HOMERS LEAD LANCASTER TO SECOND STRAIGHT

Lancaster’s big swingers came back to the forefront Wednesday morning.

Niko Hulsizer slammed a two-run homer in the fifth inning, and Mason Martin added a three-run blast in the seventh as the Lancaster Stormers defeated the Staten Island FerryHawks, 10-7, in a matinee at SIUH Community Park.

Lancaster trailed, 3-1, entering the top of the fifth, but Taylor Lepard (0-5, 0-8) walked Joe Stewart to start the inning.  Stewart stole second and moved up on an infield out before scoring on a Damon Dues double to the gap in right center.  Trace Loehr tied the game with a base hit into right.  Then Hulsizer unloaded his eighth homer of the season for Lancaster, clearing the boards in left center.

Martin stretched the lead with a towering homer, barely fair, down the right field line with one out in the seventh.

The Stormers spent the rest of the day fighting off comebacks from the pesky FerryHawks.  Will Butcher singled home a pair of runs against Kyle Johnson in the seventh to cut the lead to 8-5.  Lancaster scored a run on a ground out in each of the last two trips to stretch the lead back to 10-5, and Phil Diehl got the Stormers safely through the eighth inning. 

Newcomer Ryan Williamson could not pick up an out in his Stormers debut in the bottom of the ninth, yielding three singles and a walk to the four batters he faced.  Stephen Nogosek took over, yielding the inning’s second run on a sacrifice fly by David Melfi.  The right-hander then got Jeison Guzman to ground into a 4-6-3 double play, closing out the FerryHawks for his 11^th save.

Oscar De La Cruz (2-2) worked the first five innings for Lancaster, yielding five hits and three runs, one earned, in five innings of work.  He walked one and struck out four but also hit three batters, including two in a row in Staten Island’s three-run fourth inning.

Lancaster will send Brady Tedesco (0-2) to the mound Thursday evening at 6:30 against Mike Shawaryn (5-7).  Fans may tune in on FloBaseball at 6:25.

NOTES:  Gaige Howard added four more hits…The right fielder in batting .519 (28-54) in his last 14 games…Martin has seven RBI in the series…Lancaster has won 13 of its last 14 meetings with Staten Island…The Stormers are guaranteed to end the month in first place in the North in the second half.