7/5/2022, Waldorf, MD) The Blue Crabs picked up their fourth straight win, as they continue to roll off of their record-setting first-half performance.  Tonight, the pitching drove the Blue Crabs, as Alex Merithew tossed six scoreless innings in the win.  

 The Blue Crabs bats were hot from the start.  The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs posted four hits and three runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Blue Crabs traded two runs with two outs, as Jack Sundberg and Zach Collier scored on fielder’s choices.  Later in the inning, Joe DeLuca drove a single into center scoring Braxton Lee, giving the Blue Crabs a 3-0 lead. 

 In the third, Southern Maryland hit three consecutive singles to open the inning. Collier and Jared Walker picked up back-to-back singles. Lee then bounced a single to the right side, scoring Collier.  

 The score remained 4-0 going into the bottom of the seventh.  With one out, Michael Wielansky chopped a base hit up the middle.  The next batter, Collier, drilled a fly ball off the batter’s eye, scoring Wielansky.  Two batters later, Lee lifted a ball to left field, but Corey Bird lost it in the lights, allowing Collier to score from second and giving the Blue Crabs a 6-0 lead.  

 Alex Merithew pitched six lights out innings this evening, allowing just two hits and keeping the Dirty Birds scoreless. Bradley Roney came in to start the seventh, working around an error to keep the Dirty Birds off the board. Unfortunately, Roney dropped the ball in the eighth, allowing the Dirty Birds their single run of the game. Patrick Baker closed out the ball game with a 1-2-3 inning, adding a strikeout along the way.  

 The Blue Crabs won the game 6-1, bringing their record to 49-18 on the year, and starting the second half off with a win. The Blue Crabs are atop the North Division to start the second half, tied with the Staten Island FerryHawks and York Revolution.

Gastonia 8, High Point 5 (5 inn)
GASTONIA, N.C. – High Point and Gastonia traded big innings but in the end it was Mother Nature that prevailed. The Rockers fell to Gastonia 8-5 on Tuesday night in a rain-shortened five inning game at CaroMont Health Park.

The Rockers start the second half of the Atlantic League season with an 0-1 record while standing at 39-28 overall.

Rookie Nick Evangelista made his third start and faced Gaston’s Reilly Hovis. Hovis held the Rockers without a baserunner through the first three frames as the Honey Hunters took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third on a solo homer by Emmanuel Tapia.

The Rockers bounced back with a vengeance in the top of the fourth. Jay Gonzalez walked and stole second in front of a Zander Wiel walk. Jerry Downs singled to drive in Gonzalez and Quincy Latimore unloaded a three-run homer. Tyler Ladendorf doubled to left and then scored on a single by Mike Gulino and the Rockers had a five-run inning and a 5-1 lead.

But Gastonia flipped the table in the bottom of the fourth. Joseph Rosa led off with a triple and Zach Jarrett unloaded his seventh homer of the year to make it a 5-3 game. Walks to Reece Hampton and Rayder Ascanio sandwiched around a ground out put runners on first and third. Ascanio set off to steal second and Gulino’s throw to second was cut off by Giovanny Alfonzo but his throw to the plate was not in time to nail Hampton. Stuart Levy then doubled home Ascanio and Bryce Hensley came on to relieve Evangelista. Hensley was greeted by a double by an RBI double from Herlis Rodriguez, and fielding error at third by Michael Martinez that plated a run and a Rosa double. The Honey Hunters tallied seven times in the inning and led 8-5.

Hovis put the Rockers down in the fifth and reliever Austion Glorius did the same against Gastonia in the bottom of the fifth. That’s when the rains came and after a 28-minute delay, the umpires called the game.

Evangelista (L, 1-2) gave up five hits and six runs in his 3.2 innings while Hovis (W, 5-2) allowed five hits and five runs in his five innings with one strikeout.

The Rockers and Gastonia move the series to Truist Point on Wednesday and Thursday with each game starting at 6:35 p.m. The final three games of the series will be played over the weekend in Gastonia.