Sports stats

SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Suns Split Double-Header With Shorebirds

August 23, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


SALISBURY, MD - After the opening game of a three game series got postponed due to inclement weather, the Hagerstown Suns (18-35) split a double-header Sunday night against the Delmarva Shorebirds (26-27).

The Suns sent Patrick Lehman to the mound to start in Game 1, and he was opposed by Delmarva right hander Oliver Drake. Both starters worked perfect first innings, before the Suns scratched across a run in the top of the second inning. Suns first baseman Tyler Moore drew a leadoff walk, and came around to score on James Keithley's RBI single, giving the Suns a 1-0 lead. The Suns had three straight singles with two outs, and were only able to score one run, stranding the bases loaded.

Patrick Lehman, given a lead, pitched close to perfect through 6 innings. First-baseman Elvin Polanco singled to lead off the second inning for Delmarva's first hit, and Centerfielder Xavier Avery singled with 2 outs in the third. Those were the only blemishes on Lehman's performance, as he went 6 innings, allowing only 2 hits, walking no-one, and striking out four. Lehman also retired the final ten batters he faced.

Patrick Arnold (3-4), came in to pitch the bottom of the seventh inning trying to secure the save for the Suns. He walked the leadoff hitter, Ron Welty, and then with one out, Delmarva Designated Hitter Joe Mahoney hit a walk-off two run Home Run; giving Delmarva the 2-1 win in the first half of the double header. Cliff Flagello (1-2) was the beneficiary of the walk-off shot as he recorded the win, while Arnold was tagged with the loss.

Game 2 saw another pitcher's duel, this time between Suns pitcher Paul Demny and Shorebirds pitcher Shane Mathews. This time, Delmarva struck first, when Delmarva shortstop Greg Miclat singled in catcher Brendan Monaghan with two outs in the bottom of the third inning giving Delmarva the 1-0 lead.

The Suns struck back against Delmarva's bullpen, when Brent Allar relieved Mathews in the top of the fifth inning. The first batter Allar faced was Suns second baseman Nick Arata, and Arata drew a walk. Later in the inning, with 2 outs, and a runner on third, Suns Designated Hitter Derek Norris stepped to the plate and ripped an RBI single to center tying the game at 1-1.

The Suns put up a threat in the top of the seventh, but with 2 outs, and runners on first and second, Shorebirds manager Orlando Gomez went to the bullpen and brought in Travis Keating (5-4). Keating got Suns shortstop Steven Souza to fly out to end the threat.

Chris Rivera came on to work the bottom of the seventh and worked around a 2 out single to force extra innings. The game went to the ninth inning before the Suns broke through again. The same heroes emerged in the ninth inning as they did in the fifth. Nick Arata got hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. Norris stepped to the plate with 1 out, and runners on first and second, and drove a double to deep left field scoring Arata, giving Hagerstown a 2-1 lead. Chris Lugo came in to pitch a perfect ninth inning for Hagerstown, to earn his first save. Kevin Light (3-2) pitched two-thirds of an inning and was the pitcher of record for the Suns.

Check out the Hagerstown Suns Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from August 23, 2009


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 Hagerstown Suns Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central