Long Island 8, Charleston 2

(Central Islip, N.Y., Aug. 28, 2022) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Charleston Dirty Birds 8-2 on Sunday evening in the rubber game of a three-game series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark.

 Charleston took a 2-0 lead in the third inning on Alfredo Gonzalez’s run-scoring groundout and Diego Goris’ RBI single to center off Ducks starter Chris Cepeda. An RBI single to left by Deibinson Romero off Dirty Birds starter Derrick Adams in the bottom of the third closed the gap to 2-1.

 A three-run fourth inning put the Ducks in front 4-2. Joe DeCarlo’s solo homer to left and RBI singles by L.J. Mazzilli and Lew Ford highlighted the inning, with Ford’s single being the 1,000th hit of his Ducks career. He becomes the fourth player in Atlantic League history to reach the milestone (Bryant Nelson, Jeff Nettles and Ray Navarrete) and the first to do so entirely in a Ducks uniform.

 Romero added an RBI single to center in the seventh to make it a 5-2 game. A three-run eighth, highlighted by Anfernee Seymour’s two-run single and Phil Caulfield’s RBI single, rounded out the scoring.

 Cepeda (4-1) earned the win, tossing six and two-thirds innings of two-run ball, allowing eight hits and no walks while striking out three. Adams (6-8) took the loss, conceding four runs (three earned) on eight hits and two walks in six innings with seven strikeouts.

 Romero led the Flock with three hits and two RBIs, while Ford added three hits as well plus an RBI. Seymour finished with two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored.

 The Ducks continue their homestand on Tuesday night when they open a three-game series 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). 

Lancaster 6, Staten Island 2

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Nile Ball kept the Lancaster Barnstormers in the game, and the Barnstormers took advantage of sloppy defense in the seventh to defeat the Staten Island Ferryhawks, 6-2, late Sunday afternoon at SIUH Community Park.

 The win completed a sweep of the three-game weekend series and kept Lancaster 4 ½ games ahead of Southern Maryland in the second half race in the North.

 Lancaster faced left-hander Augie Sylk whom they dealt to the Ferryhawks three weeks earlier and could make no headway against their ex-teammate.  Sylk walked seven in five innings but allowed only one hit, a single by Anderson Feliz to open the fourth.

 The Ferryhawks took a 1-0 lead off Nile Ball (9-4) in the first on a home run down the left field line by Angel Aguilar.  Feliz’ single led to a tying run as he stole second and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Andres Noriega.  Jacob Barfield was walked intentionally after working the count to 3-0.  With Trace Loehr batting, Barfield ran halfway to second.  Noriega was deked into throwing through, and Feliz beat the return throw home from Aguilar to score the tying run.

 Singles by Aguilar and Rusney Castillo, and a sac fly by Christopher Cespedes in the bottom of the fourth produced the second, and final, run off Ball.  The right-hander completed seven innings, yielding eight hits and one walk.

 Lancaster’s bats were quiet into the seventh.  Barfield drew a leadoff walk from Jordan Simpson (1-3).  Loehr struck out on a bunt attempt, and Melvin Mercedes flied to left for a second out.  Trayvon Robinson’s one-hopper to third was thrown away by Castillo, giving Lancaster runners at the corners.  Andretty Cordero lined a single to center to tie the game at 2-2.  Simpson hit Colton Shaver with a pitch to load the bases.  Feliz rapped a sharp grounder to Cespedes at first which was mishandled for the second error of the inning as Lancaster grabbed a 3-2 lead.  Anthony Peroni added a walk to force in another run.

 Cordero drove home an insurance run with a bases loaded grounder in the eighth, and Chris Proctor capped the scoring with an RBI triple to left center in the top of the ninth.

 The Barnstormers will open a three-game series at Long Island on Tuesday with right-hander Cameron Gann (6-8) on the hill.  Fans may tune into the Barnstormers YouTube channel, starting at 6:30.

 NOTES:  Cordero tied the club record with his 103rd RBI…Aaron Herr knocked in 103 in 2010…A bunt single by Melvin Mercedes in the eighth kept a hitting streak alive at 11 games…Ball threw his ninth quality start…With Shawon Dunston, Jr., Ariel Sandoval and Jake Hoover all on the shelf, the Barnstormers used Mercedes in center and Proctor in left…Ball threw his ninth quality start…Lancaster won the last 13 games of the season series…Kelsie Whitmore made her second consecutive start and made the defensive play of the day, robbing Cordero of an extra base hit in the third…She was 0-for-2 at the plate before leaving for a pinch hitter in the seventh.

High Point 7, Gastonia 3

HIGH POINT, N.C. – The High Point Rockers scored four runs in the sixth inning to erase a 3-2 deficit and went on to defeat the Gastonia Honey Hunters 7-3 Sunday afternoon in front of a crowd of 2,491 at Truist Point.

High Point manager Jamie Keefe sent pinch-hitter J.R. DiSarcina to lead-off the sixth inning as a replacement for DH Quincy Latimore. Because Rockers’ starting pitcher Ivan Pineyro left the game before the sixth inning, the Rockers lost the pinch-hitter and, thus, Latimore.  DiSarcina responded with a double to the wall in left-center. After Zander Wiel drew a walk, Ben Aklinski beat out a fielder’s choice at first with DiSarcina moving to third. Roldani Baldwin’s sac fly scored DiSarcina and tied the game at 3-3. Tyler Ladendorf followed with a walk before Michael Martinez singled to score Aklinski and put the Rockers ahead 4-3. Jay Gonzalez then sliced a double to left to score Ladendorf and Martinez and put High Point on top 6-3.

