Lancaster 6, York 2

Trayvon Robinson found the perfect time to hit his first homer since July 12.

Robinson belted a grand slam over the left field “Arch Nemesis” in the top of the sixth to lead the Lancaster Barnstormers to a 6-2 victory over the York Revolution at WellSpan Park.

The win kept Lancaster in first place by one game over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs.  Staten Island is now two back with York trailing by 4 ½.

With Lancaster trailing, 1-0, reliever Will McAffer (0-2) opened the sixth with a walk to Yeison Coca.  One out later, the right-hander hit Ariel Sandoval with a pitch.  He walked Wilson Garcia to load the bases.  York skipper Rick Forney brought in lefty J.P. Woodward to face Joseph Carpenter, and Woodward got the strikeout to bring up Robinson.  The Lancaster DH took a 2-1 offering out to Arch Street to stake Lancaster to the 4-1 lead. 

Matt Swarmer (1-1) worked 6 2/3 innings on a three-hitter, striking out eight.  He departed after hitting Jhon Nunez with a pitch.  Alexis Pantoja greeted Zach Warren with a double flared down the left field line that sent Nunez to third, but Warren responded by retiring Trent Giambrone on a grounder to third.

Doubles by Tomo Otosaka and Drew Mendoza off Nick Duron brought the Revs back to within two in the bottom of the eighth, but Duron escaped further harm with a pair of strikeouts.

Andretty Cordero provided key insurance runs for the Barnstormers with a two-out, two-run double to dead center in the top of the ninth.

The Gastonia Honey Hunters come to Clipper Magazine Stadium for a three-game weekend series, the first time the two teams have met since June 22.  Brent Teller (10-4) will make the start for the Barnstormers against right-hander Brett Daniels (3-1).  Fans not in attendance may tune into FloBaseball at 6:25.

NOTES:  Swarmer threw his second consecutive quality start and earned his first Atlantic League win…Cordero’s double was his 36^th of the year; his RBI were numbers 93 and 94…Melvin Mercedes lost a 23-game on-base streak…Chris Proctor had his second straight multiple-hit game…Lancaster finished its road trip, 4-2, its best week since July 14-20.

Gastonia 13, Long Island 12

(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 24, 2023) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Gastonia Honey Hunters 13-12 on Thursday night in the final game of a three-game series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark.

Braxton Davidson hit a leadoff solo home run to left-center field in the second inning off Ducks starter Justin Alintoff to give Gastonia a 1-0 lead. Long Island answered with four runs in the second off Honey Hunters starter Sal Romano on Carlos Castro’s RBI infield single, Wilson Ramos’ two-run single to right-center and Ruben Tejada’s run-scoring groundout to shortstop. 

The Honey Hunters responded with four runs of their own in the third to go back in front 5-4. Steven Moya’s RBI single, RBI doubles from Davidson and Eric De La Rosa and David Washington’s sac fly did the damage. However, RBI singles by Ramos and Jonathan Guzman in the bottom of the third allowed Long Island to leapfrog back in front 6-5.

Moya’s two-run homer down the right field line in the fourth put Gastonia on top once again at 7-6. Guzman tied it in the fifth with an RBI single to center, and the Ducks then took an 11-7 lead with a four-run sixth, highlighted by Castro’s RBI single to left and Ramos’ three-run homer to left.

Gastonia closed to within two in the seventh on De La Rosa’s RBI double and a hit by pitch that scored De La Rosa. Joe DeCarlo got one of the runs back with an RBI single to left in the seventh, making it 12-9 Ducks. However, a ninth inning grand slam to left-center by Luis Curbelo put Gastonia ahead for good at 13-12.

Neither starter factored into the decision. Alintoff pitched five innings, allowing seven runs on 11 hits and a walk while striking out four. Romano also lasted five innings and gave up seven runs on 11 hits, walking three and striking out two. Trent Fennell (1-2) picked up the win after pitching a scoreless eighth inning, yielding a hit while striking out two. Jose Jose (5-2) suffered the loss, surrendering four runs on three hits and a walk in the ninth with two strikeouts. Parker Bugg got his first save with a scoreless ninth.

Ramos led the Ducks offensively with three hits, six RBIs and two runs scored. Castro and Guzman each added three hits and two RBIs, while Castro scoring three times. Alex Dickerson chipped in with two hits, three runs and two walks.

The Ducks hit the road on Friday night to open a three-game series against the Staten Island FerryHawks. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Staten Island University Hospital Community Park. Fans can follow the action live on Flo Baseball by CLICKING HERE. Left-hander Kyle Lobstein (3-4, 5.24) gets the start for the Ducks against a FerryHawks starter to be determined.

Long Island returns home on Friday, September 1, to begin a four-game series with the Lancaster Barnstormers. 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 1,000 fans in attendance will receive Chef Hat Rubber Duckies, courtesy of The Hidden Gem Cafe.

High Point vs. Lexington RAINED OUT
 

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers home game with the Lexington Counter Clocks on Thursday night was postponed in the bottom of the first inning due to weather. Lexington did not score in the top of the first and the Rockers were batting in the bottom of the first when the game was delayed. It was postponed following a one hour and 49 minute delay.

A makeup date for the game will be announced at a later date.

The Rockers will start a six-game road trip on Friday at Frederick, Md. against the Spire City Ghost Hounds. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. The game will be streamed live on FLO Baseball and also available on the Mixlr app.

Southern Maryland 12, Staten Island 4

Southern Maryland won two of three games in their series at Staten Island, taking Thursday’s contest by a 12-4 score. Jack Sundberg and Jimmy Kerrigan hit solo homers with Kerrigan driving in three runs on the night. Spencer Johnson of the Blue Crabs improved to 4-4 with the win while Staten Island’s Jesse Remington fell to 5-5 with the loss.

The Blue Crabs (23-18) are now a full game ahead of the Ferryhawks (22-19).

Charleston 9, Spire City 8 (11 innings)

Yovan Gonzalez hit a two-run homer in the 11^th to help Charleston to a walk-off win over Spire City on Thursday night. The Ghost Hounds held leads of 3-0 and 7-3 before the Dirty Birds rallied for two runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth to send the game to extra innings tied at 7-7.

Trailing 7-5, Dwight Smith, Jr. hit a two-run single to tie the game.

In the top of the 11^th, Jose Marmolejos brought home Leobaldo Cabrera on a fielder’s choice.

Jacob Bosiokovicearned the win in relief to even his record at 3-3. Spire City’s Jeff Johnson (L, 4-4) took the loss.

Charleston’s Telvin Nash homered for the 19^th time this season. It was his 123^rd career Atlantic League homer.