Pennant Races: Southern Maryland clinched the first half North Division pennant with a 12-3 win at Staten Island on 6/23 . . . Gastonia is one win away from securing the South pennant... Any combination of a Gastonia win and/or High Point loss will give GAS the title. 

 

Player Transfers: Long Island’s Deven Marrero had his contract purchased by the New York Mets and has been assigned to their AAA team in Syracuse.

 

First Half-Week Standouts: SMD’s Braxton Lee was 6-for-12 at Staten Island… Lexington’s Montrell Marshall was 5-for-11 vs. Kentucky… LEX’s Courtney Hawkins drove in six runs and scored six runs vs. KY… LEX’s Boog Powell had eight hits vs. the WHG… LEX’s Austin Adams had two saves vs. KY.

 

Second Half-Week Standouts: J.C. Encarnacion of York had back-to-back four-hit games vs. Staten Island with eight RBI… He was 8-for-14 on the weekend… KY’s Luke Becker was 7-for-11 vs. Charleston with eight RBI, an OPS of 2.122 and hit for the cycle on 6/26… York’s Connor Lien scored eight runs vs. SI.

 

Best of the Week: Kentucky’s Luke Becker hit for the cycle vs. Charleston on 6/26… He homered in the first, doubled in the second, tripled in the fourth, and singled in the seventh while totaling five RBI… Kelly Dugan (LAN) and Connor Lien (YRK) each hit four homers during the week while YRK’s Elmer Reyes knocked in 10 runs… Kentucky’s Tim Peterson racked up three saves during the week… High Point’s Craig Stem had a 1.13 ERA, allowing one run in eight innings.

 

Who’s Hot: York has won four straight games, its longest winning streak of the year... After a 2-9 start, Kentucky has closed to just one game under .500 as the midway point of the season approaches.  

 

Team Hitting: LAN blasted five home runs in an 11-4 win over York on 6/21… York had 22 hits including four home runs in the a single inning in a 19-1 win over Staten Island on 6/25… High Point tied a franchise record with 18 runs in an 18-7 win over Lexington on 6/26… Lexington scored three in the top of the ninth to come-from-behind and defeat Kentucky 8-6 on 6/22 behind a Boog Powell two-run homer… Connor Justus and Alfredo Gonzalez each hit two-run homers as Charleston wiped out a 6-3 ninth inning deficit to beat Kentucky 7-6 on 6/26.

 

Batting Masters: Johnni Turbo had four hits including a HR vs. High Point 6/21… Boog Powell and Montrell Marshall each (LEX) had four hits vs. KY 6/22… SMD’s David Harris had four hits vs. Staten Island 6/23… Connor Lien hit two homers vs. Staten Island 6/24… Lancaster’s Kelly Dugan knocked a pair of homers vs. Long Island 6/25… Troy Stokes, Jr. had five hits and three RBI vs. Staten Island 6/25… High Point’s Michael Martinez drove in four runs vs. Lexington 6/25… LAN’s Trayvon Robinson had three hits, a pair of doubles and four RBI vs. Long Island 6/26… High Point’s Ben Aklinski had four hits, a homer and four RBI vs. Lexington (6/26).

 

Pitching Gems: SI’s Hector Guance fanned eight SMD hitters in six innings on 6/21… SI’s Dakota Freese fanned nine in six innings vs. SMD on 6/22… SI’s Eddy Reynoso went 1.1 IP with four strikeouts vs. SMD on 6/22… York’s Nick Howard collected four strikeouts in 1.1 innings vs. LAN on 6/22… Daryl Thompson threw a complete game in helping SMD clinch the first half North title with a 12-3 win at SI on 6/23… Lexington’s Keyvius Sampson fanned 12 Genomes in five innings in a 5-3 win on 6/23… Kentucky’s Ryan Kellogg fanned 10 Legends in five innings of work 6/23… Kentucky’s Tim Peterson has not allowed a run in 22 of 23 appearances this year.

 

Streaks: York’s Carlos Franco has reached base in 39 consecutive games, the longest streak in the Atlantic League this year... Long Island’s Sam Travis has driving in at least one run in nine straight games... York’s Nellie Rodriguez has drawn a walk in 12 straight games.

 

Team Pitching: Four Staten Island hurlers fanned 17 Blue Crabs on 6/22… Charleston hurlers held Gastonia to one hit in a 4-1 win (6/22). 

 

Over 21 Only: Lancaster’s Kelly Dugan and Lexington’s Courtney Hawkins are tied for the Atlantic League home run lead with 21 apiece … York’s Carlos Franco is third with 20. 

 

Anomalies: The box score for the CWV at GAS game on 6/22 lists a game time temperature of 101 while at the same time the temperature for SMD at Staten Island was 64… Lancaster used a six-run 11th inning to defeat Long Island 1-5 on 6/24… SMD overcame a seven-run deficit while posting a 9-7 win over Gastonia on 6/26.

 

Walk-Offs: Staten Island walked off SMD 5-4 in 10 innings on 6/22 behind a Dilson Hererra base hit… Elmer Reyes’ double led to a 6-5 York walk-off win over Staten Island on 6/24… Gastonia walked-off Charleston 5-4 on 6/23 behind a Zach Jarrett homer…