BARNSTORMERS ZOOM PAST DUCKS

Lancaster Takes Series Finale, 9-6

The Lancaster Barnstormers used their baserunning game to speed past the Long Island Ducks, 9-6, Thursday evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

With the win, the Barnstormers remained in a first place tie in the Atlantic League North, matching Staten Island and Southern Maryland with 20-15 records.

Heading into the home half of the sixth inning in a 5-5 tie, the Barnstormers got a leadoff walk from Chris Proctor.  Jack Conley forced Proctor at second and advanced to second on a wild throw.  Melvin Mercedes broke the tie with a single to center off Sam Kessler (0-1) and took second on the throw home.  Mercedes was allowed to take third on a passed ball.  Yeison Coca walked, and the pair executed a double steal for a 7-5 lead.

The Barnstormers would score twice in the bottom of the seventh as well.  They stayed out of a double play be sending Trayvon Robinson on a one-out ground ball by Proctor.  Conley singled home Robinson, stole second and scored when Mercedes grounded a single inside the third base bag.

Long Island had grabbed the early lead off Jeff Bain (4-2), scoring twice in the first inning.  Sam Travis knocked home one run with a force play grounder, and the second scored when Alex Dickerson thundered a double off the batter’s eye.  Ariel Sandoval answered with an RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

The Ducks took their second two-run lead of the night on an unearned run in the second.  Lancaster pulled even on solo homers by Yeison Coca and Wilson Garcia in the third.  Again, the Ducks went ahead by two as the result of consecutive RBI singles by Jonathan Guzman and Trent Taylor in the fourth.

Lancaster erased that lead quickly also.  Proctor tripled to left center and scored on a single by Conley in the bottom of the inning.  Mercedes walked, and Coca beat out an infield single to load the bases.  Andretty Cordero picked up the tying run with a sacrifice fly to center.

Boog Powell hit a seventh-inning homer off Brandyn Sittinger, but Sittinger and Mike Adams combined to retire the final seven Ducks to hold the win.  Adams earned his eighth save.

Lancaster will head to Southern Maryland for a critical three-game weekend series.  Matt Swarmer (0-1) will make the Friday start against right-hander Spencer Johnston (1-2, 3-4).  Fans may tune into FloBaseball beginning at 6:30.

NOTES:  Mercedes went 3-for-4 with a walk to extend his hitting streak to 13 games…Over the last 35 games, Mercedes has earned his way on base on 86 of 166 plate appearances (.518 OBP)…Four of Lancaster’s 20-plus base stealers grabbed a bag on Thursday night…The fifth, Shawon Dunston, Jr., was thrown out stealing…For the third time in six starts, Bain did not walk a batter…Garcia tied for the team lead with his 11^th homer, joining Andretty Cordero and Joseph Carpenter.