Lancaster 15, Kentucky 5

LANCASTER, Pa. - Shawon Dunston, Jr. went 5-for-6, and Andretty Cordero had a pair of two-run doubles as the Lancaster Barnstormers rolled over the Wild Health Genomes, 18-5, in the opener of a three-game series on Friday night.

 Lancaster is now 3-1 in the second half of the season and has won seven of its last nine overall.

 Luke Becker opened the night with a home run off Nile Ball (5-3), and the Genomes put another first inning run on the board as Jimmy Paredes singled, took second on an error and crossed the plate on a single into center by former American League home run champion Khris Davis.

 Lancaster wasted no time in bouncing back against Ryan Kellogg (1-1).  Dunston grounded single under the glove of third baseman Moises Sierra who was guarding against the bunt.  Mercedes walked, and the pair executed a double steal.  Kelly Dugan singled home the first Lancaster run with a liner into right.  Cordero found the gap in right center to score two more.  A single by Colton Shaver moved Cordero to third, and the Lancaster first baseman scored on a ground out by Trayvon Robinson.

 Dunston’s second hit, a sinking liner into center, preceded a Mercedes triple in the second inning as the Barnstormers extended the lead to 5-2.

 The top four hitters in the Genome lineup got to Ball again in the third.  Becker ripped a double into the right field corner and scored on a single to center by Sierra.  Paredes doubled into right center to put two men in scoring position.

 Davis came through again with a lineout to center.  Sierra scored on the sacrifice fly, and Paredes scored the tying run when Dunston’s throw bounced away from third baseman Trace Loehr to the Wild Health dugout.

 Shaver and Robinson opened the bottom of the third with singles, and Shaver scored the lead run when shortstop Gavin Johns made a wild throw on a potential double play grounder by Anderson Feliz.

 The Barnstormers blew the game open with eight runs in the bottom of the fourth.  Dunston and Dugan singled around a Paredes error on Mercedes’ grounder.  Cordero doubled home a pair for an 8-5 lead.  Shaver was drilled by a pitch to reload the bases, and Robinson singled home one more.  Kellogg left after hitting Feliz with a pitch to allow Lancaster’s 10th run.  Reliever Jack Weinberger was greeted by Jake Hoover’s two-run single to left.  Trace Loehr made it 13-5 with a sac fly, and Dunston’s fourth hit got the eighth run of the inning home before Weinberger got out of the inning.

 Dunston’s fifth hit was a double over the head of Felix Pie in left in the sixth.  He flied out to center in the seventh inning in his bid for a club record-tying sixth hit.

 Ball took the game through the fifth inning before leaving.  Lancaster’s bullpen fired four shutout innings with seven strikeouts.

 Lancaster scored four additional runs off three position players who took the mound in the waning stages of the game.

Brooks Hall (1-1) will make the start for the Barnstormers on Saturday against right-hander Dustin Beggs (5-3).  Fireworks will follow the game.  Fans may watch on the Barnstormers YouTube channel starting at 6:25.

 NOTES:  The Barnstormers have won six straight at home…The last Barnstormer to have five hits in a game was Alejandro De Aza in July, 2021…Mercedes has hit in seven straight and 17 of 19…Cordero had four RBI in a game for the third time this season…Dugan had three hits, pushing his average back to .335…Shaver is 14-for-30 against the Genomes…Becker is 12-for-29 with three homers against Lancaster…The Barnstormers had a five-game errorless streak come to an end…Dunston’s first inning steal was hi 17th of the year in 27 games.

Southern Maryland 3, York 1

(7/8/2022, Waldorf, MD) The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs won the first game of a six-game homestand on Friday night, defeating the York Revolution by a score of 3-1. The win was Southern Maryland’s third of the second half and 51st of the season.

Starting Pitcher McKenzie Mills (W, 9-1) was once again dominant for the Blue Crabs, striking out seven York hitters over six innings of one-run ball. Mills dropped his ERA to a tick under three (2.99) while picking up his league-leading ninth win of the campaign. 

The lone Revolution run came in the top half of the fourth when second basemen Jack Kenley doubled home Troy Stokes Jr. The double was one of three hits on the night for Kenley.

Southern Maryland’s bullpen was nearly perfect in relief of Mills. Bradley Roney and Endrys Briceno combined to throw three innings of shutout ball, striking out two and allowing only one baserunner. Briceno (SV, 5) picked up the save for the Crabs, his first of the year. His ERA is now 0.88.

On the other side of things, David Harris started the scoring early for Southern Maryland. He singled home Jared Walker in the bottom of the first to give the Crabs an early lead against York Starter Nick Travieso (L, 2-5).

Harris struck again in the bottom of the sixth inning, picking up his second RBI of the night on an RBI double. Harris would make his way around the diamond just two batters later, scoring on a single by right fielder Braxton Lee. 

Game 2 of this series is scheduled for 6:35 tomorrow right back at the Reg, rain permitting.

Long Island 2, Lexington 1

(Lexington, Ky., July 8, 2022) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Lexington Legends 2-1 on Friday night in the opener of a three-game series at Wild Health Field.

 Lexington pushed across the first run of the ballgame in the bottom of the first inning. Boog Powell doubled to right-center, and Tillman Pugh followed with an RBI single up the middle.

 It stayed that way until the top of the ninth inning. Sam Travis singled to right to put the tying run on base before Dustin Woodcock launched a two-out, two-strike, two-run home run to right that put the Flock in front 2-1.

 The Legends tried to rally in the ninth, getting back to back hits from Isaias Tejeda and Jordany Valdespin. A wild pitch moved the runners to second and third with nobody out. However, Kai-Wei Lin struck out Montrell Marshall and induced a game-ending double play off the bat of Rusber Estrada.

 Neither starter factored into the decision. Ducks starter Stephen Tarpley threw seven innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits and a walk while striking out nine. Legends starter Wes Albert tossed six scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out five. Ryan Meisinger (1-1) earned the win after throwing a 1-2-3 eighth inning, striking out two. Austin Adams (0-1) suffered the loss, surrendering two runs on two hits in the ninth. Lin picked up his second save after escaping the jam to pitch a scoreless ninth inning.

 Woodcock led the Flock offensively with two hits, two RBIs and a run scored.

 The Ducks and Legends continue their three-game set on Saturday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. from Wild Health Field. Fans can follow all the action on the Long Island Ducks Broadcast Network. Live streaming HD video and audio will be available via BoxCast on LIDucks.com as well as on the Ducks official Facebook page and YouTube channel. Right-hander Anderson DeLeon (3-2, 4.32) takes the mound for the Ducks against Legends lefty Thomas Dorminy (3-3, 6.89).

High Point at Gastonia, postponed (Make-up July 10)

Staten Island 8, Charleston 6