SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Suns nip Captains in ten

Published on April 10, 2009 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


EASTLAKE, OH-The Hagerstown Suns (1-1), one day after falling to the Lake County Captains (1-1) in ten innings, returned the favor on Friday night. The Suns scored once in the ninth and three times in the tenth to beat Lake County 4-1.

Jack McGeary started the game for Hagerstown and was brilliant through five and two-thirds innings. The left-hander struck out seven batters while only allowing three hits and one walk, but did not factor in the decision. Neither did Captains' starter TJ House, who pitched five shutout innings while allowing just two hits and three walks for Lake County.

Lake County got on the board first with a solo home run of Suns reliever Chris Lugo in the bottom of the seventh inning. Captains' catcher Adam Abraham hit the first pitch he saw over the left-center field wall to break the scoreless tie.

The score remained 1-0 until the top of the ninth inning, when Steve Lombardozzi singled for Hagerstown and promptly scored on a Steven Souza double to center field. The run for Hagerstown was the first of the season, after the Suns were shutout 1-0 on Thursday night in ten innings by the Captains.

Souza, the Suns third baseman, eventually was thrown out trying to steal third base and the game went into the bottom of the ninth inning still tied 1-1. Carlos Peralta (1-0) pitched a perfect bottom of the ninth inning for Hagerstown before the Suns bats went back to work in the top of the tenth.

Reliever Steve Smith (0-1) came into the game for Lake County in the tenth, and struck out the first batter he faced, Suns first baseman Ronnie LaBrie. Back-to-back hits by DH Stephen Englund and shortstop Nick Arata put baserunners on second and third for Hagerstown, with leftfielder Chris Curran at the plate. Curran stroked a single into right field, scoring both Englund and Arata to give the Suns their first lead of the season.

Curran eventually stole second base and while attempting to steal third, Abraham threw the ball away, allowing the speedy outfielder to score, giving the Suns a 4-1 edge. Peralta walked the first batter he faced in the bottom of the tenth, but got Lake County right fielder Abner Abreu to bounce into a double play before issuing another walk and a single to second baseman Karexon Sanchez.

Suns Manager Matt LeCroy decided he'd seen enough of Peralta and brought in righthander Daivd Slovak to face Captains DH Nate Recknagle. Slovak, a sidearm pitcher struck out the righthanded hitting Recknagle to earn his first save of the season. The Suns and Captains will play the third game of the four game series at Classic Park in Eastlake, OH on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 pm.

The Hagerstown Suns play at Municipal Stadium in Hagerstown, MD and are a Class "A" affiliate of the Washington Nationals. Ticket packages and sponsorships are available by calling the Suns at 301-791-6266. Visit the Suns on the web at www.hagerstownsuns.com. The Suns are owned by Los Angeles based Mandalay Baseball Properties.

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South Atlantic League Stories from April 10, 2009


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