AtL Lancaster Stormers

Barnstormers Strike Early

Published on July 30, 2009 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Lancaster Stormers News Release


Lancaster scored early and often Thursday evening, then had to stave off a furious comeback to hold onto an 8-5 victory over the Newark Bears in front of 4,330 at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

With the win, the Barnstormers find themselves 3 ½ games behind Somerset and 1 ½ behind Newark in the Freedom Division.

The Barnstormers took advantage of Newark's only error in the game for three unearned runs off Matt Smith (1-1) in the first inning. Lloyd Turner led off with an infield single. Michael Woods hit a chopper near the second base bag which was fumbled by Felix Martinez for the error. After L.J. Biernbaum fouled out, Matt Watson singled under Martinez's diving try to drive home Turner. Smith struck out Aaron Herr, but Ryan Mulhern got to him for a two-run double off the center field wall, giving Lancaster a 3-0 lead.

The lead grew to 6-0 in the second on a pair of walks and an opposite field homer by Woods, his eighth of the season. Doubles by newcomer Nate Gold and Turner stretched it to 7-0 in the third inning, and Watson singled home Anderson Machado in the fifth for an 8-0 edge.

Comfortable, right? Wrong.

Zack Parker (3-3) took a four-hit shutout into the sixth inning, but things spiraled downward in a hurry. Andres Perez grounded a single under Herr's glove to start the inning. Parker got Carl Everett to fly out to deep center then fell behind Salomon Manriquez, 2-0, before leaving with an injury.

Ricardo Gomez entered the game and completed the walk to Manriquez. He walked Michael Sandoval to load the bags, and Sandy Madera connected with the first pitch for a grand slam to right center. Felix Martinez, after a verbal altercation at the plate with catcher Gerard Haran, singled to left and was forced at second by Victor Mercedes. Charlton Jimerson flared a single to right center, sending Mercedes to third. Second was left unguarded and was quickly taken by Jimerson, putting two runners in scoring position. Lancaster went to Neal Musser as the third pitcher of the inning. The lefty, in his first day off the disabled list, walked Tike Redman to reload the bases. Perez hit a ground ball to the hole at short which was handled by an extended Anderson Machado. He looked for a play at third, but Herr did not get back to cover the bag as a run scored on the infield base hit. Musser finally got out of the inning, inducing a high bouncer to Machado by Everett.

Musser retired the side in order in the seventh, and Eddie Camacho did likewise in the eighth. Antonio Alfonseca took over in the ninth. The big right-hander got two outs on fly balls to left and had Everett at 1-2 before walking him. He also had two strikes on Manriquez, but the league's leading hitter was able to fight him off and drop a single into shallow right center.

Michael Hernandez, in his first at bat in the game, hit a crisp ground ball toward the hole on the left side. Herr dove to his left and made the stop. He got to his knees and fired a strike to Turner at second for the game ending force, earning Alfonseca his eighth save.

The Barnstormers head to Southern Maryland on Friday to start a three-game series against the Blue Crabs. Jason Scobie (5-6) will take the hill against Mike O'Connor (1-0) at 7:05. Lancaster returns to Clipper Magazine Stadium on Monday to open a four-game series against the division-leading Somerset Patriots. Tickets are available at www.lancasterbarnstormers.com.

NOTES: Gold was 1-for-3 in his Lancaster debut...Watson's three hits snapped him out of a 5-for-27 slump...The two RBI were his first in nine games...All eight of Woods' RBI since July 7 have come on homers...The win ended a six-game losing streak at home.

Check out the Lancaster Stormers Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Atlantic League Stories from July 30, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central