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Gastonia 10, Staten Island 5

GASTONIA, NC – Kelsie Whitmore became the first female to start a game in Atlantic League history Sunday evening at CaroMont Park, serving as the FerryHawks left fielder in a 10-5 defeat. Whitmore made the first putout in the bottom of the first inning and reached base on a hit by pitch in the fifth.

The Honey Hunters never trailed on Sunday, scoring runs in each of the first five innings. FerryHawks starter Alex Vargas (0-2) became the victim of two early two-run home runs, one from Zach Jarrett in the first inning, another from Cesar Trejo in the second inning. Vargas allowed five earned runs over his two innings, he had one strikeout and two walks.

The Staten Island offense, meanwhile, struggled against Gastonia right-hander Reily Hovis in the early innings. Following back-to-back singles from Angel Aguilar and Kacy Clemens in the top of the first, Hovis proceeded to retire 10 consecutive FerryHawks to complete his four-inning outing. The Former North Carolina Tar Heel whiffed six batters and didn’t issue a walk.

The FerryHawks thrived against the Honey Hunters bullpen, exploding for five runs against four different relievers over the final five frames. The first three Gastonia arms to follow Hovis all allowed runs on Sunday night, but Staten Island’s deficit only got as small as four runs.

Trailing 8-0 heading to the fifth inning, Staten Island utilized three hits to plate three runs with Hovis no longer in the game. Dueling reliever Miguel Hernandez, the FerryHawks were sparked by a Brandon Wagner walk and Ben Ruta single. After Ruta thieved second base to put two in scoring position, Javier Betancourt delivered his first FerryHawks home run – a three-run shot to left field. Despite Whitmore reaching on a hit by pitch and Ricardo Cespdes collecting a one-out single, the rally ended when Cespedes was hit by Aguilar’s batted ball (a two-out single).

Four FerryHawks relievers couldn’t hold the deficit for Staten Island, allowing five earned runs across seven innings. Williams Jerez, who worked a scoreless eighth inning, was the only Staten Island hurler not to allow a run in Sunday’s series finale.

Staten Island tried to continue chipping away in the late innings, crossing one run in the seventh and eighth innings. Cespedes singled home Ruta with one out in the seventh to close the gap to 8-4, while Brandon Wagner launched his first home run of the season in the eighth. Wagner’s solo shot made it a 10-5 game.

Sam Bordner (3-0) earned his second win of the series, despite allowing four hits over 1.2 innings. He struck out two without giving up a walk.

Staten Island (0-9) returns to New York to kickstart a 12-game homestand on Tuesday against the Lexington Legends at Staten Island University Hospital Park

High Point 3,  Charleston 2
 

HIGH POINT, N.C. – Zander Wiel blasted a pair of home runs to lead the High Point Rockers to a 3-2 win over Charleston on Sunday afternoon at Truist Point. The win gave the Rockers a 2-1 series win over the Dirty Birds.

Starting pitchers Jheyson Manzueta of High Point and Kevin Herget of Charleston kept both line-ups at bay through the first five innings. Manzueta allowed five hits and just a single run while walking two and striking out two. Herget held the Rockers to six hits and one run while striking out eight.

Charleston scored the first run of the game in the fifth inning when Engel Beltre doubled and scored on a single by Dirty Bird catcher Yovan Gonzalez.

The Rockers tied the game in the bottom of the sixth when Zander Wiel blasted his third home run of the season, a solo shot to left off Herget. 

Lefty Adam Choplick came on in relief to start the eighth inning and retired the Dirty Birds on three infield groundouts sandwiched around a walk.

In the bottom of the eighth, Charleston reliever Justin Miller yielded a lead-off single to Quincy Latimore. Wiel then pulled a Miller offering down the left field line, tucking it inside the foul pole for a two-run homer and a 3-1 Rockers lead.

Of his second homer, Wiel said that Miller “throws the ball across the plate at a different angle so I was just looking for something middle in.”

