BARNSTORMERS SWING THEIR WAY TO SWEEP

Lancaster Outslugs Long Island, 15-8

Playing under prime hitting conditions early Thursday, the Lancaster Barnstormers slugged four home runs and four doubles in an 18-hit attack, defeating the Long Island Ducks, 15-8, at Fairfield Properties Ballpark in Central Islip.

The win completed a three-game sweep for the Barnstormers and improved the second half record to 4-0.

Joseph Carpenter blasted a two-run homer to right to cap a four-run first inning off Stephen Tarpley, Jr. (3-4), but the Ducks came right back with a two-out, three-run homer by Alex Dickerson off Nile Ball (4-4) in the bottom of the inning.

Tarpley would settle down, and the Ducks inched ahead with Ruben Tejada tying the game on a single to right in the third and newcomer Jonathan Guzman doubling home the lead run in the fourth.

Lancaster picked up a one-out walk to Melvin Mercedes in the fifth.  With two gone, Andretty Cordero took Tarpley over the boards in left to retake the lead.  Ariel Sandoval followed with a solo blast to left center for a 7-5 edge.

Trace Loehr and Yeison Coca doubled, and Cordero drove in his fourth run of the afternoon as the lead ballooned to 10-5 in the sixth inning.  Dickerson continued to be an issue, hitting his second home run off Ball to open the home sixth.  The speed of designated runner Darian Sandford created a seventh run before Brian Marconi cooled off the Ducks for 2 1/3 innings.

A sacrifice fly by Loehr scored Carpenter in the ninth.  Mercedes followed with a three-run homer to right as the Barnstormers sealed the sweep.

Lancaster will complete a suspended game against Spire City (Frederick, MD) on Friday afternoon at 3:00.  Spire City owns a 3-0 lead in the top of the fourth.  Bret Clarke and Jake Fisher, the starters on Sunday, will remain in the game on Friday.  A regularly scheduled game against the Ghost Hounds will get underway at 6:30.

NOTES:  Lancaster has scored 51 runs on 70 hits in the four official games of the second half…Cordero and Sandoval hit the first pair of back-to-back homers by the Barnstormers this season…Cordero has jumped into fourth in the league with 57 RBI…He has 43 in the last 39 games…Carpenter has eight homers on the season, four against Long Island…Mercedes reached base five times in the game and scored on four of those…His homer was his first of the year outside Clipper Magazine Stadium.