Club Wins Seventh Straight in Alternate Jerseys
The Lebanon Ironmasters are a perfect 7-0.
Playing as the Lancaster Stormers’ neighbors to the north, the Ironmaster struck for six runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to topple the Charleston Dirty Birds, 9-5, Friday evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
Justin Farmer drew a walk from Pearson McMahan (0-2) to open the decisive inning. After Kyle Kasser popped to shortstop on a 2-0 pitch, Nick Lucky became a string of four straight hits with a double yanked to the right field corner. Trace Loehr singled to left to tie the game, and a single rolled through the right side by Cristian Santana put Lebanon over the top. Chris Proctor launched the deepest drive of the night by an Ironmaster, a two-run double off the fence in right center. Proctor stole third and scored on a perfect two-out bunt single by Shawon Dunston, Jr. off Bryan Quillens. Gaige Howard also singled, and a pair of wild pitches produced the inning’s sixth run.
Carter Raffield survived consecutive walks to open the eighth by striking out the side. Courtney Hawkins reached on a dropped fly ball to deep left to open the ninth. Keon Barnum singled home the run on a line drive into right center. Jared Carr stroked a line drive past Lucky, but Gaige Howard forced Barnum at second. James Hoyt retired the next two to nail down the win.
The teams had alternated leads earlier in the game. Dariel Gomez produced the first run of the night on a bases loaded force out in the second. Lebanon countered on an RBI single by Nick Lucky in the top of the third. Keon Barnum’s RBI double jumped the Dirty Birds back into the lead in the fifth. Farmer’s RBI double and a sac fly by Lucky returned the Ironmasters to the front in the bottom of the fifth. Again, Charleston grabbed the edge as Clint Frazier greeted Jack Labosky with a single to center and Rusber Estrada doubled to the gap in right center. Pinch runner Johnathan Soto later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Juan Santana.
Justin Kelly (1-1) fired two scoreless innings for the win.
Nile Ball (3-1) will take the mound for the Ironmaster on Saturday against David Lebron (1-1). Fireworks will follow the game. Fans may tune in on FloBaseball, beginning at 6:40.
NOTES: Joseph Carpenter picked up two hits to extend his hitting streak to nine…The bullpen’s scoreless inning streak was stopped at 18 2/3 on Barnum’s RBI single off Hoyt in the ninth, but the streak without an earned run continues…Santana has hit safely in 25 of 27, Dunston in 13 of 15.