Club Drops Series Opener to Staten Island
Two missed throws and a bobble on consecutive grounders in the top of the seventh allowed the Staten Island Ferrhawks to take a 6-4 decision from the Lancaster Barnstormers in the opener of a three-game series at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
Lancaster has now lost five straight.
On a rainy Tuesday, the Barnstormers led, 4-3, entering the seventh inning when Tyler Suellentrop walked Ben Ruta and yielded a double into the right field corner by Angel Aguilar to produce the tying run. Suellentrop struck out the next two. John Nester hit a ground ball to deep shortstop, and Bryan Hoover was unable to get a throw on line to first, pulling Andretty Cordero off to the right field side. Erik Cha got a routine grounder to short out of Ricardo Cespedes but Hoover made a high throw off Cordero’s glove that allowed Aguilar to score the lead run. Alfredo Reyes’ bouncer up the middle was fumbled by Melvin Mercedes as an insurance run scored.
Lancaster was unable to respond as LeDarious Clark was thrown out rounding third on a triple in the bottom of the inning. Staten Island’s bullpen retired six of seven over the final two innings with Victor Capellan picking up his fourth save when Clark’s drive to left was caught at the wall with a runner at second for the last out.
Ruta and Aguilar connected for back-to-back first inning homers off Lancaster starter Oscar De La Cruz. Cordero singled home Mercedes in the bottom of the inning to cut the lead to 2-1.
In the fourth, Reyes doubled inside the third base line and scored on a single to right by Ruta for a 3-1 lead. Lancaster again climbed to within a run as Colton Shaver belted his sixth homer of the year, a drive onto the right field deck.
League home run and RBI leader Kelly Dugan slugged a two-run homer off Nick Carrell in the bottom of the fifth for the ‘Stormers’ only lead of the night.
Eddy Reynoso (2-2) pitched a scoreless sixth, striking out the side after allowing singles by Shaver and Trayvon Robinson to start the inning.
LHP Augie Sylk (2-4) will make the start for the Barnstormers on Wednesday. Fans may tune into the game on the Barnstormers YouTube channel or Blue Ridge 11, beginning at 6:30.
NOTES: Dugan homered for the fourth straight game…He has an extra-base hit in six in a row…He has 134 RBI in 140 games as a Barnstormer…Clark has an extra-base hit in four straight games…Cordero extended his hitting streak to seven games…Robinson has hit safely in all four games since returning to the Barnstormers…Clark is 12-for-13 in steal attempts; Hoover is a perfect 7-for-7.