SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Suns Notes

Published on July 24, 2014 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


About last game... The Hagerstown Suns (21-12, 65-38) committed an uncharacteristic three errors on Wednesday night, which led to two unearned runs in a 6-2 loss to the Kannapolis Intimidators (18- 14, 47-52). The win puts Kannapolis within 2.5 games of the Suns in the second half Northern Division standings.

The Intimidators broke a 1-1 tie with a three-run fourth. With the bases loaded and two outs, CF Adam Engel hit an infield single to third. Suns 3B Drew Ward attempted a throw to second to try and get the force out, but the throw went wide of the bag and into the shallow outfield grass. The ball was then picked up by 2B Wilmer Difo, and he attempted a throw to third that sailed into the seats.

Following the chaos three runs had scored to make it 4-1.

The lead increased to 6-1 the next inning. First baseman Danny Hayes hit a one-out solo homer over the right field wall for his eighth homerun of the season. The next batter, RF Jacob Morris, doubled to left. Catcher Brett Austin followed with a single to center field, which drove in Morris.

Kannapolis had taken a 1-0 lead in the top of the first when Engel, who was the first batter of the game, sent a solo blast over the center field wall for his sixth homerun of the season. Hagerstown answered right away in the bottom of the inning with a leadoff single by CF Rafael Bautista and then a triple off the bat of Difo.

The final Suns run crossed the plate in the eighth. Again it was a single followed by a triple that did the damage, though this time Difo had the single and he scored on the triple hit by LF Isaac Ballou.

Starting RHP Nick Pivetta (11-6) suffered the loss for Hagerstown. He threw four innings and gave up four runs (two earned) on four hits and three walks while striking out four. Starting RHP Brandon Brennan (1-0) got the win for the Intimidators. He pitched 5.2 innings, allowing one earned run on three hits and one walk while striking out four.

On the Mound... RHP Jake Johansen will be heading to the hill tonight for the Suns. He is making his 18th start and 19th appearance this season. He last threw on July 18 at Delmarva, where he went five innings and allowed four earned runs on 10 hits and three walks while striking out five as he suffered the loss. It was the second straight defeat for Johansen and his third loss in his last four outings. The 10 hits he gave up to the Shorebirds is the most he has surrendered in a start this year.

This is Johansen's third time facing Kannapolis this season. He is 0-1 against the Intimidators and has allowed four earned runs on nine hits over 10.0 innings pitched against Kannapolis. At home this year he is 3-1 with a 5.57 ERA in eight games (seven starts). Overall this season Johansen has pitched 81.0 innings, surrendering 54 runs (45 earned) on 94 hits including three homers. He has walked 46 and has struck out 72. Tonight he goes up against RHP Thad Lowry for Kannapolis. Lowry is making his 12th start and appearance this year. He last threw on July 17 at Augusta, tossing five scoreless innings and allowing just one hit and two walks while striking out six. That was the second time this season Lowry has held an opponent scoreless, and both times came the start after giving up a season-high six runs. This is Lowry's first time facing the Suns this season. He is 1-2 on the road this year with a 6.15 ERA in six starts. Overall this season Lowry has pitched 54.1 innings, surrendering 27 runs (25 earned) on 58 hits including three homers. He has walked 18 and has struck out 28.

Kieboom sizzling... Suns catcher Spencer Kieboom is red-hot during the month of July. In 17 games this month he is hitting .368 (25-68) with 6 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, and 15 RBI. He has a .413 OBP % and a .647 SLG % during the month, both of which lead the team.

Inspecting the Intimidators... The Suns and Intimidators are playing the 13th of 18 games against each other this season and the ninth of 14 that will take place in Hagerstown. The Suns are 6-6 against Kannapolis this year, including a 5-3 record against the Intimidators at Municipal Stadium. The Intimidators are currently 18-14 in the second half, good for third place in the Northern Division second half standings. Kannapolis is currently 13th in team batting with a .246 average and sixth in pitching with a team ERA of 3.72.

Listen Live... All Suns home games this season will be broadcast live with play-by-play provided by Eli Pearlstein on hagerstownsuns.com. Just click on the "Listen Live" or "Listen Live on Tunein Radio" link on the drop down menu when you scroll over the "multimedia" tab at the top-middle of the home page. Games can also be heard on your Iphone or android phone with the Tunein Radio app.

Check out the Hagerstown Suns Statistics

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South Atlantic League Stories from July 24, 2014


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