PITCHING BRILLIANCE CONTINUES

McAvene Guides Lancaster to Third Straight Win

Michael McAvene continued Lancaster’s recent stretch of excellent starting pitching on Friday night, leading the Stormers to a 5-2 win over the High Point Rockers in the opener of a three-game series at Penn Medicine Park.

McAvene (3-1) limited the Rockers to six hits over seven innings while walking none and striking out five.  He became the seventh consecutive Lancaster starter to work at least five innings and yield two or fewer runs.

The only damage off the native Hoosier came in the fifth inning when Braxton Davidson led off with a towering homer to right.  D.J. Burt followed with a single and stole second.  Burt scored on a long single to left by Nolan Watson, who pulled up hobbling around first and left the game.  Luis Gonzalez was hit by a pitch, advancing pinch runner Isaiah Mirabal to second.  McAvene escaped the inning on a pair of deep fly balls.

He yielded only one single over the remaining two innings.

Lancaster took an early 2-0 lead off Fin del Bonta-Smith (0-1).  Nick Ward and Yeison Coca opened the game with singles to center.  Mason Martin grounded into a 3-6 force play before stealing second.  Ariel Sandoval launched a sac fly to right for the game’s first run.  Drew Mendoza made a wild throw on a grounder by Nick Lucky as Martin strode home with the second tally.

After High Point’s lone uprising tied the game in the fifth, the Stormers went on the attack in the bottom of the inning.  With one out, Daniel Amaral rolled a single up the middle and stole second.  Evan Alexander belted his first homer since June 24 down the right field line for a 4-2 lead, spelling the end for del Bonta-Smith.  Gabe Klobosits took over and allowed singles to Ward and Martin around a fly out by Coca.  Sandoval walked to load the bases, and Lucky brought a run home with a hopper over the mound that died on the infield rug.

Jackson Rees pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the eighth to hold the lead.  Scott Engler allowed a leadoff single by Ben Aklinski in the ninth but retired the side afterward, striking out two to earn his first save.

Noah Bremer (4-1) will make the start for the Stormers on Saturday evening against High Point’s Mike Devine (0-0).  Fireworks will follow the game.  Fans may tune into FloBaseball at 6:40.

NOTES:  The Stormers maintained a one-game lead over York in the North…Engler became the ninth different Stormer to earn a save this season…Amaral’s steal was his club-leading 33^rd of the season…Right-hander David Hess made his debut with the Rockers, his first work since beginning his second battle with cancer.