Long Island 2, Charleston 0

(Central Islip, N.Y., June 14, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks shut out the Charleston Dirty Birds 2-0 on Wednesday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark. 

Both teams traded zeroes until the bottom of the sixth inning. Alex Dickerson launched a two-out, two-run home run to right-center field off Dirty Birds starter Joe Testa to give the Ducks a 2-0 lead. 

Ducks starter Stephen Tarpley (2-2) earned the win, tossing six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out five. Testa (1-2) took the loss, giving up two runs on five hits and two walks over six innings with four strikeouts. Al Alburquerque picked up his fourth save of the season with a 1-2-3 ninth inning, striking out two. 

Alejandro De Aza led the Flock offensively with three hits and a run scored.

The Ducks and Dirty Birds wrap up their three-game set on Thursday night. 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 1,200 fans will receive Ducks Webbed Foot Baseball Caps, courtesy of Petro Home Services. It’s also a Thirsty Thursday! All fans will be welcome to visit the Duck Club restaurant/bar during the game, where there will be a special on Well Drinks for just $10. There will be an exclusive buy one, get one half-price special on all Stella Artois beer in the ballpark as well. Right-hander Stephen Woods Jr. (5-1, 3.74) toes the rubber for the Ducks against Dirty Birds lefty Kit Scheetz (2-5, 4.81).

York 10, Lancaster 4

The 2023 version of the York Revolution is not particularly known for hitting home runs.

That may have changed on Wednesday evening.

The Revs cracked four long balls, good for eight runs, in a 10-4 rout of the Lancaster Barnstormers in the middle game of a three-game series at WellSpan Park.

Drew Mendoza began the barrage with a two-run shot in the first inning off Brent Teller (2-3), but the Barnstormers briefly took control of the game after that.

Trayvon Robinson opened the second with a double off Nick Raquet (5-3) and moved ahead on two-out walks to Jack Conley and Jake Hoover.  Yeison Coca delivered a two-run single to left to tie the game, and Melvin Mercedes punched a single into right for a 3-2 edge.

That lead would be expanded to 4-2 in the third when Conley blooped a two-out single into right to score designated pinch runner Tyler LaPorte, who had taken over for Wilson Garcia, who had also reached on a single before a walk to Joseph Carpenter.

York tied the game in the bottom of the inning.  Trent Giambrone walked and scored when Tomo Otosaka tripled into the right field corner.  Otosaka, in turn, scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Trey Martin.

A three-run homer by catcher Ryan January to right field in the bottom of the fourth put York ahead to stay.  Richard Urena added a two-run homer to right center in the fifth, and Nellie Rodriguez capped the scoring with a towering blast over the big wall in left in the sixth.

Jared Lakind (3-2) will take the mound for the Barnstormers on Thursday night against right-hander Carlos Espinal (2-1).

NOTES:  Robinson doubled for the fifth straight game…It was his 13^th for the season and ties him for fifth all-time in a Barnstormers uniform with 85…Coca has had four multi-hit games in the last five and five multi-RBI games in the last seven…His average has gone from .154 to .266 with a seven-game streak…Lancaster debuted new lefty Zach Warren, who picked up two outs in the eighth after walking his first two batters, and catcher Marshall Rich, who walked in his one plate appearance and replaced Jack Conley behind the plate…Lancaster used the same starting nine for the seventh straight game.

High Point 6, Frederick 3
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers used home runs from Michael Russell and Ryan Grotjohn to move back into first place in the Atlantic League’s South Division by defeating Frederick 6-3 on Wednesday night at Truist Point. The Rockers were able to capitalize on Gastonia’s 10-9 loss to Southern Maryland earlier Wednesday afternoon.

High Point is now 29-13 on the year and hold a half-game lead over second place Gastonia (28-13).

Kyle Barraclough (W, 1-0), who joined the Rockers in mid-May and has been used primarily as a reliever, made his second start of the season and allowed just a single run over his five innings while allowing three hits and two walks as he recorded a pair of strikeouts.

