Halpin's Near Cycle Not Enough on Sunday
April 27, 2025 - International League (IL)
Columbus Clippers News Release
ALLENTOWN - Wind gusts of up to 36 miles per hour made things interesting for the fielders on Sunday, both the Columbus Clippers and Lehigh Valley IronPigs had to battle blustery winds in the series finale of their six-game set at Coca-Cola Park. The first five games saw a total of 52 runs scored between the two teams Sunday, however, gave us arguably the best pitcher's duel of the series.
In the opener on Tuesday, Clippers starter Parker Messick was roughed up for four runs over 3.1 innings, he bounced back like a man on a mission on Sunday afternoon. Not only did the former Florida State Seminole match a season high in strikeouts with eight, after hitting Gabriel Rincones Jr. with a pitch in the first, the southpaw retired the next 13 batters in a row. A leadoff double in the bottom of the first by Otto Kemp would be the lone hit Messick would surrender the entire outing. He only walked one in five shutout innings of work.
The top of the order seems to agree with Petey Halpin. He was penciled into the leadoff spot for the second straight game, and for the second straight game he would start the game with a leadoff triple. The San Mateo, CA native went 2-4 on Saturday with a triple, a home run, and four runs scored. He tried to outdo that on Sunday. Left stranded after the triple in the first, his next at bat would be a double on a liner to right. Yordys Valdes was next to the dish and he drove Halpin home on an RBI single, giving the Clippers a 1-0 lead in the third.
Cade Fergus joined the IronPigs on Tuesday, and for the third time since being promoted from Reading, the Lehigh Valley outfielder left the yard. His solo blast in the bottom of the seventh knotted the score at one.
The Halpin Show would get that run back the old fashioned way. He led off the eighth with his third hit of the ballgame, a single to left. He then stole second base, moved to third on a Valdes sac bunt, and would score on a wild pitch by IronPigs pitcher Guillo Zuñiga, putting Columbus back in front, 2-1. He finished the day 3-5 with a pair of runs scored, only a homer shy of the cycle.
That lead quickly disappeared in the bottom half of the frame on a leadoff homer by Otto Kemp. His seventh long ball of the year tied the game at two. After back to back ground outs, Gabriel Rincones Jr. singled up the middle. He moved up to second on a wild pitch by Nick Mikolajchak. Óscar Mercado then singled on a line drive to right. Johnathan Rodríguez fielded it cleanly and came up firing, his throw was on line but not in time to get Rincones Jr. at home, putting Lehigh Valley ahead for the first time of the ballgame, 3-2.
There was no late inning magic on Sunday as IronPigs reliever Brett de Geus (W, 2-1) made quick work of Columbus in the ninth, retiring the Clippers in order to close out the game.
Columbus falls to 13-12, Lehigh Valley improves to 19-8. The ClipShow returns home to Huntington Park on Tuesday, April 29th to face the St. Paul Saints in a Tansky Tuesday Dime-A-Dog Night doubleheader, first pitch of game-one scheduled for 5:05pm. Tickets are good for both games and are available by visiting ClippersBaseball.com.
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