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AtL Staten Island FerryHawks

Solter Silences Ducks with Seven-Inning Start

July 7, 2022 - Atlantic League (AtL)
Staten Island FerryHawks News Release


STATEN ISLAND, NY- Matt Solter matched a franchise-best tossing seven innings Wednesday at Fairfield Properties Ballpark to spearhead a 3-1 FerryHawks win over the Ducks. Staten Island's second straight win kickstarts a (2-0) second-half of the Atlantic League campaign and closes the gap in the 'Battle of the Belt' rivalry to nine games to six in favor of Long Island.

Despite only receiving 2.25 runs per game through his first 12 starts of the season, Matt Solter was given a lead early when the FerryHawks plated the first run in the fourth inning. Working against Ducks starter Cody Beckman, Ricardo Cespedes got the fourth inning jumpstarted with a single, before thieving second base. Justin O'Connor, making his Atlantic League and FerryHawks debut, rolled a one-out single through the left side to bring home Cespedes for a one-run lead.

Solter (2-6) only allowed two hits through the first five innings, protecting the 1-0 lead until the sixth. The Ducks rally started rather quietly when Johnni Turbo took off for first base on a wild pitch, getting there successfully for a "single." Turbo, though, would be caught stealing second base by Bryan Gonzalez, wiping the bases clean with two outs. Joe De Carlo and Alejandro De Aza followed with singles, before Sam Travis collected the fourth single of the inning to score De Carlo from third. Solter induced a pop out of Deibinson Romero to keep the game tied at 1-1 after six innings.

Beckman lasted a season-best six innings in his third start of the year and allowed just the fourth inning tally. He struck out six and walked three in his third time facing the FerryHawks.

Chad Hockin was first to follow Beckman, starting the seventh inning against the bottom of the FerryHawks lineup. Alfredo Reyes took an 0-2 pitch and sent it into left field for a leadoff base hit, before Bryan Gonzalez' sacrifice bunt moved him to second base. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Reyes was brought around on a double down the left-field line by Antoine Duplantis to make it 2-1. Duplantis would swipe third base, before the Ducks decided to intentionally walk Angel Aguilar to face Cespedes with runners on the corners. With three balls and one strike on the left-handed swinger, Hockin's fifth offer squeaked through De Carlo, pushing Duplantis home from third on the Cespedes walk. The rally ended when Dilson Herrera popped out to first, but the two-run inning which brough seven batters to the plate earned Staten Island a 3-1 lead.

Solter finished his fourth seven-inning outing of the season by working a 1-2-3 seventh inning, whiffing the final two batters he faced. Working on 10 days rest, Solter struck out six and walked just one in his 13thstart of the 2022 campaign.

While Sandy Baez and Chris Cepeda preserved the 3-1 deficit for the Ducks in the eighth and ninth innings, Joe Kuzia and Victor Capellan protected the two-run lead for the FerryHawks. Kuzia made his team-leading 25thappearance, allowing just a hit batsman in the eighth inning. Victor Capellan allowed a one-out ninth-inning walk to Deibinson Romero, but worked around it to pick up his second save in as many nights.

Staten Island (20-47) and Long Island wrap up their two-game set on Thursday afternoon. RHP Hector Guance goes for the FerryHawks against Ducks RHP Joe Iorio with first pitch at Fairfield Properties Ballpark scheduled for 1:00 PM. The FerryHawks Pregame Show gets going at 12:45 PM.

Postgame Notes: Staten Island's bullpen has not allowed a run in three straight games (9.0 IP)...Ricardo Cespedes recorded his first three-hit game of the season and has multiple hits in three straight games...Victor Capellan has not allowed an earned run in 13 consecutive appearances (15.0 innings, 15 K, 6 BB)...Antoine Duplantis has hits in 9 of-the-last 10 games and is batting .360 in six games against Long Island.

Check out the Staten Island FerryHawks Statistics



Atlantic League Stories from July 7, 2022


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