“It looked like a second start,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe of Barraclough. “(The ball) was coming out nice. He kept them off balance. They hit a couple of balls that found holes but it was a pretty good five innings on his part.”

Frederick jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the third when Luke Becker doubled with two outs and scored on an RBI single from Starlin Castro.

The Rockers tallied five times in the third inning as John Daly started the frame with an infield single and moved to second on a grounder to first by Joe Johnson. Shed Long, Jr. then drove a single up the middle, his second of three hits on the night, and Daly scored easily from second. After Frederick starter Elih Villanueva (L, 1-5) walked Michael Russell, Ben Aklinski plated Long, Jr. with a single. Grotjohn followed with a three-run homer, his fifth round-tripper of the year, and the Rockers led 5-0 after three innings.

A solo homer from Michael Russell in the fifth, his fifth of the year, gave the Rockers a 6-1 lead.

Jeremy Rhoades, Taylor Guerrieri and Cam Bedrosian each tossed scoreless innings out of the bullpen, combining to allow just one hit and one walk while striking out six. Frederick did touch closer Ryan Dull for a pair of runs in the ninth to account for the 6-3 final.

“Rhoadsy was outstanding, Cam threw the ball really well and Guerrieri is throwing more like himself,” said Keefe. “When he needs to make a pitch, he makes it. At the end of the day, it was pitching and defense. We certainly don’t have the offensive firepower we had but we put a team out there that played really good defense. Zander (Wiel) was fantastic at first base.” Wiel, who has primarily played in the outfield and served as the DH this season, was playing just his third game of the year at first base.

 “The big factor in the game was Benny’s (Aklinski) RBI right before the homer,” said Keefe. “He had to grind through that at-bat. He got an off-speed pitch and he was able to send it over the second baseman’s head and he stayed right through it and got it out there.”

High Point and Frederick will conclude the series on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. The game will be available on FloBaseball.com and also on the Mixlr app.

So. Maryland 10, Gastonia 9

(Wednesday, June 14^th, Gastonia) You always play until the final out. That has been a saying made by baseball managers or head coaches since the game was invented generations ago. For the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, they have bought into the expression. On Monday, the Crabs covered ground and defeated the Barnstormers after being down seven in the ninth. On Wednesday, the Cardiac Crabs did it again. 

The scoring started for the Blue Crabs when Ryan Haug drove in a run in the top of the second on a fielder’s choice. The Crabs erupted in the next inning when Braxton Lee and K.C. Hobson hit back-to-back jacks, and Haug contributed another RBI as the Crabs built their lead to 4-0. 

After that, it would be all Honey Hunters. Launching five home runs with one in the third, two in the fourth, and two more in the fifth. Gastonia captured a lead from the Carlos Franco home run that got over the left field wall as the Honey Hunters wore out the short porch in left field. Gastonia scored an 8-4 lead with one more run in the bottom of the eighth.     

But the Blue Crabs do not quit. Loading up the bases after Braxton Lee, Hobson, and Alex Crosby got on base against the closer, Jaime Schultz. Schultz would plunk Isaias Quiroz and score a run for Southern Maryland. The big hits for the Crabs came from Haug, who drove in two more runs for four RBIs in the game, and Michael Baca gave the Crabs a 9-8 lead with a single into center. Jack Sundberg tallied an insurance run.     

Isaac Mattson, who had entered the game the inning before, would allow one run from a J.C. Escarra opposite-field home run and then strike out Franco to end the slugfest and complete another incredible comeback for the Blue Crabs.     

Daryl Thompson started the game for Southern Maryland and, in the contest, struck out four hitters to move him to 1000 Atlantic League strikeouts. His team is now 24-16 and tied for first in the ALPB North. The rubber match is coming up tomorrow at 6:35 PM. Sandro Cabrera, who has won three straight decisions, will take on Gastonia.  

Staten Island 9, Lexington 7