DUCKS RUN OFF WITH WIN

Nick Heath scored from second base on an infield single in the bottom of the ninth as the Lancaster Stormers fell, 7-6, to the Long Island Ducks at Fairfield Properties Ballpark.

With the loss, the Stormers’ lead over York was trimmed back to ½ game, and the Ducks moved to within two of the division leaders in the North.

Steffon Moore (0-1, 1-3) retired the first two batters in the ninth before Heath drew his third walk of the night.  The Long Island center fielder promptly stole second and remained there as JC Encarnacion also walked.  Moore worked ahead of Ivan Castillo at 0-2 before the Long Island second baseman rolled a slow grounder on the right side.  Damon Dues fielded the ball in the hole, but no one covered first until it was too late.  By the time Dues was able to feed Mason Martin, Castillo was across the bag.  Heath never slowed down and was able to beat the throw home for the winning tally.

Long Island had tied the game on five walks in the bottom of the seventh, spoiling the opportunity for Max Green to win his seventh consecutive start.

Green allowed three unearned runs in the bottom of the first inning, but the Stormers were able to battle back with a quick strike in the third.  Damon Dues doubled into the right field corner and scored on a double to the right center gap by Gaige Howard.  Isan Diaz drove a home run to the opposite field to level the game at 3-3. 

Zach Racusin slugged his first homer of the season through a moderate shower in the bottom of the fifth as Long Island took its second lead of the night.  Joe Carpenter tied the game on Wei-Yin Chen’s first pitch in the sixth inning.  Dues and Howard teamed up again for a 5-4 lead, and Carpenter stretched the lead to 6-4 with an RBI single in the top of the seventh.

Ramon Santos (4-1) struck out the side in the ninth for the win.

Lancaster will send Noah Bremer (8-5) to the mound on Saturday against lefty Jimmy Robbins (6-3).  Fans may tune into the game on FloBaseball, starting at 6:30.

NOTES:  Dues had two doubles and now has six extra base hits in the last four games and 12 in the last 15…Shawon Dunston, Jr. stole his 93^rd base as a Stormer, tying him with Blake Gailen for third on the career list…Green was unable to pick up his 10^th win…It was only the second time in 13 starts for the lefty that the Stormers have lost…Diaz homered for the second straight game.ReplyReply allForward