Lancaster 4, Charleston 3

Brent Teller fired his seventh quality start of the season, checking the Charleston Dirty Birds on three hits over six innings as the Lancaster Barnstormers picked up a 4-3 victory Wednesday evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

The win kept Lancaster within 2 ½ games of the division leading York Revolution and ended a three-game losing streak.

Teller (8-4) walked none and struck out seven in his six innings of work as he won for the sixth time in his last seven decisions.  He threw only 72 pitches in the effort.  Diego Goris provided the only run Teller allowed with a booming homer to center leading off the third inning.

Lancaster struck for two runs in the first inning.  With one out, Andretty Cordero walked and took third on a double to right center by Ariel Sandoval.  Chad Sedio was hit by a pitch to load the bases.  Danny Wirchansky (3-4) struck out Wilson Garcia looking for the second out, but Joseph Carpenter came through with a two-run single to center.

The game remained 2-1 until the bottom of the sixth when Trayvon Robinson ripped a double into the left field corner with two outs.  Jack Conley followed with a two-run homer over the boards in left, his first long ball since July 8.

Zach Warren wriggled out of trouble on a double play in the seventh.   In the eighth, Brandyn Sittinger ran into a plague of twilight.  Leading off the inning, Justin O’Connor hit a fly ball to right which Trayvon Robinson never saw, and the ball ticked off Carpenter’s glove as the first baseman hustled back to salvage the play.  Diego Goris then skied a pitch near the first base dugout which Carpenter misjudged.  Goris followed with a double to left to drive home a run and scored on a pair of ground outs to cut the lead to 4-3.

In the ninth, Mike Adams was on the verge of nailing down the win when a shallow fly ball by Bobby Bradley to left center dropped among a trio of Lancaster defenders.  Juan Perez singled to center moving Bradley to second, but Justin O’Connor flied to right to end the game.

Lancaster and Charleston will meet for the rubber game of the series on Thursday night.  Jared Lakind (5-3) will make the start for the Barnstormers against fellow lefty Kit Scheetz (5-8).  Fans may tune into Blue Ridge 11 or FloBaseball, beginning at 6:30.

NOTES:  The season series against the Dirty Birds is even at 6-6…Cordero had a double in the fifth inning, his league leading 29^th of the year…Robinson had his second double in two games after not hitting one since June 14…Lancaster has scored six first inning runs in three starts by Wirchansky…Lancaster has grounded into seven double plays in the last three games.

Long Island 11, Spire City 9 (10 innings)

(Frederick, Md., Aug. 2, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Spire City Ghost Hounds 11-9 in 10 innings on Wednesday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium.

Spire City took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Craig Dedelow’s solo home run to right field off Ducks starter Matt Solter. Osvaldo Abreu’s solo homer to left in the second doubled the Ghost Hounds lead to two.

Long Island tied the game at two in the sixth against Ghost Hounds starter Dustin Beggs on Ruben Tejada’s RBI single to left-center and Alejandro De Aza’s sacrifice fly to center. However, Raudy Read’s solo homer to left and Leobaldo Cabrera’s RBI single to right in the bottom of the frame put Spire City back in front.

The Ghost Hounds plated four in the seventh, highlighted by Jose Marmolejos’ solo homer and RBI singles from Starlin Castro and Cabrera, to take an 8-2 lead. The Ducks answered with four runs in the eighth, highlighted by Tejada’s RBI single, De Aza’s RBI double and Sam Travis’ sac fly, to close the gap to two. A double play that scored Brantley Bell and a bases loaded walk by Alex Dickerson in the ninth then tied the game at eight.

A three-run 10th gave the Ducks the lead at 11-8. Bell and Joe DeCarlo scored on errors, while De Aza picked up an RBI single. Dedelow came home on a double and an error in the bottom of the 10th, but Spire City could not pull even.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Solter lasted five and one-third innings, allowing three runs on six hits and three walks while striking out four. Beggs threw seven innings, yielding two unearned runs on five hits and a walk with three strikeouts. Kevin Quackenbush (5-2) earned the win after pitching a scoreless ninth inning, striking out two. Victor Capellan (1-1) took the loss, giving up five runs (two earned) on five hits and three walks in two innings. Al Alburquerque picked up his sixth save with a scoreless 10th inning, striking out two.

De Aza led the Ducks offense with three hits, three RBIs, a run and a walk. Tejada added three hits, three RBIs and a run.

The Ducks and Ghost Hounds wrap up their three-game series on Thursday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at Nymeo Field at Harry Grove Stadium. Fans can follow all the action live on Flo Baseball by CLICKING HERE. Left-hander Kyle Lobstein (2-2, 4.63) toes the rubber for the Ducks against Ghost Hounds southpaw Zac Rosscup (1-1, 3.24).

Long Island returns home on Tuesday, August 8, to begin a three-game set against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. 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). 1969 World Series champion New York Mets first baseman Ed Kranepool will be making an appearance at the ballpark. Kranepool will throw out a ceremonial first pitch and then sign autographs for fans outside the Waddle In Shop to promote his new book, which will be available for purchase in the store. He will be signing autographs for the first three innings of the game. It’s also a Triple Play Tuesday at the ballpark, and if the Ducks turn a triple play during the game, one lucky fan will win $25,000. Tickets to the game, and all home games, are available by visiting the Fairfield Properties Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or CLICKING HERE.

The Long Island Ducks are members of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball, a Professional Partner League of Major League Baseball. Over 8.5 million fans have enjoyed the Ducks brand of affordable, fun entertainment at Fairfield Properties Ballpark since inception in 2000. For further information, visit LIDucks.com or call 631-940-DUCK (3825).