Chasen Bradford started the top of the ninth for the Rockers and allowed a pair of singles. After a sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position, Charleston third baseman Scott Burcham flew out to right field to score Connor Justus on the sacrifice fly. Bradford then retired Scott Kelly on a fly ball to left to secure the save and the Rockers’ win.

The Rockers will have Monday off before starting a three-game home set with the Long Island Ducks on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point.

Southern Maryland 8, Kentucky 6

(Waldorf, MD, May 1, 2022) Southern Maryland started the scoring early and outlasted a late comeback to win 8-6 in game three against the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes.  Despite a rain delay in the third inning, McKenzie Mills (W, 1-0) stayed in the game, pitching five innings and allowing just one run. 

In the first inning, the Blue Crabs bats picked up right where they left off from Saturday night’s game, where they scored 16 runs against the Genomes.  Jack Sundberg led off with a double, and Jared Walker followed him with a walk. Sundberg and Walker advanced on a double-steal before David Harris drove in Sundberg with a sacrifice fly to left field, giving the Blue Crabs a 1-0 lead.  The next batter, Alex Crosby, picked up an infield single, which was enough to score Jared Walker, and give the Blue Crabs a 2-0 lead.  

The Genomes got one run back in the top of the second, but Southern Maryland kept the scoring going.  Kentucky’s starter, Robby Scott (L, 0-2), loaded the bases with one out in the second inning.  Rubi Silva then ripped a line drive into right field, scoring Matt Hibbert and Jordan Howard, and putting the Blue Crabs on top 4-1. Silva’s base hit extended his hit streak to eight games.  Following a passed ball, Jack Sundberg scored from third, expanding the Blue Crabs' lead to 5-1.   

In the top of the third inning, the rain started to fall at Regency Furniture Stadium.  With two outs in the inning, the rainfall was too heavy, beginning a rain delay that lasted for one hour and 18 minutes.  Once play resumed, starting pitcher McKenzie Mills returned to the game, quickly recording the final out of the third inning.   

The Blue Crabs’ bats kept burning after the rain delay. With runners on first and second with two outs, Austin Rei bounced a single up the middle, scoring Zach Collier and giving the Blue Crabs a 6-1 lead.  Another Blue Crabs’ run came in from an error by the first baseman, Chris Shaw.  In the top of the fourth inning, Jared Walker blasted a home run over the wall in right field, giving Southern Maryland an 8-1 lead.  

McKenzie Mills exited the game after five innings, allowing one run on five hits and one walk.   From there Bradley Roney recorded a scoreless sixth inning.  After Dalton Geekie allowed two unearned runs in the seventh, Endrys Briceno pitched a 1-2-3 eighth inning.    

In the ninth inning, Alex Merithew ran into trouble.  After the Genomes cut the deficit to 8-6, Mat Latos (SV, 3) entered the game with two outs.  Latos only needed to throw three pitches to record the final out, giving Southern Maryland an 8-6 win.  

With tonight’s victory, the Blue Crabs have won eight straight games, which ties a franchise record set in 2013 and 2015.  The Blue Crabs also move to 8-1 on the season and command a three-game lead in the North Division.  After an off-day tomorrow, the Blue Crabs return to Regency Furniture Stadium on Tuesday for a matchup with the Lancaster Barnstormers at 6:35 pm. 

Lexington 12, Long Island 9

(Lexington, Ky., May 1, 2022) – The Long Island Ducks were defeated by the Lexington Legends 12-9 on Sunday afternoon in the rubber game of a three-game series at Wild Health Field.

The Ducks jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning against Legends starter Mason Cole. Deibinson Romero’s RBI single, Sam Travis’ RBI double and Joe DeCarlo’s two-run single highlighted the inning. Lexington got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first on a solo home run to left field by Courtney Hawkins off Ducks starter Akeel Morris. Vladimir Frias then restored the Ducks four-run lead in the fourth with a two-out RBI double down the right field line. 

