SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Suns Rip Five Homers in 8-3 Victory over Greensboro

Published on June 25, 2017 under South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


HAGERSTOWN, Md. - South Atlantic League home run leader Daniel Johnson went deep twice as the Suns tallied five home runs and starting pitcher Tyler Watson recorded a new career-high with 10 strikeouts during an 8-3 win over the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Sunday afternoon at Municipal Stadium.

Johnson ripped a two-run homer to put the Suns up 2-0 in the bottom of the first and lofted his 16th round-tripper of the year during the fourth inning to lead all hitters in the league by three home runs over former Kannapolis catcher Seby Zavala, who was promoted to A-Advanced Winston-Salem last week.

On Sunday, Johnson went 3-for-5 at the plate with three runs batted in and finished 8-for-17 with 7 RBIs in the series against Greensboro as the Suns won three out of four games.

Johnson hit one of three home runs for the Suns in the fifth inning. Blake Perkins led off with his sixth home run of the year before Johnson's 407-footer and a 420-foot poke by Nick Banks for his third homer this season.

SAL Home Run Derby champion Sheldon Neuse lifted the fifth home run of the game with a two-run bomb in the seventh as the Suns finished one homer shy of their season-high. On April 30 at Lexington, Hagerstown bashed six home runs with an SAL-record 30 hits in a 22-4 win.

Jake Noll nearly hit a sixth home run for Hagerstown in the seventh inning on Sunday but settled for a pair of doubles off the wall with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate.

Watson (Win, 5-2) retired the first eight batters he faced with five strikeouts before allowing his first hit on a double by Luis Pintor. The 20-year-old southpaw gave up three consecutive hits including an RBI single by Eric Gutierrez in the sixth but finished with his first double-digit strikeout performance after allowing four hits and no walks in six complete innings.

Jacob Howell tossed two innings of relief and allowed a two-run homer to Gutierrez in the eighth inning before Sam Held slammed the door in the ninth with a perfect inning and two strikeouts.

Next up, the Suns hit the road for an eight-game road trip across the SAL Northern Division. A four-game series at Delmarva begins on Monday at 7:05 p.m. with right-handed starter Carlos Pena (3-3, 5.85) going to the mound against Shorebirds righty Lucas Humpal (4-5, 4.15). The Suns return home to Municipal Stadium on July 4 for an Independence Day matchup with the Greensboro Grasshoppers at 4:05 p.m. For tickets, call 301-791-6266 or visit hagerstownsuns.com.

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South Atlantic League Stories from June 25, 2017


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