High Point 7, Gastonia 3

GASTONIA, N.C. – After going hitless for six innings, the High Point Rockers’ bats came alive in the seventh inning, scoring four runs, and going on to win their second straight game over Gastonia with a 7-3 victory on Wednesday night at CaroMont Health Park.

The win helped the Rockers increase their lead over the Honey Hunters in the Atlantic League’s South Division. The Rockers are now 55-30 overall and 14-8 in the second half. The loss dropped Gastonia to 11-10 and 2.5 games behind High Point in the second half.

High Point starter Mitch Atkins (W, 1-1) got off to a rough start, allowing three first inning runs before settling in and shutting out the Honey Hunters over the next five innings. In the first, Scott Manea singled with one out and then scored on a Zach Jarrett homer, his 21^st of the year. After Atkins walked Braxton Davidson, Eric De La Rosa doubled off the netting in left to plate Davidson and stake Gastonia to a 3-0 advantage.

Gastonia starter Brett Daniels and reliever Kelvin Gonzalez kept the Rockers hitless through the first six innings. Daniels went four innings and walked one while striking out four. Gonzalez allowed a walk and fanned two in his two innings of work.

The Rockers waited until the seventh inning to start their rally. Trent Fennell (L, 0-1) came on for Gonzalez and hit Ben Aklinski with a pitch before Quincy Latimore reached on an error by Gastonia second baseman Kevin Santa. Fennell then loaded the bases by walking Beau Taylor. After inducing a pop fly from Zander Wiel for the first out, Daikan Yoh singled to score Aklinski, marking High Point’s first hit of the night. That set the stage for Michael Martinez to double to left field, scoring Latimore, Taylor and Yoh and giving the Rockers a 4-3 lead.

The Rockers increased their lead to 5-3 in the eighth when Gastonia’s Harry Rutkowski allowed a single to Aklinski before issuing a one-out walk to Taylor. Wiel then singled to center to score Aklinski and pad the Rockers’ lead.

The Rockers added two more runs in the top of the ninth. Gastonia’s Harry Rutkowski walked Martinez and D.J. Burt and then hit Shed Long, Jr. with a pitch to load the bases. Aklinski lined a double off the netting in left to score two and increase High Point’s lead to 7-3.

Atkins went six innings and walked two and struck out four while scattering seven hits. Taylor Guerrieri tossed a 1-2-3 inning in the seventh and Jeremy Rhoades pitched around a one-out single in the eighth to continue Gastonia’s scoreless streak. Kyle Halbohn kept the Honey Hunters at bay in the ninth, leading to the 7-3 final.

Aklinski had two hits and two RBI on the night while Martinez led all hitters with three RBI. Jarrett finished with three hits and a pair of RBI for Gastonia.

NOTES: D.J. Burt has reached base in 40 consecutive games thanks to a ninth inning walk… It is the second-longest streak in the Atlantic League in the last two years, trailing only a 50-game streak set in 2022 by Carlos Franco with York… Aklinski continues to lead the ALPB with 75 runs scored.

York 11, Staten Island 3

(August 2, 2023 – Staten Island, NY):  The York Revolution tied a season-high with 19 hits, overwhelming the Staten Island FerryHawks in an 11-3 victory on Wednesday evening at Northwell Health Community Park. The Revs have won four straight and will go for a series sweep to close out their 10-game road swing on Thursday morning.

York jumped to a quick lead in the first as Troy Stokes Jr. drilled an RBI double to the gap in left center for the game’s first run.

That marked the first of six consecutive innings to open the game with at least one run for the Revs who methodically built their lead.

York added two more in the second on RBI singles by Alexis Pantoja (3-for-5) and Tomo Otosaka.

Trey Martin crushed a solo homer to left center in the top of the third, his career-high 12th of the season, extending his on-base streak to 27 consecutive games and the Revs’ lead to 4-0.

Stokes Jr. added a sac fly to center in the top of the fourth to make it a 5-0 score.

Nellie Rodriguez raced home on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth as the lead grew to 6-0.

Yoshi Tsutsugo cracked an opposite field homer to left center in the bottom of the fifth to get Staten Island on the board. It was the only run allowed by Revs starter Carlos Espinal (7-3) in five innings. He allowed only four hits and overcame five walks while striking out five.

The Revs put together their biggest inning of the night in the top of the sixth, batting around and scoring four times as the lead expanded to 10-1. Martin (three RBI) ripped a two-run single to left. Jhon Nunez provided the Revs with their fifth sac fly of the series, and Pantoja drove in his second of the night on a deep double to left.

York righty J.T. Hintzen handled three innings out of the bullpen, allowing a run in the sixth on a Jack Elliott opposite field homer to left and another run in the eighth as Kevin Krause singled up the middle. Hintzen struck out five and retired six in-a-row at one point.

York added one final run in the ninth as Trent Giambrone slammed his 18th home run of the season to left field, doing so against outfielder Ricardo Cespedes who was brought in to pitch the final two frames.

Emilker Guzman handled a scoreless bottom of the ninth in his second appearance with York to close things out.

The Revs maintain a 1.5-game lead for first place as they improve to 15-6 in the second half and 52-32 overall for the season.

York righty Tom Sutera (7-3, 6.89) faces Staten Island’s Christian Capuano (6-3, 3.86) on Thursday morning at 10:30 a.m. Revs fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 98.9 FM & 1350 WOYK, 989woyk.com, The New WOYK app, and FloBaseball.TV beginning at 10:25 a.m. with Darrell Henry on the call.

Southern Maryland 5, Lexington 1

(Wednesday, August 3rd, Waldorf, MD) The Blue Crabs were back in action on Wednesday when they hosted the Lexington Counter Clocks for the second game of the series. The Crabs had suffered a tough loss the day before, dropping game one by just one run; in this game, they went to 2022 All-Star McKenzie Mills to try and even out the series.