Bridgeport Rallies in Ninth

Another Wild Finish Produces Bridgeport Win

In a series filled with crazy endings, Thursday night was no exception.

Jonathan Galvez banged a bases loaded double off the right field wall to cap a four-run ninth inning that gave the Bridgeport Bluefish an 8-6 victory over the host Lancaster Barnstormers at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

All four games in the series were decided in the eighth or ninth inning.

Anthony Carter (1-1), who had a win and a save over the previous two nights was handed the ball again with the Barnstormers ahead, 6-4.  He fell behind leadoff hitter Luis Hernandez, 3-0, before eventually allowing a single to center.  Jose Cuevas picked up a walk, and the Bluefish had the tying runs on base.  It appeared, though, that Carter would escape, retiring Major League veterans Alberto Callaspo and Sean Burroughs on fly outs to left field.  However, with Jose Gil at the plate, Carter balked, sending the runners at second and third.  Gil rolled a grounder under Carter’s glove.  Second baseman Garrett Weber ranged far to his right to make a stop up the middle, but was unable to get off a good throw as Hernandez scored to cut the lead to 6-5.  Daniel Fields picked up a walk, and Galvez bounced his double high enough on the wall to elude the glove of Sean Halton as all three runners scored.

Lancaster had a glimmer of hope as Lastings Milledge led off the bottom of the ninth with a single.  Anderson De La Rosa later walked, but David Carpenter kept the Barnstormers off the board for his seventh save.

The Bluefish scored the first four runs of the game as five of the first seven batters collected base hits, including a leadoff homer by Galvez in the second inning, against starter Bryan Evans.  Evans kept Lancaster in the game, working five innings and left with a chance to win as the Barnstormers methodically worked back in the game.

Blake Gailen scored on a throwing error by the catcher Gil in the second.  He also drove in Lancaster’s second run with a sacrifice fly to left in the third inning.  De La Rosa knocked one more run off the lead in the fourth with an RBI double to left, and Sean Halton tied the game with a long home run to left center field in the fifth inning.

Gailen picked up a walk with one out in the fifth and stole his second base of the night.  Lastings Milledge also walked.  Both runners advanced on a grounder by Kevin Ahrens, and Vladimir Frias put the Barnstormers ahead with a single into right, scoring Gailen.

Ahrens produced an insurance run with an RBI single to left in the seventh inning.

The same two clubs are scheduled to meet in Bridgeport on Friday evening at 7:10.  Lancaster will send lefty Rommie Lewis (1-1) to the hill against fellow southpaw Chris Rearick (0-1).  Fans may tune into the Barnstormers YouTube Channel, beginning at 6:50.

NOTES:  The Barnstormers tied a franchise record with six stolen bases in the game…Halton had three extra base hits and now has nine on the season, tops in the Atlantic League…The game took three hours, 55 minutes, the longest nine-inning game played by the Barnstormers since September 13, 2011, when a game at Camden took 3:58…Carter’s balk was the third charged in the game.