MASSIVE RALLY DOWNS BARNSTORMERS

Southern Maryland Pulls Out 10-9 Thriller

Southern Maryland sent 12 men to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning, scoring eight times, to defeat the Lancaster Barnstormers in a makeup game Monday afternoon at Regency Furniture Stadium.

It was the biggest ninth inning rally against the Barnstormers in franchise history.

Isaias Quiroz led off the inning with a bouncer to third that took a tricky hop past Andretty Cordero, who was charged with an error.  Khalil Lee drove a ball off the left field wall for a long single, adding a second runner against Tyler LaPorte.  Adarius Moody, a ninth inning defensive replacement, flied to right for the first out.  Michael Baca hit a high bouncer on the left side that cleared Cordero’s leaping try and scooted past left fielder Trayvon Robinson for an error as two runs scored.  LaPorte hit Matt Hibbert with an 0-2 pitch, and Philip Caulfield singled to center to cut the deficit to 9-5.

After LaPorte went to a 3-0 count on Braxton Lee, manager Ross Peeples summoned Mike Adams (1-2) into what had become a save situation.  Lee then doubled to the gap in right center, driving home two more.  K.C. Hobson walked, putting the tying run on base.  Alex Crosby’s fly ball to deep left was dropped by Robinson , and Quiroz tied the game with a single down the left field stripe.  Lancaster opted to walk Khalil Lee intentionally to fill the bases with one out.  Southern Maryland again went to the bench, using Jose Rosario as a pinch hitter.  He drove a liner to center, deep enough to score Crosby with the game winner.

Lancaster had taken a 7-0 lead over the first three innings.  Joseph Carpenter yanked a homer to left in the second off starter Neil Uskali.  Cordero and Jack Conley slugged three-run shots in the third inning for a 7-0 lead.

Nile Ball carried a shutout into the bottom of the sixth but, around a 37-minute rain delay, the Blue Crabs struck for a run on a double to right by Hobson.  A second Blue Crabs run scored off Ball on an RBI single by Ryan Haug in the seventh.  Ball left with two outs, and Brian Marconi took Lancaster through the eighth with a 7-2 lead.

Lancaster put two runs on the board off Connor Gleeson (1-0) in the top of the ninth.  Walks to Kelly Dugan and Trayvon Robinson, and a single by Wilson Garcia loaded the bases with one out.  Carpenter blooped a single into center scoring one, and a passed ball allowed Robinson to score for the 9-2 lead.

The Barnstormers head to York for a 6:30 game against the Revolution on Tuesday.  Brandyn Sittinger (2-3) will pitch for Lancaster against right-hander Pedro Vasquez (2-0).  Fans may tune into FloBaseball at 6:25.

NOTES:  Carpenter’s homer was his fourth in 11 days…He has 13 RBI in his last eight games and is batting .375 (15-40) in his last 11…Melvin Mercedes had his 15^th multi-hit game and extended his latest streak to 10 games…Conley hit his second three-run homer in four games…Cordero has scored in nine straight…Lancaster scored at least seven runs for the seventh consecutive game…Ball fired his third quality start and the club’s 12^th…The loss was Lancaster’s second in the last 10 games.