Sports stats



SAL1 Hagerstown Suns

Unearned run costs Suns game in tenth

August 1, 2009 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Hagerstown Suns News Release


HAGERSTOWN, MD -- After failing to capitalize in the bottom of the ninth inning despite their first two batters reaching base, the Hagerstown Suns (13-22) watched the West Virginia Power (19-14) score an unearned run in the top of the tenth to take Saturday night's game, 2-1.

With the score tied in the bottom of the ninth, second baseman Steve Lombardozzi singled to center field leading off the inning, and catcher Derek Norris drew a walk to put runners on first and second with no outs. West Virginia's Diego Moreno (1-2) sent the Suns' next three hitters down in order, however, to give his team a chance in the tenth.

Right-hander Chris Rivera (0-2) was the choice for Hagerstown out of the bullpen, and after Starling Marte singled and stole second for the Power with one out, a bad hop cost Rivera --and the Suns -- the game. Robbie Grossman sent a grounder to Hagerstown shortstop Steven Souza that hopped off the heel of his glove for an error that allowed Marte to score from second.

Rivera worked out of the inning without further damage, but the Suns entered the bottom of the tenth in a 2-1 hole they could not climb out of. Casey Erickson earned his first save of the season for West Virginia with a perfect tenth inning, giving the Power back-to-back wins to start the series.

Souza's costly miscue was one four errors on the night for Hagesrtown, tying a season high.

The Suns' extra-inning struggles overshadowed brilliant pitching performances by starter Paul Demny and reliever Ricardo Pecina over the game's first nine frames. Coming off six innings of scoreless ball in his previous start, Demny lasted five and a third innings against West Virginia, allowing just one run on four hits. Pecina came to Demny's aid by stranding two baserunners in the sixth, and went on to pitch three and two thirds innings of scoreless ball, accumulating five strikeouts.

The only run allowed by Demny came in the top of the first inning on an run-scoring double by West Virginia's Tony Sanchez, and Hagerstown trailed 1-0 until the bottom of the sixth.

Third baseman Nick Arata and centerfielder Chris Curran came through with back-to-back singles out of the bottom of the Suns lineup to lead off the bottom of the sixth, and Arata came around to tie the game on a sacrifice fly to left field by Lombardozzi.

Curran was the only Sun with multiple hits on the evening, going two-for-four.

A season-high crowd of 5,623 fans attended Saturday night's game, making it the sixth sell-out of the season at Municipal Stadium.

Hagerstown will look to secure a split in the four-game series against West Virginia by sweeping Sunday afternoon's doubleheader, which will begin at 1:05 p.m. Gates will open at noon, and the second game will commence approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first contest.

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.

Check out the Hagerstown Suns Statistics



South Atlantic League Stories from August 1, 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