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Gastonia 6, Staten Island 5

GASTONIA, NC - The Gastonia Honey Hunters extended their streak to eight games last night, winning a nail-biter against Staten Island 6-5 on Saturday night in front of a record crowd of 2,425 people at Caromont Health Park.

As has been the case often in this homestand, the offense showed their teeth early in the contest.

Gastonia got the scoring started with Johnny Davis drawing a walk to lead off the first inning. After Davis stole second later in the frame, he made a dash for third, luring an errant throw from Staten Island catcher John Nester. Davis raced home on the error, putting Gastonia ahead 1-0.

In the second, the Honey Hunters ripped off four runs against Ferry Hawks starter Jordan Simpson.

Jake Skole hit his first homer of 2022 with one out to stretch the lead to 2-0. After a single by Cesar Trejo, Connon Owings walked to bring up Davis. Davis drew another free pass in the inning, giving Jack Reinheimer the chance to cash in. Reinheimer would lift a fly ball to right field, advancing everyone including Trejo, who scored without a throw. Joseph Rosa would cap off the scoring with a single through the box, scoring Owings and Davis to build the 5-0 cushion.

Marcus Walden, looking for his first win of 2022, got Gastonia through five innings, allowing one run on three hits to go with three punchouts. The lone blemish for Walden was an RBI single to Brandon Wagner in the fourth inning that scored Ricardo Cespedes.

The two clubs would trade runs to move the game into the ninth where the Honey Hunters owned a four-run lead. In the ninth, things would once again turn tense as the Ferry Hawks would plate three runs to cut the lead to a single score.

Onas Farfan, who was on for his second inning of relief, gave up a walk to Rymer Liriano. After Wagner singled to left, the ball skipped over the head of Gastonia outfielder Reece Hampton to score Liriano. Wagner advanced to second, ending the night for the southpaw from Minnesota.

Jesus Balaguer was called on to close the door on Staten Island.

Balaguer opened his effort by walking Kevin Krause. After a Nester fly out, Ben Ruta was called out on strikes and subsequently tossed out by home plate umpire Andre Branch.

Norberto Sussini would then pinch-hit for Javier Betancourt, lifting a fly ball to left center. As Hampton and Davis converged, the two outfielders got tangled up, causing the ball to be mishandled. Wagner and Krause would score on the miscue, sending the crowd of 2,425 into a bit of a panic.

Balaguer was able to retire Ricardo Cespedes to earn his first save of the season and send the record crowd home reveling in an eight-game win streak.

The Honey Hunters, who have a penchant for scoring runs in myriad ways, had their second lowest hit total of the season with six. However, the club mitigated that deficiency with eight walks and stole six bases tonight. Rosa, the league's leader in RBI at the start of the day, padded his number with two driven in, giving him 13 on the year (tied with Courtney Hawkins of Lexington).

Walden picked up the win as Simpson took the loss for the Ferry Hawks, who are still in search of their first win in franchise history.

Tomorrow, Reilly Hovis will toe the rubber for the Honey Hunters, who are looking to get their second consecutive sweep and run the current homestand to a franchise-best 9-1 mark. First pitch is set for 4:15pm. WGNC am1450 and 101.1fm will bring the radio coverage at 4pm, with Derek Smith bringing the call. Tickets are available at www.gohoneyhunters.com.

After tomorrow, the club will make their first trip away from home, embarking on a 12-game, 13 day journey into three cities. They will return home May 17th against Southern Maryland at 6:15pm.

Southern Maryland 16, Kentucky 2

(Waldorf, MD, April 30, 2022) The Southern Maryland Blue Crabs' bats exploded against the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes, scoring 16 unanswered runs to give the Blue Crabs their seventh consecutive win.  Meanwhile, the Blue Crabs' pitching staff was terrific, allowing two hits throughout the evening.  

Eddie Butler (W, 1-0) ran into trouble in the first inning, allowing an RBI double, and a solo home run.  From there, Butler dominated and did not allow a hit for the rest of his outing.

Aaron Blair (L, 0-2), who started for the Genomes, struggled in the second.  After Alex Crosby walked to start the inning, Zach Collier roped a line drive over the wall in right field, tying the game at two.  Southern Maryland struck again in the third inning.  With the bases loaded and two outs, Braxton Lee was hit by a pitch, scoring David Harris and giving the Blue Crabs a 3-2 lead.  Ryan Haug then ripped a base hit into center field, scoring two more runs and putting Southern Maryland ahead 5-2.  

