Fontana Shines in Debut But Revs Drop Slugfest
July 7, 2025 - Atlantic League (AtL)
York Revolution News Release
(Staten Island, NY): Shane Fontana homered and threw out a pair of runners from right field in his York Revolution debut, but the Revs dropped a 16-9 slugfest to the Staten Island FerryHawks to close out the first half schedule on Sunday afternoon at SIUH Northwell Health Community Park.
A veteran of five seasons in the Baltimore Orioles organization including the previous three years with Triple-A Norfolk, Fontana was acquired prior to Sunday's game from the FerryHawks in a trade for right handed pitcher Wes Scott.
York jumped to a quick lead as Jeremy Arocho singled, stole two bases, and scored on Frankie Tostado's sac fly in the first. Bubba Alleyne smacked an RBI single up the middle with two outs in the second to go up 2-0.
Staten Island leapt ahead with a pair of long balls in the bottom of the second. Matt Scheffler led off with a line drive solo shot to left center, and Aaron Takacs lofted a two-run drive to right as Staten Island nabbed a 3-2 lead against Revs starter Foster Pace.
Brandon Lewis crushed a two-out, two-run homer to left field in the top of the fourth as the pendulum swung the Revs back ahead, 4-3. York loaded the bases against Hawks starter Shane Barringer, but Adalberto Mejia was brought on in relief to escape with an inning-ending line out.
The FerryHawks rallied for three in their half as Brandon Martorano hammered a leadoff homer to left center and the hosts tallied five other hits in the inning, all singles. Kolby Johnson (4-for-5) singled in a run. Cristhian Rodriguez nearly plated another but Fontana nailed Drew Maggi attempting to score at the plate. Mark Contreras picked up his first of four RBI, however, plopping a two-out bloop single to left as Staten Island led 6-4.
Fontana launched a homer to right center and went back-to-back with Jeffrey Wehler who drilled an opposite field long ball to right, as the Revs answered to tie the game at 6-6 in the fifth.
Staten Island took control with a commanding five-run sixth against reliever Tyler Palm (3-2) as Contreras ripped an RBI single to right and Scheffler cracked a grand slam to left for his second long ball of the afternoon. Contreras added a sac fly in the seventh as the FerryHawks doubled up the Revs with a 12-6 lead.
Ryan Higgins slammed a two-run homer to left in the eighth for the Revs' fourth round tripper of the day, slashing the deficit to 12-8.
Staten Island plated four more in the eighth against right hander Parker Bugg as Mortorano launched a two-run homer off the top of the batters' eye, enjoying his own two-homer performance. Rodriguez legged out an RBI fielder's choice and Contreras singled home one more before being gunned down by Fontana at second, attempting to stretch the hit into a double.
Alleyne tied his season best with three hits, smashing an RBI single to right in the top of the ninth for the final tally.
York has scored nine runs or more in three of the past four games and stole seven bases in Sunday's contest including five in the first two innings. The Revs swiped 19 bags on the weekend including nine in Friday's win which was one shy of a team record. Alleyne led the way with a trio of thefts and Arocho had two steals for the third consecutive game.
Staten Island's 16 runs marked the most against the Revs in a game this season, and their 21 hits were tied for fifth most in a game against the Revs all-time, their most allowed since a loss to Spire City on July 12, 2023. The FerryHawks' five homers tied a season-high allowed by York, along with a home loss to the Hawks on June 3.
York dropped the final two of the weekend series after winning Friday's opener, as they slip to 5-7 against Staten Island for the year. The Revs won 14 of their 21 total first half series, but dropped three of their four series to Staten Island.
The Revs finish the first half 39-24, posting the league's second-best record, two wins behind High Point. Their .619 winning percentage is the second-best mark in a half in franchise history behind only the 2024 squad's first half (43-20, .683). The Revs win the half by a total of four games ahead of the second place team (Long Island), while they led by as many as eight games in the standings, were as high as 17 games over .500, and sat in first place at the end of 57 of a possible 63 games, including each of the final 51 games from May 9-on.
Notes: William Simoneit extended his hitting streak to 11 consecutive games with a seventh inning single. Fontana is the 16th player in Revs history and second this season (Jairus Richards) to go yard in his debut game, while he becomes the 21st all-time and third this season (Jaylin Davis, Alexis Olmeda) to homer for his first Revs hit. The Scott-for-Fontana trade is the Revs' second player-for-player trade this season (LHP Matt Walker to Milwaukee for Davis, June 3); it is the first player-for-player trade that the Revs have made with an Atlantic League team in-season since July 7, 2024 when York sent reliever Will Carter to High Point for 1B/OF Zander Wiel. Lewis has 10 RBI in his past eight games. The Revs entered the day with the league's top team ERA but have allowed nine runs or more in three of the past four games and eight runs or more in four of the past six.
Up Next: The Revs travel to High Point to open the second half on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m. York fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 98.9 FM & 1350 WOYK, 989woyk.com, The New WOYK app, and FloBaseball.TV beginning at 6:15 p.m.
Atlantic League Stories from July 7, 2025
- Fontana Shines in Debut But Revs Drop Slugfest - York Revolution
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