BARNSTORMERS RAP OUT 17 HITS IN ONE-SIDED WIN

Lancaster Topples Southern Maryland, 11-5

Caleb Gindl drove in Lancaster’s first run with a dribbler to the left of the mound.  He knocked in the last two with a booming home run to right.  His performance was typical of Lancaster’s night.

Gindl went 3-for-6 with four RBI, pacing a 17-hit attack in an 11-5 victory over the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs Friday evening at Regency Furniture Stadium.

The hits came in all shapes and sizes.  Of the 17, seven did not get through the infield cleanly.  However, there were six extra-base hits as well, five of those coming in one inning.

Initially, it looked like the Barnstormers might produce nothing on the heels of their Opening Night, 5-2 victory on Thursday.

Brian Burres (0-1) slammed the door on the Barnstormers for the first two innings, retiring all six batters, fanning three.  Fred Lewis staked Burres to a 1-0 lead with a blast down the right field line off Austin Bibens-Dirkx (1-0).

The game turned on the first error of the series.  With two outs and a runner at second, Jeff Kobernus skimmed a ground ball to shortstop Steve Lombardozzi, Jr.  Lombardozzi’s throw was off the mark toward home plate, and Kobernus was able to elude Zach Wilson’s tag to keep the inning alive.  Gindl followed with his RBI chopper on the third base side to tie the game, and Josh Bell lined a single to left scoring Kobernus with the lead run.

Offense kept on coming.  Charlie Cutler made it 3-1 with a sacrifice fly in the fourth, and Bell extended the lead to 4-1, scoring Kobernus with a roller to third in the fifth.

Four straight ground ball hits knocked reliever Brian Grening out of the game in the sixth.  Josh Whitaker who was 4-for-5 on the night reached on a grounder down the third base line that was only knocked down by Michael Snyder.  Cutler followed with a ground single on the right side, and Michael Crouse loaded the bases with an infield single.  Kobernus ripped a two-run single off Snyder’s glove for a 6-1 edge.  Gindl greeted left Scott Maine with an opposite field double for a 7-1 cushion.

Then came the salvo against slender right-hander Tim Sexton in the seventh.  Whitaker, Cutler and Kobernus all cracked extra base hits past Wilson and down the right field line.  Gindl crushed his first homer of the season down the line, and Bell banged out a double to right center.

At that point, the Barnstormers were done.

Southern Maryland was not, scoring four runs off the Lancaster bullpen between the seventh and eighth innings.  Lombardozzi doubled with the bases loaded in the seventh to score a pair off Justin Jackson.  The next inning, Snyder’s bad hop single over shortstop Kevin Ahrens set up a pair of runs off Al Yevoli.  Adrian Martinez doubled home the last run of the night.

Lancaster sends lefties Andrew Albers and Phil Coke to the mound on Saturday evening.  They will be opposed by right-hander Jon Leicester and lefty Scott Snodgress.  The twinight doubleheader begins at 6:05 with both games slated for seven innings.  Fans may tune into the Barnstormers YouTube Channel beginning at 5:45.

NOTES:  The runs yielded by Yevoli in the eighth inning were the first two he has given up in 26 regular and post-season appearances with Lancaster…The 17 hits was one shy of the 2015 season high…Lancaster is 4-for-4 in stolen bases…Barnstormers starters have allowed only one run in 10.0 innings…The Barnstormers have gone all 18 innings without an error.