TEDESCO TAMES DUCKS

Lancaster Within One of Clinching

Brady Tedesco’s first start at Clipper Magazine Stadium was a gem.

The 26-year old out of the MLB Draft League threw seven strong innings, allowing five singles while pitching the Lancaster Barnstormers to a 3-1 victory over the Long Island Ducks for the ‘Stormers’ eighth consecutive home win.

As a result of the win, the magic number for the Barnstormers has been reduced to one with only York remaining alive to catch the Barnstormers.  The next Lancaster win or York loss will send the defending champion Barnstormers back to the playoffs and a first round meeting with the Ducks.

Tedesco (1-1) walked two and struck out three and had more than one man reach base in an inning only twice.  Only a two-out single to right by first baseman Sam Travis picked up a run in the lefty’s seven-inning stretch.

Lancaster grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second off Ian Clarkin (3-5).  Wilson Garcia led off with a single up the middle.  Designated runner Chris Proctor stole second and was eventually pushed to third on walks to Trayvon Robinson and Joseph Carpenter.  Clarkin picked up two called third strikes before walking Melvin Mercedes to force home a run.

The 1-1 tie was busted in the bottom of the sixth.  Clarkin allowed a leadoff single to Ariel Sandoval that slipped past second baseman Jonathan Guzman in the sixth.  Clarkin, after throwing a strike to Garcia, left the game with an injury, and the Lancaster first baseman lashed a double into the left field corner off Yaya Chentouf to knock in the lead run.  Trayvon Robinson tapped out in front of the plate to send Garcia to third, and Carpenter snuck a grounder into left field for insurance.

Ofreidy Gomez survived two-out singles by Alex Dickerson and Travis in the top of the eighth, retiring Alejandro de Aza on a routine fly to center.  Nick Duron worked the ninth, yielding a walk to Joe DeCarlo, for his second save.

Lancaster will send right-hander Matt Swarmer (3-1) to the hill against Staten Island and right-hander Ethan Skuija (0-2) at Clipper Magazine Stadium on Friday.  Fans may tune into FloBaseball, beginning at 6:35.

NOTES:  Tedesco threw Lancaster’s 37^th quality start…He has allowed three runs in 12 innings over two starts…Duron has allowed one earned run in his last 20 innings while fanning 34…Robinson walked for the eighth straight game…Mercedes, the league leader in OBP to open the night, reached on three of four plate appearances…Garcia was 8-for-14 in the series with seven RBI…Lancaster won 13 of 22 regular season meetings against Long Island.ReplyReply allForward

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