Lexington Falls 7-6 in Extra Innings to End Win Streak

Sports stats

AtL Lexington Legends

Lexington Falls 7-6 in Extra Innings to End Win Streak

July 22, 2025 - Atlantic League (AtL)
Lexington Legends News Release


Gastonia, NC - The Legends travel down to Gastonia to take on the Ghost Peppers as they look to extend their six-game winning streak. Lexington and Gastonia have played 12 games against each other so far; the Legends are currently ahead 8-4 in the season series. Matt Hartman got the start for Gastonia. Hartman's last start was against the Legends, where he gave up five runs. The starter for Lexington was Nic Laio, who earned his most recent win against the Ghost Peppers in their previous series.

The first inning blazed by as neither team was able to find any offense until Brady Whalen's lead-off double in the second inning. However, he was left stranded as Hartman was able to force a putout before tallying two strikeouts. Brady Whalen made an amazing diving play in the bottom of the second to get the first out. Still, Carter Aldrete would leave the yard immediately after that in his first-ever plate appearance for Gastonia. The Ghost Peppers brought in their second run of the game with an RBI double hit by Jack Reinheimer that made it a 2-0 ball game.

Both teams went three up, three down to get the middle innings started. Ryan McCarthy would lay down a one-out single in the fifth before stealing second to get in scoring position, but he was ultimately left stranded. Xane Washington was able to find a hit in the sixth, but again, he was left stranded as the Gastonia pitching continued to dominate the game. However, the Legends infield was able to hold the Ghost Peppers in the sixth as Whalen made a sliding grab to send it to the final three frames.

Lexington was unable to score in the seventh despite Andy Atwood stealing second. Gastonia kept the pressure on with a one-out triple from Kevin Watson Jr, who was then subsequently driven in by Henderson Perez to extend the Ghost Peppers' lead to 3-0 late in the game. Dylan Rock laid down Lexington's fourth hit of the game with a single in the eighth, but the Gastonia pitching again thwarted the Legends' plans. However, the Legends offense surged to life in the third, starting with Whalen and McCarthy laying singles before Brian Fuentes drew a walk to load the bases with two outs. Jerry Huntzinger then waxed a double that bounced off the wall in left to bring in the first two runs. Paul Winland then snuck an RBI single into left that brought in two more runs to give Lexington the 4-3 lead. Gastonia wouldn't bow down, though, as Carter Aldrete hit a lead-off moonshot to send it to extra innings.

Lexington got the extra innings started with an RBI single from Washington that allowed Dylan Rock to trot home and put Lexington back in the lead. However, Gastonia tied it right back up in the 10th as Lexington committed an error at second. The back-and-forth continued in the tenth when a sac bunt from McCarthy moved Atwood up to third, which allowed him to be driven home by a Winland sacfly. An Ethan Skender sac fly for Gastonia tied it up again in the bottom of the tenth. Winland was then thrown out trying to take third on a double play that set up Gastonia to bring in the walk-off run on a Jack Reinheimer RBI single.

Lexington falls 7-6 to Gastonia as their comeback falls short. This loss also marks the end of Lexington's six-game winning streak, which was their longest of the season. However, Lexington remains in sole possession of the South Division with a 1.5 game lead over High Point. The win is credited to Ryan Hennen, whose record improves to 3 -1 on the season, and the loss is attributed to Carson Lambert, who is given his first loss of the season. The Legends and Ghost Peppers return to CaroMont Health Park for a midday matchup on July 23rd, with first pitch slated for 12:30 pm EST.

Check out the Lexington Legends Statistics



Atlantic League Stories from July 22, 2025


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.

Other Recent Lexington Legends Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central