WARD HOMER CAPS EXHIBITION SCHEDULE

Tiebreaking Shot in Eighth Boots Lancaster to Win

Nick Ward hit his third homer of the spring, a three-run shot onto the deck at Penn Medicine Park in the eighth inning, to boost the Lancaster Stormers to a 6-3 victory over the Black Sox in the club’s exhibition finale.

The Stormers will head to Long Island for the season opener on Friday after completing the spring schedule with 3-2-1 record.

With the score tied, 3-3, Slater Schield rapped a one-out single up the middle in the bottom of the eighth.  Schield stole second before Ariel Sandoval picked up a one-out walk.  Ward then unloaded his homer to snap the tie.

The Black Sox had tied the game with two outs in the top of the inning when John Mead drove a long RBI triple to dead center and rode home on Wady Almonte’s single up the middle.

Mead also scored the first run of the afternoon.  The left-handed batting outfielder opened the day with a double off starter Tim Brennan, and Almonte followed with a walk.  Later in the inning, catcher Andrew Semo made a high pickoff throw to first with the ball reaching the right field corner, allowing Mead to cross with an unearned run.

Lancaster did not bounce back until the bottom of the fifth when Joseph Carpenter led off with a homer to right center.  An error in right field allowed Schield to score the go-ahead run in the sixth inning, and LeDarious Clark’s double play grounder in the seventh forced home Kelly Dugan for a 3-1 lead.

Ward had three hits on the afternoon, and Carpenter added two of the team’s total of eight.  Schield swiped three bags and made a dazzling stop in the hole to start a double play in the top of the fourth.

Brennan yielded only the one unearned run on four hits over two innings while striking out four.  Keylan Killgore retired 11 of the first 12 batters he faced, seven on strikes, before yielding a two-out single to Rupert Watson in the eighth.  Christian Scafidi yielded the game-tying hits before retiring Zach Lee on a harmless fly ball to right.

Jackson Rees struck out the side in the ninth inning for a save.

The Stormers will face the Long Island Ducks on Friday at 6:35 from Fairfield Properties Ballpark.  Fans may view the game on FloBaseball, starting at 6:30.  The opener at Penn Medicine Park is one week later as the Stormers host the Gastonia Ghost Peppers at 6:45.