stormers News

LONG BALLS LEAD LANCASTER TO WIN

Zawadzki, McDade Blasts Produce 6-4 Victory Over Somerset

For the first time, Lance Zawadzki was playing in front of a home crowd that included his infant son, Tate.

The reigning Atlantic League home run champion and brand new dad wasted no time in giving his son a lesson in hitting.

Zawadzki went 2-for-2 with a pair of home runs in a 6-4 Lancaster Barnstormers victory over the Somerset Patriots Saturday evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

The win brought Lancaster to within 1 ½ games of division leading York in the Freedom Division with Sugar Land only two games in arrears.  Somerset is in an equally contested three-team race, tied with Long Island in the Liberty Division.  New Britain is only two back.

Zawadzki homered to lead off the fifth for a 2-1 Lancaster lead, then put the Barnstormers back into the lead with a two-run shot in the seventh with Charlie Cutler aboard on a walk.

While Zawadzki’s blasts twice put the ‘Stormers into the lead, but it was a Mike McDade home run in the eighth inning that finally decided the game against the feisty Patriots.  Josh Bell reached on a one-out single to right off Jeremy MacBryde (3-1).  Two batters later, McDade, who had singled in the ‘Stormers’ first run of the night in the second, cleared the tents in right to break the 4-4 tie.

Cory Burns made certain that a fourth Lancaster lead did not evaporate.  He allowed a leadoff single through the shortstop hole to Scott Kelly, but got the next three batters.  Zawadzki, fittingly, made a sliding play in shallow right field to retire Eric Farris ending the game.  Burns earned his 11th save.

Carlos Guzman keyed the Somerset offense with a pair of two-out RBI hits.  Matt Fields knocked a game-tying homer onto the picnic deck in the top of the eighth.

Newcomer Kevin Munson (1-0) struck out Yovan Gonzalez for the final out in the eighth, notching the win.

Right-hander Mike Lee (2-1) takes the hill for the Barnstormers on Sunday afternoon against lefty Jeremy Horst (3-2).  The game will be carried on Blue Ridge Cable 11 beginning at 2:00 PM.

NOTES:  McDade extended his hitting streak to 16, four shy of the franchise record…He is 24-for-65 (.369) in the streak…Caleb Gindl failed to reach base for the first time in the last 19 games…Charlie Cutler was never retired, picking up a single and three walks…He has a seven-game hitting streak and has reached base in 17 of 31 plate appearances in that stretch.