‘STORMERS BLANKED IN TEXAS

Six Skeeters Combine for Rain-Delayed Six-Hitter

Following 35 runs in three days on Long Island, the Barnstormers bats got cooled off in Texas in a rain-delayed contest Monday evening.

Six Sugar Land pitchers combined to shut out the Barnstormers on six hits as the Skeeters took the opener of a crucial four-game series, 5-0.

Caleb Gindl greeted Brett Marshall with a double down the third base line to open the game. He moved to third on a ground out by Trayvon Robinson. K.C. Hobson stroked a grounder right to the drawn-in shortstop Ricky Hague for the second out, and Gindl was picked off third by catcher Albert Cordero to end the threat.

No Barnstormer reached third base again for the evening.

Marshall (3-5) worked the first five innings before heavy rains came off the Gulf of Mexico and halted play for 96 minutes. Jon Velasquez picked up the game in the sixth inning. The combination of Zech Zinicola, Dan Runzler, Ryan Mattheus and Derrick Loop finished the shutout, the first time since May 5 the Barnstormers have been whitewashed in a game.

Terry Doyle (6-6) was reached for two runs in the second. Ricky Hague led off with a single to left and stole second. Delwyn Young bounced back to the hill. Hague broke for third. Doyle, spotting the opportunity for an out on the lead runner, made a wild high throw to Kevin Ahrens. Hague raced home to score, and Young went all the way to second before the ball was tracked down in left field. Jeremy Barfield followed with a single, and Travis Scott grounded into a 4-6-3 double play as Young came home with the second run.

Sugar Land put the game away with a pair of home runs in the eighth. Rene Tosoni homered to right off Ryan Dennick to start the inning. Barfield homered to left with a man aboard against Hitoshi Fujie three batters later.

The Barnstomers will send Justin Jackson (1-0) to the mound in a spot start on Tuesday evening against right-hander Jake Hale (5-2). Fans may tune into the Barnstormers YouTube Channel, beginning at 7:45 EDT.

NOTES: Gindl extended his hitting streak to 11 with his double in the first inning…Sean Halton singled in the second for a 10-game streak…Hobson added a base hit later in the game to stretch his streak to nine…Kevin Ahrens lost a nine-game streak…Doyle returned after the rain delay and completed the sixth inning for the 14th time in his last 15 starts.