AtL Lancaster Stormers

Barnstormers Win On Appeal

Published on August 7, 2014 under Atlantic League (AtL)
Lancaster Stormers News Release


Butch Hobson never attended law school, but he won a major case appeal on Wednesday evening.

Home plate umpire Manolo Alejandro ruled that James Simmons vacated third base too early on a fly ball to left by Ramon Castro, negating a run and giving the Lancaster Barnstormers a 7-6 victory over the Bridgeport Bluefish at The Ballpark at Harbor Yard.

The Barnstormers moved back into a second place tie in the Freedom Division, two games behind Sugar Land. Lancaster also maintained its 2 1/2 game lead over Long Island in the wild card race.

Lancaster led, 7-4, heading into the bottom of the ninth inning. Closer Jason Urquidez was summoned, but Juan Martinez ignited a rally with a double to right. Mike Richard singled off third baseman Yusuke Kajimoto's glove, and both scored when Simmons cranked a double into left center. Fred Lewis picked up walk, and Casper Wells bunted the runners to second and third. Lancaster signaled, under the Atlantic League's new Pace of Play rules, for JR Towles to go to first on an intentional walk, bringing up Castro. He rode an Urquidez pitch out to Cole Garner in left. It appeared that Simmons easily scored the tying run.

Too easily in Hobson's mind. Feeling that Simmons was about 1 1/2 steps off third when Garner latched onto the Castro fly, Hobson motioned to Urquidez to make the throw to Kajimoto. He did, and Alejandro emphatically banged out Simmons, incurring the wrath of Bridgeport manager Willie Upshaw. Alejandro's two umpiring partners and, eventually first baseman Luis Lopez, were able to keep Upshaw away from the home plate umpire, but Upshaw was, as a formality, tossed from the game.

The Barnstormers had jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on a two-run homer by Andrew Clark in the first and a passed ball in the fourth. Bridgeport whittled away slowly. Luis Rodriguez singled home one run off Mark Rogers in the fourth, and Wells plated another with a two-out single in the fifth. Simmons got the tying run home with a sacrifice fly in the seventh.

Tomo Okha (5-9) fell victim to a one-out bloop double to left center by Cole Garner in the eighth. He walked Andrew Clark, who left for pinch runner Grant Zawadzki. Meanwhile, Upshaw went to his pen, bringing in right-hander Joe Bateman. Brett Carroll ripped a single into left center to break the deadlock, and Gabe Jacobo drilled a triple into the right field corner for a 6-3 lead.

Towles narrowed the gap to 6-4 leading off the eighth against Shunsuke Watanabe (4-2) when Carroll and Garner ran into each other racing after a drive into left center. With both outfielders shaken and the ball rolling away toward center, Towles scampered around the bases for an inside-the-park home run.

Reegie Corona doubled and scored a much needed insurance run in the top of the ninth on a throwing error by pitcher Winston Abreu.

The Barnstormers will face Bridgeport again on Thursday with a battle of left-handers. Dan Osterbrock (7-3) makes the start for Lancaster against Matt Iannazzo (3-4). Fans may tune into 1390-AM, WLAN; 1600-AM, WPDC; 1390wlan.com or the I Heart Radio cell phone app, beginning at 6:45.

NOTES: Jacobo is 14-for-28 with seven extra-base hits in his last seven games...He has two triples in the last week after recording only one in the preceding 2 1/2 years...Garner's double was his 27th of the year and 49th extra base hit, which keeps him on pace to set the Barnstormers record...Towles inside-the-park homer was the ninth in a game involving the Barnstormers and the first since Casey Benjamin turned the trick for Southern Maryland, May 27, 2012...Lancaster is 9-2 against Bridgeport this season.

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