Playoff Update-Wednesday, September 14, 2022

The Lancaster Barnstormers won the Atlantic League’s second half North Division pennant with a 10-4 win over York on Tuesday night. That means that the North Division Championship Series will begin as the Barnstormers host Southern Maryland in Games 1 and 2 on Tuesday, September 20 and 21.

With Lancaster no longer a part of the Wild Card, that race boils down to High Point and Kentucky. The Rockers (69-58) with five games remaining, hold a 5.5 game lead over Kentucky (63-63). High Point’s magic number is one in order to clinch the Wild Card. The Wild Card winner will open the playoffs at Gastonia on September 20 and 21.

Lancaster 10, York 4

LANCASTER, Pa. - The Lancaster Barnstormers are the second half North Division champions.

 Lancaster sealed the deal on Tuesday evening with a convincing 10-4 win over the York Revolution at Clipper Magazine Stadium.  The win sends Lancaster to a division series with the first half champion Southern Maryland Blue Crabs, starting at Clipper Magazine Stadium next Tuesday.

 The Barnstormers’ 16-hit attack was ignited by Shawon Dunston, Jr.  In his first game back from a five-week stint on the injured list, Dunston led off with a home run and went 4-for-4 with three RBI overall.  Andretty Cordero chimed in with three doubles and four RBI, setting the franchise’s single season hits record with 176.

 Dunston’s homer gave Lancaster a quick 1-0 lead, and the Barnstormers would tack on another off lefty Ben Herrick (1-4) on a single by Melvin Mercedes and double by Anderson Feliz.

 York quickly caught up as sluggers Nellie Rodriguez and Melky Mesa belted consecutive homers off Oscar De La Cruz in the top of the second.  However, the Barnstormers took the lead for good in the bottom of the inning.

 Anthony Peroni and Jake Hoover opened the inning with singles to left and advanced on a bunt by Trace Loehr.  Dunston line a single to center to score Peroni, and Hoover came across on Mercedes’ second hit of the night.  Cordero followed with a double to left center for a 5-2 lead.

 The Revs whittled away, scoring a run on a quirky 2-3 ground out from Elmer Reyes with the bases loaded where it was ruled that Peroni did not have his foot on the plate with the ball to start a double play.  Jhon Nunez homered in the top of the fifth to cut the ‘Stormer edge to 5-4.

 Hoover reached on an error in the bottom of the fifth and scored from third on a one-out bloop hit to left by Dunston.  With two outs, Cordero rapped a double inside the third base bag to score Mercedes, pushing the lead to three.

 Nellie Rodriguez greeted Brandyn Sittinger with a single to center in the sixth and went to second on a passed ball.  York never got another man aboard as Loehr made a dazzling catch of a line drive by Mesa, the first of 12 consecutive outs reeled off by Sittinger and lefty Cam Booser.

 An RBI single to center by Loehr and Cordero’s two-run double to right in the bottom of the seventh put the game, and the playoff berth, away for the Barnstormers.

 Lancaster will host York again on Wednesday with Bret Clarke (2-1) on the hill against right-hander Austin Mora (0-1).  Fans may tune into the YouTube Channel at 6:25.

 NOTES:  The Barnstormers also clinched the War of the Roses with their 17th win in the 32-game series…Cordero stretched his club record in RBI to 114, the third highest total in league history…His 176 hits rank him fifth…Chris Proctor has seven hits in the last three games…Lancaster has 37 hits in the last two…De La Cruz is 9-0 against teams other than Long Island…It is Lancaster’s first half-season division title since 2015.

Gastonia 10, High Point 3

HIGH POINT, N.C. - Gunnar Kines went six innings in his Honey Hunters debut while Zach Jarrett collected three hits and four RBI, as Gastonia defeated High Point 10-3 at Truist Point on Tuesday night.

Gastonia roughed up High Point starter Mickey Jannis, scoring seven times in the right-handers four innings of work.

After a two-run first inning, Herlis Rodriguez hit his eighth home run of the season, stretching Gastonia´s lead to 3-1.

Michael Russell and Logan Morrison each launched solo shots for High Point, cutting the lead back to a single run on each occasion. Russell´s shot led off the first, while Morrison´s shot came in the second.

In the fourth inning, Jack Reinheimer would build the Honey Hunters lead with a two-run single to right, making it a 7-2 game.

From there, Kines would settle into his Gastonia debut, retiring eleven straight hitters, punching out eight in his effort.

High Point had a chance to close the gap, scoring Michale Martinez on a Ben Aklinski single off Gastonia reliever Tim Naughton. The single for Aklinski trimmed the lead to 7-3.

After an infield base-hit from Tyler Ladendorf loaded the bases, Quincy Latimore stepped to the plate with a chance to cut the High Point deficit even further.

However, Naughton was able to strike out Latimore looking, keeping the game at 7-3.

