BARNSTORMERS TAKE FIFTH STRAIGHT

Club Wins, 5-3, for Third Time on Trip

Five runs.  Eight hits.  Those have been magical numbers for the Lancaster Barnstormers on their current road trip.

Lancaster amassed exactly those totals for the third time in five games, winning by a 5-3 margin in each, defeating the York Revolution at People’s Bank Park. 

The Barnstormers, a perfect 5-0 on the current six-game trip, remained two games ahead of the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in the North race.

It was the first inning that decided Wednesday night’s game.  Shawon Dunston, Jr. drew a leadoff walk from Jorge Martinez (9-5) and stole second.  Melvin Mercedes lined a single into left field to advance Dunston to third.  Andretty Cordero picked up the first run with a single into right center.  He stole second, and, with one out, Trayvon Robinson walked.  Ariel Sandoval squirted a single inside the first base bag to score two, and Chris Proctor wrapped up the first inning scoring with a grounder to first that plated Robinson.

Telvin Nash produced the only run off Oscar De La Cruz (6-1) with a towering leadoff homer in the second.  De La Cruz faced remaining trouble over the remainder of the second and again in the third, but the Revs stranded all five of their runners.  The 6’6” right-hander retired 11 of the last 13 batters he faced.

Lancaster closed out its scoring in the third.  Cordero doubled over the head of right fielder J.C. Encarnacion, moved up on a grounder by Jacob Barfield and scored on a sac fly to left by Robinson.

Donald Goodson and Josh Graham both fired 1-2-3 innings before Connor Lien reached West Tunnell for a two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.  Tunnell retired the final two as York never managed to get the tying run to the plate.

The clubs will meet at People’s Bank Park Thursday at 6:30.  Erik Manoah will get the nod for the Barnstormers against lefty Austin Nicely (2-8).  Fans may tune into the Barnstormers YouTube channel at 6:25.

NOTES:  Lancaster leads the War of the Roses, 15-10…Graham has struck our five of six batters he has faced in the series…Goodson reached 99.4 mph on the radar gun…The Barnstormers staff struck out 13 more batters, the 36^th time this season that the team has reached 10…De La Cruz took the team lead with his seventh quality start…Sandoval had struck out all three times he faced Martinez in their last meeting.