In the fourth inning, the Blue Crabs put up another crooked number.  After Jack Sundberg walked and Rubi Silva reached on an error, David Harris launched a three-run home run over the wall in left-center, giving the Blue Crabs an 8-2 lead. 

Butler exited the game after five strong innings, allowing only two runs on two hits.  From there, the bullpen took over.  Nick Wells pitched two outstanding innings, allowing just one walk.  From there, Patrick Baker pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning, striking out two batters.  Dario Polanco finished the game for Blue Crabs with another 1-2-3 inning, striking out one batter. 

Meanwhile, the bats kept on clicking. The Blue Crabs extended the lead to 10-2 in the sixth inning, thanks in part to an RBI double from Braxton Lee. Ryan Haug later traded a run for an out, scoring Zach Collier on a ground ball to first. 

In the seventh inning, Southern Maryland batted around.  With the bases loaded and one out, Alex Crosby ripped a single into right field, scoring two more runs and giving the Blue Crabs a 12-2 lead. Three batters later, with the bases loaded again, Ryan Haug drilled a double into left field, scoring two, extending the Blue Crabs' lead to 14-2.  The next batter, Jordan Howard, added to the hit parade in his first game, as he also doubled down the left-field line, scoring two more to put the Blue Crabs up 16-2. 

The Blue Crabs’ 16-2 victory is their seventh consecutive win.  Southern Maryland now leads the North Division by two games.  The Blue Crabs return home to Regency Furniture Stadium tomorrow at 2 pm for game three against the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes. 

Lancaster 5, York 3

Lancaster’s pitching held when it mattered, and its infielders made two great defensive plays down the stretch as the Barnstormers toppled the York Revolution, 5-3, Saturday evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

It was the Barnstormers’ second straight win over the Revs to take the early lead in the 32-game, 2022 War of the Roses.

Lancaster needed six pitchers to turn the trick on Saturday evening.  Nile Ball made his first start of the year, checking the Revs on four hits and a run over four innings.  Tyler Suellentrop (2-0) picked up the game in the fifth inning, chalking up three strikeouts before not being able to record an out in the sixth.  Tommy Shirley bailed the team out of a bases-loaded, none out jam in the sixth.  Lancaster went to Chase Johnson for a scoreless seventh inning.  Josh Graham allowed a two-out unearned run in the eighth before Scott Shuman locked the door with a four-out save, fanning the side in the ninth.

In the first, the Barnstormers grabbed the lead on a two-out RBI single up the middle by Andretty Cordero.  A single to right by Elmer Reyes, double to the right field wall by Jack Kenley and Yefri Perez’ grounder to first notched the initial York run of the night to tie the game in the third, but the Barnstormers went ahead to stay on Kelly Dugan’s second homer in two nights, a two-run blast off Jorge Martinez (0-1) with two outs in the home fifth.

The sixth created issues for the Barnstormers.  Nellie Rodriguez beat out a dribbler to the right of the mound.  Suellentrop walked Carlos Franco and hit Carlos Castro to load the bases.  Lancaster switched to the left-handed Shirley to face left-handed hitting Josue Herrera.  Herrera lifted a fly to moderately deep center which LeDarious Clark dropped for an error as Rodriguez scored.

Shirley was able to bear down.  He got Reyes on a pop up on which catcher Anthony Peroni made a sliding grab.  Kenley struck out, and Perez closed the threat with a force play grounder to Cordero at third.

After Mark Zagunis stretched the lead back to two with a homer in the bottom of the sixth, Chase Johnson survived a pair of singles when Cordero made a sprawling stop of a grounder by Castro.  The defense took away another hit in the top of the eighth.  Herrera led off with a single and took second on a Peroni passed ball.  Reyes lofted a pop fly to shallow left which appeared destined for a single when Hoover made a tumbling catch for the first out.  Josh Graham got Kenley on a grounder and walked Perez before Cordero bobbled a grounder to his left by Troy Stokes, Jr.

Shuman retired Melky Mesa on one pitch, and the Barnstormers followed with an insurance run in the bottom of the inning on a bloop triple by Connor Lien and Anderson Feliz’ sac fly.

Shuman polished off the Revs in the top of the ninth for his second save.

The two clubs conclude the series on Sunday afternoon.  Cam Gann (0-0) will take the mound for the Barnstormers against right-hander Duke von Schamann (0-1).  Fans may tune into the Barnstormers YouTube channel, starting at 12:55.

