Nick Lucky’s two-run triple in the top of the eighth gave the Lancaster Stormers their second lead of the night.
They could not hold it.
Jackson Feltner led off the bottom of the eighth with a towering homer to left center to tie the game. Mikey Kane lashed a one-out triple into right center and scored when Xane Wasington took Phil Diehl (1-1) inside the third base bag for a winning double as the Lexington Legends grabbed the first game of a six-game series, 6-5 at Legends Field.
To add to the frustration of the night, Jake Thompson’s last ditch drive to right field failed to scale the wall for a game-tying homer, resulting in a long single instead as the Stormers came up short.
Lancaster attacked starter Nic Laio for a quick three runs in the top of the first inning. Thompson singled to right center and strode home on Tyler Miller’s opposite field homer. Joe DeLuca singled, moved to second on a base hit by Tyler Robertson and scored when Scott Kelly rolled a base hit into right.
Brendan Dixon’s two-run blast in the bottom of the inning brought the Legends within a run, and the host club tied the game in the second off Jason Bollman on a leadoff homer by Weston Eberly.
It remained tied until Tres Gonzalez’ go-ahead, RBI double looped down the left field line in the fifth.
Lancaster had five runners thrown out on base in the game, two on steals attempts, one on a crucial pickoff of Scott Kelly in the seventh and two on efforts to take extra bases, including Lucky being gunned down trying to score an extra run in the eighth.
The Stormers will send Luke Albright (1-1) to the hill on Wednesday morning against Jimmy Loper. Fans may tune into HTN/Dugout TV, starting at 10:20.
NOTES: Kelly played in his 900th Atlantic League game…He was hit by a pitch twice and has now been dinged 98 times in his career…Miller has 10 RBI and six extra base hits in his last four games… Thompson has hit safely in six straight…Joseph Carpenter was scratched from the lineup prior to the game…Starter Jason Bollman allowed six hits and four runs in six innings while walking four and striking out seven.