BREMER SHINES IN WIN

Martin Cranks Two Homers Late in 14-2 Victory

It had been five weeks since Noah Bremer’s last victory.  In the interim, the right-hander had to endure three starts shortened by rain and a hectic schedule resulting from the rain.  He received little offensive support, and the bullpen let at least one lead escape.

On Friday evening, all of the elements came together for the one-time Texas Rangers farmhand as the Lancaster Stormers lambasted the Long Island Ducks, 14-2, in the opener of a three-game series at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

With the win, the Stormers were able to extend their lead over York to 1 ½ games in the division and take the lead over High Point in a wild card chase.

Bremer (9-6) yielded four hits and one run in 6 2/3 innings without walking a batter.  He struck out six.  No one for the Ducks advanced beyond first base over the first six innings, in which Bremer faced only 19 batters.  Chance Sisco, in his first game back from the injured list, broke up the shutout bit with an RBI double in the top of the seventh.

Lest you think Bremer was living in the lap of luxury based on the final score, truth is, he was not.  The game started, like so many have for the native Californian, as a 0-0 tie through 3 ½ innings.  Lancaster finally broke the ice in the home fourth.  Niko Hulsizer greeted Nick Tropeano (2-1) with a single to left.  One out later, Joseph Carpenter pulled a double down the left field line.  Both men scored on a triple to the left center gap by Joe Stewart.

Lancaster failed to score the third run there, but doubles by Damon Dues and Isan Diaz staked Bremer to a 3-0 lead in the fifth.

That would be all the support for Bremer until he departed the game in the seventh with Aaron Antonini scheduled as the tying run for the Ducks.  Phil Diehl was summoned to pick up the final out.

At that point, Lancaster’s bats went crazy.  The home seventh began slowly as Jack Conley bunted for a base hit, and Trace Loehr rolled a grounder through the left side to add a second runner.  Dues laid a bunt down to the third base side of the mound.  Reliever Peyton Williams looked at third before making a horribly wild throw to first, resulting in a three-base error and a 5-1 lead.  Diaz doubled to right center for a 6-1 edge.  Mason Martin reached lefty Rolando Casihis for a loud grand slam to right and a 10-1 lead.  Joseph Carpenter followed with a blast to dead center.  Three more hits and two more runs later, the Stormers tied their biggest inning of the season with a 10-run output and a 13-1 lead.

JC Encarnacion and Martin exchanged homers in the eighth for the final markers.

Lancaster will send Oscar De La Cruz (3-3) to the mound on Saturday evening against right-hander Sal Romano (1-0).  Fireworks will follow the game.  Fans may follow the action, as always, on FloBaseball.

NOTES:  The win was the 451^st for manager Ross Peeples…He is one away from tying Butch Hobson for the franchise career record…Martin became only the second Stormer in history to hit three grand slams in a season…Ryan Harvey did it in a span of 10 days in 2013…Martin took the club lead with 15 homers…Carpenter has homers in three straight games he has played…Diaz has hit safely in 12 straight games with 13 extra-base hits and 19 RBI.