NOTES:  Shaver has hit safely in six straight, the club’s longest streak of the year…Dugan has four extra base hits and eight RBI in the series…Johnson allowed his first hits in seven innings of work but still has not allowed a run…Lien has three extra base hits in four at bats as a Barnstormer and six in 15 in the Atlantic League…Suellentrop has two of Lancaster’s three wins.

Lexington 8, Long Island 6

(Lexington, Ky., April 30, 2022) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Lexington Legends 8-6 on Saturday night in the middle game of a three-game series at Wild Health Field.

The Legends took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on Tillman Pugh’s RBI single to left field off Ducks starter Hunter Caudelle. Cesar Cuevas added an RBI double in the second to make it a 2-0 ballgame. The Ducks rallied to tie the game at two with single runs in the third and fourth off Legends starter Jeff Thompson on Johnni Turbo’s run-scoring fielder’s choice and Joe DeCarlo’s RBI single to left-center.

A six-run fourth for Lexington put them back in front 8-2, with Courtney Hawkins’ two-run single and Jose Briceno’s two-run home run to left highlighting the frame. Two-out RBI singles by Deibinson Romero and Sam Travis in the fifth closed the gap to four. Travis’ sac fly to left in the seventh and Daniel Fields’ RBI triple to right-center in the eighth trimmed the Ducks deficit to 8-6. However, Long Island could not even the score.

Caudelle did not factor into the decision, giving up two runs on six hits and a walk over three innings while striking out three. Thompson (1-1) picked up the win, tossing five innings, allowing four runs on eight hits and one walk while striking out eight. Stephen Tarpley (0-1) suffered the loss, surrendering six runs on five hits in one-third of an inning. Austin Adams earned his second save of the season with a scoreless ninth.

Romero led the Flock offensively with three hits, an RBI, a run and a walk. DeCarlo and Fields each added two hits and drove in a run.

The Ducks and Legends wrap up their three-game set on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 2:05 p.m. at Wild Health Field. Fans can follow all the action on the Long Island Ducks Broadcast Network. Live streaming HD video and audio will be available via BoxCast on LIDucks.com as well as on the Ducks official Facebook page and YouTube channel. Right-hander Akeel Morris (0-0, 9.64) toes the rubber for the Ducks against Legends righty Mason Cole (0-0, 2.70).

Long Island returns home on Friday, May 6, to begin a three-game set against 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). It’s an Angela’s Pizza Friday, and a player on the Barnstormers will be designated as the K-Man. If he strikes out during the game, all fans can show their game ticket to receive 20% off their order of $25 or more throughout the rest of the weekend at Angela’s Pizzeria of Islip. Tickets for the game, and all Ducks games, are available by visiting the Fairfield Properties Ballpark box office, calling (631) 940-TIXX or CLICKING HERE.

Charleston 7, High Point 3

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers had their five-game winning streak snapped on Saturday night by Charleston which posted a 7-3 win over the Rockers. A crowd of 2,402 turned out for the contest.

The Dirty Birds had 11 hits and three home runs in the contest while the Rockers recorded nine hits and a pair of home runs, both from Quincy Latimore.

Charleston touched High Point starter Neil Uskali for a pair of runs in the first. Lead-off hitter Anfernee Seymour tripled to lead off the game and scored on a two-run homer by Nick Longhi. The Dirty Birds added a run in the second when Connor Justus singled off the glove of Usakli and moved to third when the throw sailed past first baseman Jerry Downs. Justus scored on an infield groundout by Yovan Gonzalez.

In the fourth, Charleston took a 5-0 lead when Scott Kelly drove in a pair of runs with a single. Miles Williams’ solo homer leading off the fifth gave Charleston a 6-0 advantage.

High Point scored its first run in the sixth when Quincy Latimore hit a solo homer, his third of the year. The Rockers cut the lead to 6-2 in the seventh when Mike Gulino tripled and scored on a sac fly by Michael Russell. Charleston added an insurance run with Juan Perez’s solo homer to lead off the ninth.  High Point made it a 7-3 final when Latimore blasted his second homer of the game to start the ninth inning.

Usakli took the loss as his record fell to 1-1.  Jose Mesa, Jr. (2-0) threw six innings in the start for Charleston, scattering six hits and walking just one while holding the Rockers to a single run. A trio of relievers finished the game for Charleston.

The Rockers and Charleston will conclude their three-game series with the rubber match on Sunday at 4:05 p.m. at Truist Point.