In the ninth, Gastonia would put the game away, as Joseph Rosa doubled to lead off the frame. That set the scene for Jarrett, who tomahawked a two-run shot to right, pushing Gastonia out in front by a 9-3 score.

The Honey Hunters would tack on a final run in the frame, as Zack Godley came on to close out the contest.

The win for Gastonia (85-42, 40-21) was their 85th of the year, marking the first time in franchise history the club has been 43 games over .500.

 High Point (69-58, 30-30) was prevented from claiming the lone wildcard berth with the loss, tonight. However, Lancaster´s win over York guaranteed that only one wild card berth would be available this season. Any Rockers win or Wild Health loss clinches the wild card for High Point.

The Honey Hunters will continue their final road trip of the regular season in High Point for the second game of a three-game series on Wednesday at 6:35pm. The pregame show comes on at 6:20pm, as Alex Sanabia takes the mound for Gastonia against Liam O´Sullivan on am1450 WGNC and 101.1fm at 6:20pm. An audio stream is available at www.gohoneyhunters.com

Long Island 11, Southern Maryland 8

(Central Islip, N.Y., Sept. 13, 2022) – The Long Island Ducks defeated the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs 11-8 on Tuesday night in the opener of a three-game series at Fairfield Properties Ballpark.

 Alejandro De Aza gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead in the first inning with a two-run home run to right field off Blue Crabs starter Alsis Herrera. The Blue Crabs closed to within a run in the third on Braxton Lee’s two-out RBI double to center off Ducks starter Joe Iorio. However, a five-run bottom of the third pushed Long Island’s lead to 7-1. A sac fly to right by Jose Sermo, a two-run single to left by Joe DeCarlo and a two-run homer to right by Tzu-Wei Lin did the damage.

 Lin left the yard again in the fifth with a two-run homer to center field, stretching the lead to 9-1. A sac fly to left off the bat of Deibinson Romero in the sixth and a sac fly to right by Sermo in the eighth made it a 10-run game.

 Southern Maryland rallied for seven runs in the ninth inning, highlighted by a three-run homer from Michael Wielansky, RBI doubles by Michael Baca and Jared Walker, and an RBI single by Jack Sundberg. However, they could not pull even.

 Iorio (11-5) earned the win, tossing six innings of one-run ball, allowing seven hits and two walks while striking out three. Herrera (1-4) suffered the loss, surrendering nine runs (four earned) on 11 hits and a walk over five innings with four strikeouts. Tyler Webb picked up his 14th save by recording the game’s final three outs.

 Lin led the Flock offensively with three hits, four RBIs and two runs. De Aza and DeCarlo each chipped in with two hits, two RBIs and two runs as well, while Carlos Castro added three hits.

 The Ducks and Blue Crabs continue their three-game set on Wednesday night. 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 Prostate Cancer Awareness Night, presented by Good Samaritan Hospital, and the first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive Drawstring Bags. Fans attending the game will also have the opportunity to undergo free Prostate Cancer screenings, which will include a blood test and digital rectal exam. Additionally, Good Samaritan Hospital will be providing screenings for blood pressure and body mass index. It’s a Lemonade Stand at Main & Vine Wine Down Wednesday and a Waddle In Wednesday at the ballpark as well. Right-hander Scott Harkin (10-7, 4.55) takes the mound for the Ducks against Blue Crabs righty Alex Merithew (7-3, 3.77).

Staten Island 4, Kentucky 1

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – The Staten Island FerryHawks posted a 4-1 win over the Kentucky Wild Health Genomes on Tuesday night at SIUH Northwell Health Community Park.

The FerryHawks took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a Mariel Bautista RBI tiple and then scored on a Kentucky fielding error. Ramon Osuna’s solo homer in the seventh increased the lead to 3-0.

Anthony Rodriguez (W, 6-8) hurled 7.1 innings, scattering four hits and striking out four. Kentucky’s Alexis Candelario (L, 2-3) went five innings and struck out six while allowing two runs, only one of which was earned.

Lexington 17, Charleston 16 (13 innings)

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Lexington Legends outlasted the Charleston Dirty Birds 17-16 in 13 innings on Tuesday night.

Tied at 8 after eight innings, the two clubs matched scores for the next four innings. Charleston scored two in the ninth to go up 10-8 but Lexington tied the game at 10. The Dirty Birds scored four in the 11^th for a 14-10 lead but Lexington matched that in the bottom of the 11^th. After a scoreless 12^th, Lexington blanked Charleston in the top of the 13^th. Finally, Lexington’s Courtney Hawkins singled home the winning run in the bottom of the 13^th.

Hawkins was 5-for-8 with six RBI and two home runs, pushing his league-leading total to 46 for the year. Charleston’s Edwin Espinal was 3-for-6 with a home run and five RBI to lead the Dirty Birds.

Lexington pitcher Dazon Cole, the last of eight Legends hurlers, earned the win with two shutout innings.