STORMERS DROP SERIES IN EXTRA INNINGS

In the longest regular season game played by either club since the Atlantic League’s implementation of the International Tiebreaker Rule, the York Revolution prevailed in the top of the 12^th inning, taking a 4-3 decision from the Lancaster Stormers at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

With David Washington at third base and one out, Rhinesmith lined his single to left field off Ted Stuka (0-2).  It was the only hit by either club in the three extra frames.  Stuka would walk the next two hitters before Alex Pantoja grounded into a double play.

For the third straight inning, Lancaster could not do much with the runner starting at second base.  Chris Proctor popped to short for the first out.  Joe Stewart struck out with Shawon Dunston, Jr. stealing third on the final strike.  Trace Loehr fanned to end the game as Denny Bentley earned his first save.

After Joseph Carpenter tied the game with a solo homer to right center in the bottom of the ninth, York went down in 1-2-3 fashion in both the 10^th and 11^th innings and did not advance the ITB runner to third until the second out in the 10^th and not at all in the 11^th.

Lancaster moved Joe Stewart to third on a bunt by Loehr in the 10^th inning.  Damon Dues slapped a grounder to third, and Stewart was caught in a rundown between third and home.  Isan Diaz struck out to end the inning.  In the 11^th, Niko Hulsizer slapped a grounder to the middle that was handled by Pantoja, sending Diaz to third.  York walked Mason Martin intentionally, but Frankie Bartow (2-2) struck out Carpenter and retired Chris Proctor on a foul pop up.

Before the extra-inning drama, Matt Swarmer turned in a record-tying performance.  The right-hander struck out two batters in each of his first six innings and Zander Wiel to start the seventh, matching the franchise record of 13, set previously by Eric Junge in 2010 and tied by Bryan Evans in 2016.

Diaz staked Swarmer to a 2-0 lead on a two-run homer in the fifth.  York scored a single run in each of its next three at bats.  Donovan Casey drove in one with a sacrifice fly in the sixth.  The tying run came home in the seventh.  Rhinesmith singled with one out and took third on a wild pickoff throw by Swarmer.  Michael Berglund lined out to right, but Alfredo Reyes grounded a 2-2 pitch up the middle for the tying run.

Steffon Moore struck out Pantoja to finish the seventh but walked the first two hitters in the eighth.  He handed the baseball to Kyle Johnson, who induced a 4-6-3 double play from Casey, leaving Rudy Martin, Jr. at third with two outs.  The speedster was able to score on a wild pitch that escaped Proctor by only a couple of feet.

Lancaster will open a three-game series at Long Island on Friday evening.  Brady Tedesco (0-2) will match up against Wei-Yin Chen (4-5) in a battle of left-handers.  Fans may tune into FloBaseball at 6:30.

NOTES:  Lancaster’s lead over York was trimmed to two games…Dunston stole his 40^th of the season…Carpenter’s homer stretched his latest hitting streak to nine…Diaz has three homers in four games, all with one man aboard in the middle innings…In the eighth, Diaz hit a ball which ticked off the top corner of the outfield signs in right center, and he was thrown out at second.