Jose Briceno’s solo homer to left in the fourth trimmed Long Island’s lead to 5-2, but a solo blast to left by Romero in the fifth pushed the Ducks advantage back up to four. It stayed that way until the bottom of the sixth when Lexington scored eight runs to take a 10-6 lead. Blake Swihart’s two-run home run and three-run homers from Cesar Cuevas and Briceno did the damage. 

Long Island rallied for three runs in the eighth on Frias’ RBI single and Dustin Woodcock’s two-run single, closing the gap to 10-9. However, a two-run homer to left by Hawkins in the bottom of the frame put the game out of reach. 

Neither starter factored into the decision. Morris pitched five innings of four-run ball, allowing six hits and three walks while striking out five. Cole lasted four and two-thirds innings, yielding six runs on five hits and three walks with two strikeouts. Jalen Miller (1-1) picked up the win, retiring all four batters he faced while striking out three. Anderson DeLeon (2-1) took the loss, surrendering six runs on four hits and two walks in one inning. Yaramil Hiraldo collected his first save with one and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief. 

Romero led the Flock with two hits, two RBIs, two runs and a walk. Frias, Woodcock and DeCarlo each added two hits and two RBIs. 

Following a day off, the Ducks will continue their road trip on Tuesday night when they open a three-game set with the High Point Rockers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. at Truist Point. 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 Brett Kennedy (0-0, 2.00) gets the start for the Ducks against a Rockers starter to be determined.

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.

Lancaster 12, York 6

(May 1, 2022 – Lancaster, Pa.):  The York Revolution offense finally kicked into gear with a five-run ninth inning but it was far too little, too late, in a series concluding 12-6 loss to the Lancaster Barnstormers on a rainy Sunday afternoon in front of 3,209 fans at Clipper Magazine Stadium.  The Revs suffer a weekend sweep to conclude their longest road trip to begin a season since 2007 (nine games) and will look to rebound this week in their opening homestand of the season, beginning with Tuesday night’s home opener vs. Gastonia at 6:30 p.m.

Lancaster jumped to a first inning lead on Kelly Dugan’s two-out, two-run homer to right for a quick 2-0 score. 

Barnstormers starter Cameron Gann retired his first six batters, four on strike outs, before JC Encarnacion cracked a homer to right-center to lead off the third in his first at-bat of the season, slicing the deficit to 2-1 on the 10th home run of his Revs career.  Lenin Rodriguez added a one-out single, but from there, Gann (1-0) retired his next nine consecutive batters and 11 of his final 12 as he completed six dominant innings to earn the win, striking out seven while walking none on just three hits. 

York starter Duke von Schamann (0-2) appeared to settle in after the first inning, but was lifted after the first two batters reached in the fourth.  Lancaster increased its lead when Connor Lien greeted reliever Robinson Parra with a two-run double down the left field line, before Lancaster erupted for four runs in the fifth, all with two outs.  After reliever Isaac Sanchez appeared to nearly have Dugan struck out to end the inning, Dugan yanked a two-run double to right, followed by RBI doubles from Andretty Cordero and Lien as the Barnstormers produced a back-breaking rally to go up 8-1.

Two more scored, both unearned, in the sixth as Melvin Mercedes slapped an RBI single into left and Colton Shaver brought home another run on a ground out. 

LeDarious Clark capped the home team’s scoring with a two-run homer to right in the bottom of the eighth.

The Revs salvaged a bat-around inning in the ninth to close the gap, as Carlos Franco nailed a two-run double down the left field line, Carlos Castro rapped an RBI double to right, and Encarnacion launched his own RBI double to deep left-center.  Rodriguez added a run-scoring single to right field with two outs as the Revs, held to just four hits through the first eight innings, strung together five knocks off reliever Oscar De La Cruz in the final frame. 

York finally opens its home schedule on Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. against the Gastonia Honey Hunters.  It marks the 15th Season Celebration featuring the Arch Nemesis Piece Giveaway presented by Wayneco, Tyler’s Amazing Balancing Act, and Baseball Bingo presented by Edgar Snyder and Associates.  Tickets are available at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.