Charleston 12, Spire City 9

FREDERICK, MD – The Dirty Birds offense used the longball to propel themselves to a series opening win against Spire City on Friday night by a 12-9 final.

After both pitchers faced the minimum through the first two innings, Diego Goris powered a solo home run over the left field wall to lead off the inning. After a Dwight Smith Jr RBI single, Telvin Nash blasted a two-run shot to left center field to cap off a four run third inning. That would not be the last of Nash on the night.

As has been the case all year, the Ghost Hounds would not let one big inning deter them. In the fourth inning, a Jose Marmolejos single and Kole Cottam home run powered a three-run inning to bring the Hounds back within one. It was Cottam’s 22^nd of the year, and ninth in the month of July.

But Telvin Nash continued to pour it on Spire City in the sixth, blasting the first pitch he saw to left field for his second home run of the game, a two-run shot that made it 6-3.

A Jimmy Paredes sixth inning homer and Osvaldo Abreu seventh inning single cut the deficit to just one again, with Abreu’s single chasing starter Joe Testa from the game.

But once again, Telvin Nash made his presence felt, going the other way for his third home run of the game, becoming the first player to hit three in a game against Spire City. The blast put Charleston back in front 7-5.

A five-run top of the ninth inning against Jeff Singer provided crucial insurance. Sacrifice flies from Telvin Nash and Bobby Bradley, along with singles from Jalen Miller and Diego Goris made it a 12-5 game.

The insurance proved incredibly vital, as the Ghost Hounds attempted to rally in the ninth. Osvaldo Abreu and Luke Becker both went deep, and Kole Cottam drove in another, but the comeback ultimately fell short. 

Staten Island 2, Lexington 1

The Staten Island FerryHawks defeated the Lexington Counter Clocks by a score of 2-1 on Friday night in Staten Island! Pitching dominated this contest and the FerryHawks did enough on offense to take the win.

Another day, another new FerryHawk delivers and this time it was Mike Wilson! The New Jersey native hit a rocket over the centerfield wall in the 4^th to give the FerryHawks a 2-1 lead. From there, the pitching took over and they delivered. Starter Jesse Remington went 6 innings, striking out 3, and only surrendering 1 run in the process. Blake Loubier, Vincenzo Aiello, and Williams Ramirez appeared in relief after Remington. The unit combined for 3 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, and 4 strikeouts and helped to close this one out.

The FerryHawks continue the series against the Lexington Counter Clocks tomorrow as Santa will be paying a visit to SIUH Community Park for Christmas in July! An exclusive $24 ticket pack gets you a FerryHawks Christmas ornament, a photo with Santa, and a ticket to the game. On Sunday the FerryHawks partner with Tunnel to Towers for their “Veteran Salute” game. The first 1,000 fans will receive a patriotic Frankie bobblehead.

York 7, Lancaster 2

The York Revolution struck in the first matchup of North Division second-half frontrunners Friday evening at WellSpan Park.

Troy Stokes, Jr. homered and drove in four runs, and Carlos Espinal gave the Revolution a quality start as the Revolution dropped the Lancaster Barnstormers, 7-2, in the opener of a three-game series.

Following the Friday night action, York (7-3) pulled to within one game of the Barnstormers (9-3).

Lancaster put the first two runs of the game on the board, but at a much slower pace than the club that had been averaging nearly 10 runs per game over the second half.  Ariel Sandoval drove home Melvin Mercedes with a long double to center in the first inning.  Shawon Dunston, Jr. singled home Chad Sedio with a liner to right in the fourth.  Espinal retired the next three, stranding two Barnstormers on the bases, and York took control of the game.

Stokes, Jr. tied the game with a two-run blast to left center in the fourth.  In the fifth, Dominic DiSabatino (3-6) walked Nellie Rodriguez then hit Ryan January with a pitch.  Alexis Pantoja loaded the bases with a single into right.  Trent Giambrone fanned for the first out, but DiSabatino walked Tomo Otosaka to force home the lead run.  Stokes singled into center to pick up the second run of the inning, and Drew Mendoza made it 5-2 with a force play grounder to second.

York got an insurance run in the seventh on Stokes’ second single and scored again in the eighth on a wild pitch.

The Barnstormers will send Brent Teller (6-4) to the mound against Tom Sutera  (6-3) on Saturday at 6:30.  Fans may tune into FloBaseball, beginning at 6:25.

NOTES:  Mercedes walked twice, extending his on-base streak to 16…Andretty Cordero singled in the seventh to stretch a hitting streak to 10…Joseph Carpenter was not in the lineup, keeping his hit streak intact at 12…Lancaster has not won in four tries at York this season…Stokes became the ninth opposing batter to drive in four or more runs against the Barnstormers in July.

Long Island 8, High Point 2

(High Point, N.C., July 21, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the High Point Rockers 8-2 on Friday evening in the opening game of a three-game series at Truist Point. 

The Ducks took a 2-0 lead in the top half of the fourth inning versus Rockers starting pitcher Ryan Weiss thanks to a two-run home run to right center field off the bat of Brian Goodwin. Long Island made it 4-0 in their favor in the fifth as Alex Dickerson drove home Joe DeCarlo and Boog Powell with a two-run double after DeCarlo and Powell both singled earlier in the frame. 

The Flock broke the contest open in the sixth as they scored three more times for a 7-0 advantage with two of the three runs coming home by way of RBI base knocks from Jonathan Guzman and Powell that enabled Carlos Castro and DeCarlo to cross the plate, and the visitors put the finishing touches on their eight-run performance thanks to a run-scoring groundout by Powell that drove home Guzman after he reached by way of an opposite-field ground rule double to right with one man down.

 The run support was more than enough for Long Island starting pitcher and winner Kyle Lobstein (2-2), who fired eight scoreless innings on just four hits allowed while striking out nine and not walking a batter. Weiss (5-3) was tagged with the loss, surrendering seven runs (six earned) on 11 hits (one home run) in five and one-third innings pitched, striking out a pair while not issuing a walk. 

Dickerson led the way offensively for the Flock with three more hits along with two RBIs and a run scored. 

Long Island and High Point continue their three-game set trip on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. Fans can follow all the action live on Flo Baseball by CLICKING HERE. Right-hander Joe Iorio (3-5, 6.97) toes the rubber for the Ducks against Rockers left-hander Justin Nicolino (2-0, 4.50).

Southern Maryland 11, Gastonia 9