“J.R.’s double got us going in the sixth,” said Rockers manager Jamie Keefe. 

 The Rockers added an insurance run in the seventh when Wiel singled, stole second, and scored on a single by Aklinski.

Gastonia had taken an early 3-0 lead in the third inning on a double by Stuart Levy, an RBI single from Herlis Rodriguez and a two-run homer from Joseph Rosa.  The Rockers got two of the runs back in the bottom of the third when Gonzalez walked and scored on Michael Russell’s homer to left. It was Russell’s sixth home run of the season.

The score remained 3-2 in favor of Gastonia until the Rockers’ four-run sixth.

Pineyro went four innings and allowed three runs on four hits. Five High Point relievers each went one inning and limited the Honey Hunters to just one hit the rest of the way. Cameron Cotter (W, 1-0) pitched the top of the sixth and set Gastonia down in order with one strikeout to earn his first professional win.

“The bullpen was great today, especially the young guys who did it for us,” said Keefe, noting that the relief efforts of Mickey Jannis, Austin Parsley, Bryce Hensley and Ryan Dull, along with Cotter, were they key to the Rockers’ win.

Gastonia starter Dakota Chalmers (L, 1-2) pitched 5.2 innings, yielding six hits and six runs while walking three and striking out four.

The Rockers took two out of three from Gastonia over the weekend and improved to 60-54 overall and 21-27 in the second half of the season. The Rockers started the day 1.5 games out of the Atlantic League’s Wild Card playoff berth but picked up a full game with the win and a Kentucky loss in the first game of their doubleheader with Lexington. Lancaster maintained the top spot in the Wild Card race but the Barnstormers also are leading the North Division second half standings and could qualify for the playoffs by winning the division.

“This was a great series,” said Keefe. “It’s just what we needed. Now we get right back after (Gastonia) on Tuesday.”

The Rockers will have a day off on Monday and then start a three-game series at Gastonia at 6:15 p.m. at Caromont Health Park.

Southern Maryland 10, York 4

8/28/2022, Waldorf, MD) The Blue Crabs completed the series sweep at home against the York Revolution on Sunday afternoon.  The Blue Crabs produced a six-run second inning and a four-run fifth inning in the 10-4 victory. 

 The York Revolution got the offense started in the second inning, producing a run on three hits off of Eddie Butler (W, 12-3).  

 The Blue Crabs responded with six runs in the bottom of the second inning off of Duke von Schamann (L, 6-5).  Matt Hibbert drove a single into center field, scoring Alex Crosby, and tying the score.  The next batter, Ian Yetsko, hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Joe DeLuca, and putting the Blue Crabs ahead 2-1.  Later in the inning, with runners on second and third, Michael Baca singled up the middle scoring Matt Hibbert and Mike Falsetti to give the Blue Crabs a 4-1 lead.  Jared Walker later drove in two more runs a double to right, putting Southern Maryland ahead 6-1. 

 The Revs got one back in the top of the fourth inning, but the Blue Crabs picked up four more runs in the sixth.  With the bases loaded, Mike Falsetti walked, forcing in Alex Crosby.  Jack Sundberg knocked a single into center, scoring DeLuca and Hibbert to give the Blue Crabs a 9-2 advantage.  The Blue Crabs tacked on another run on a groundout. 

 Eddie Butler fought through six hits and five walks across seven innings, allowing only two runs. Dario Polanco pitched a scoreless eighth inning before struggling in the ninth.  The Revs tacked on two runs as Cody Strayer finished the ninth in the 10-4 victory. 

 The Blue Crabs move to 75-37 with the victory, along with 28-19 in the second half.  The Blue Crabs are back in action on Tuesday for a doubleheader with the Charleston Dirty Birds.

Lexington 9, Kentucky 6 (Game 1)
Lexington 11, Kentucky 8 (Game 2)

The Lexington Legends swept a doubleheader from the Wild Health Genomes on Sunday at Wild Health Field. Courtney Hawkins hit a grand slam in the top of the ninth inning of the first game to break a 5-5 tie and propel the Legends to the 9-6 win. Hawkins hit two home runs and drove in five runs to lead Lexington’s 14-hit attack.

Hawkins hit two more homers and drove in another five runs in Lexington’s 11-8 win in the nightcap.

Hawkins was 4-for-7 on the day with five runs scored, four homers, 10 RBI, three walks (one intentional) and two strikeouts.  He now has 40 homers and 101 RBI on the season, becoming just the fourth player in the 24-year history of the Atlantic League to eclipse the 40-homer mark. Hawkins joins Ozzie Canseco of Newark (48 in 2000), Brian Becker of Nashua (41 in 2005), Telvin Nash of York (41 in 2019) and Jose Viera of Lehigh Valley/Somerset (40 in 2000) among the elite to hit 40 homers in a season.

Hawkins could make a run at the league record as the Legends have 19 games remaining in the regular season.