York 5, Lancaster 4

The Lancaster Barnstormers pulled off a bizarre go-ahead rally in the top of the ninth only to have the Wednesday night meeting with the York Revolution get away.

Nellie Rodriguez singled home Trey Martin with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth as the Revolution topped the Barnstormers, 5-4, clinching the Community Cup by an 11-6 margin with four games to play.

York also moved back to within 3 ½ games of the Barnstormers in the North race.  Southern Maryland and Staten Island each trail Lancaster by one length.

Lancaster trailed, 3-2, entering the top of the ninth.  Yeison Coca triggered the rally off Will Carter (2-2) with a ground single to the third base bag.  Andretty Cordero picked up a four-pitch walk to add a second runner.  With the count of 0-2, Wilson Garcia fouled a pitch off but claimed that catcher Jhon Nunez had deflected his bat.  After a conference, the umpires awarded first base to Garcia to load the sacks.  Joseph Carpenter and Shawon Dunston, Jr. launched consecutive sacrifice flies to provide the Barnstormers with a very brief lead.

Drew Mendoza opened the home ninth with a double to left center off Mike Adams (3-3) and scored when Trey Martin lined a double into the left field corner.  Martin came home when Nellie Rodriguez singled off the left field wall.

York County resident Cody Brittain, making his first professional appearance, allowed a first inning run on singles by Coca and Cordero and a sac fly by Wilson Garcia.  He did not yield again until Chris Proctor cleared the left field wall with a two-out solo homer in the sixth.  Brittain finished the night, allowing seven hits and four walks while fanning four.

Martin connected off Jeff Bain for a two-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning.  Bain yielded six hits and one walk over six innings while striking out six.

Matt Swarmer (0-1) will start for the Barnstormers on Thursday night against lefty Nick Raquet (11-7).  Fans may tune into Flo Baseball at 6:25.

NOTES:  Melvin Mercedes singled in the third inning to extend his on-base streak to 23 games…Adams had been 7-for-7 in saves in the second half…Jack Conley swiped his 26^th and 27^th bases of the season…Bain threw his fourth quality start…Lancaster is 6-18 in one-run games.

High Point 11, Lexington 3

HIGH POINT, N.C. – High Point was held hitless for five innings but the floodgates opened over the final three frames and the Rockers took an 11-3 decision from the Lexington Counter Clocks in game two of their three-game series at Truist Point on Wednesday night.

After being shutout on Tuesday night, the Rockers continued to seek answers against Lexington starter Mike Kickham. Through the first four innings, High Point’s only base runners came when D.J. Burt drew a walk in the first inning and was hit by a pitch in the fourth. Those two at-bats helped extend Burt’s club record streak of consecutive games reaching base to 56.

Lexington scrapped together a pair of runs to take a 2-0 lead after four. Brandt Broussard doubled to start the third and scored on a double by Zach Watson. In the fourth, J.C. Encarnacion led off with a single, moved to third on a single by Osmy Gregorio, and scored on a double steal.

The Rockers were able to tie the game in the fifth without the benefit of a base hit. Ryan Grotjohn drew a leadoff walk and Daikan Yoh’s grounder to third resulted in a low throw to first and an error on third baseman Connor Owings. A walk to Brian Parreira loaded the bases and led to Kickham’s exit in favor of reliever Pat Ledet. The lefty walked Emmanuel Tapia to force in the first run of the game before Michael Martinez delivered a sacrifice fly that knotted the game at two.

In the sixth, the Rockers strung together a walk and four consecutive hits to score four runs and take a 6-2 lead. Grotjohn delivered an RBI single and Yoh smacked a run-scoring double before Parreira added a two-run single. Lexington reliever Joe Dougherty (L, 2-2) allowed each of the first four base runners in the Rockers’ sixth to reach base and score.

Five more runs scored in the seventh which began with Ben Aklinski’s 18^th homer of the year. Yoh and Parreira each had an RBI single and a dropped throw at second by Lexington on a potential double play ball led to three unearned runs.

High Point starter Brandon Leibrandt went five innings and allowed six hits and two runs while walking one and striking out six. Jeremy Rhoades (W, 7-2) put the Counter Clocks down in order in the sixth and earned the victory. Cam Bedrosian, Austin Ross and Joe Johnson kept Lexington at bay over the final three innings though Ross did yield a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Logan Brown.

Grotjohn and Yoh each finished with three runs scored as all 11 High Point runs came from the two through seven hitters in the line-up. Parreira and Michael Martinez each had a game-high three RBI.

The third and final game of the series with Lexington will take place at Truist Point at 6:35 p.m. on Thursday. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

Gastonia 5, Long Island 0

(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 23, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Gastonia Honey Hunters 5-0 on Wednesday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark.

 Steven Moya’s solo home run to right field in the second inning off Ducks starter Ian Clarkin gave the Honey Hunters a 1-0 lead. A two-out RBI single to center by Luis Curbelo in the fifth doubled Gastonia’s lead to two.

 Zach Jarrett’s RBI single to left in the seventh made it a 3-0 ballgame. An RBI double by Braxton Davidson and a run-scoring groundout from David Washington in the eighth pushed the lead to five.

 Honey Hunters starter Zach Mort (12-2) earned the win, tossing six scoreless innings, allowing four hits while striking out nine. Clarkin (2-3) suffered the hard-luck loss, giving up just two runs on six hits and a walk over six innings with nine strikeouts as well.

 Ruben Tejada led the Ducks offense with two hits and a walk.

The Ducks and Honey Hunters 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 1,500 fans in attendance will receive QuackerJack Oversized Baseball Cards, courtesy of The Anne V. Graziani Fund. It’s also a Thirsty Thursday at the ballpark, and fans will be able to enjoy a special buy one, get one half-price offer on Michelob products during the game. In addition, the Duck Club restaurant and bar on the suite level will be open for all fans to enjoy. Right-hander Justin Alintoff (2-1, 4.01) toes the rubber for the Ducks against Honey Hunters righty Sal Romano (4-4, 3.97).

Southern Maryland 6, Staten Island 3

Charleston 6, Spire City 5

Charleston overcame a 5-2 deficit with a four-run sixth inning to defeat Spire City 6-5 at GoMart Park.

Bobby Bradley hit a solo homer, his 27^th of the y ear, and Justin O’Conner hit a three-run shot to lead the Dirty Birds offense. Craig Dedelow and Jose Marmolejos each homered for the Ghost Hounds.

Charleston’s Colt Webb improved to 4-3 with the win while Spire City’s Jeff Johnson took the loss in relief, falling to 4-3 on the year.