Saturday’s News & Notes

Syarcuse 3 Columbus 0
• JD Martin (W, 3-6) 7IP, 4H, 0R, 2BB, 3K
• Hyde (S, 1) 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Marrero 2-4, R
• Valdez 2-4, RBI

Three Syracuse pitchers combined for a 3-0 shutout of the Columbus Clippers. Starter J.D. Martin pitched seven innings before being relieved by Jeff Mandel and Lee Hyde. Sparks flew early when umpire Kelvin Bultron ejected Shelley Duncan and Clippers mangers Mike Sarbaugh following a dustup after a third strike call at the end of the top of the first [Ed. Note: Same umpire that awarded Duncan a HR on a disputed fair/foul call on Thu. night that precipitated the ejection of both Randy Knorr and Tom Milone]. The Chiefs answered back with a run in the bottom of the 1st on singles by Steve Lombardozzi and Brian Bixler followed by a Michael Aubrey sac fly. The Chiefs would go on to score their final two runs in a fourth-inning rally consisting of a leadoff double by Michael Aubrey, singles by Chris Marrero and Jesus Valdez, a Jeff Frazier single, and a two-out wild pitch by Columbus starter Joe Martinez. The Chiefs had thirteen hits; Bixler, Marrero, Valdez, Seth Bynum, and Frazier had two hits apiece. With their third straight win, the Chiefs improve to 47-58, ten games behind third-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and fourteen games back of Lehigh Valley in the I.L. North.

Binghamton 8 Harrisburg 7
• Martis 5⅔ IP, 8H, 5R, 4ER, BB, 8K
• McCoy 1⅓ IP, 3H, 0ER, BB, 3K
• L Davis 3-5, 2B, RBI
• McConnell 2-4, R, 2B, RBI

Harrisburg squandered a 5-0 lead in an 8-7 loss to Binghamton. The Senators ran up their lead with a run in the third and two runs in each of the 4th and 5th innings. Binghamton immediately answered back with a five-run 6th off of starter Shairon Martis. Martis gave up four runs on five hits before Hassan Pena came in to blow the save by allowing a fifth unearned run to be charged to Martis on Pena’s own fielding error that allowed an inherited runner to score from third. Pena would go on to allow three more runs in the top of the 8th to take the loss. The Senators had eleven hits, but batted only 4-15 with RISP. Leonard Davis, Chris Rahl, Devin Ivany, and Chris McConnell all had at least two hits. With the loss, Harrisburg falls to 60-47 and its lead over Richmond in the E.L. Western Division shrinks to just a half game.

Frederick 4 Potomac 0
• Selik (L, 4-7) 6IP, 5H, 4R, 4ER, BB, 4K, HR
• Bronson 2IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Hood 2-4
• Higley 1-3, 2B

One bad inning, but it was enough to send Potomac to defeat Last Night In Woodbridge

Delmarva 8 Hagerstown 7
• Demmin 4⅔ IP, 3H, 3R, 2ER, 4BB, 3K, 2R HR
• Holt 2⅓ IP, 3H, ER, BB, 2K
• Freitas 2-3, 2R, 3R HR, 4RBI, BB
• Keyes 1-4, R, 3R HR, 3RBI

Hagerstown blew a 7-4 eighth-inning lead in an 8-7 loss to Delmarva. The Suns had just five hits, but two of those were three-run blasts by Kevin Keyes in the 1st and Davis Freitas in the 8th. Both teams committed three errors and Hagerstown’s errors led to two unearned runs. Wilson Eusebio was tagged with both a blown save (#2) the loss (#6) when he gave up four runs, three earned in the bottom of the 8th. With the 8-7 loss, Hagerstown falls below .500 to 16-17, and sinks into fifth place in the Sally North, 4½ games behind first-place Hickory.

Hudson Valley 9 Auburn 1
• Meza, C (L, 1-1) 3⅓ IP, 5H, 7R, 5ER, 2BB, 3K, HR
• Jenkins 3IP, 1H, 0R, 2BB, 3K
• Ramsey 1-2, 2BB
• Jimenez 1-2, 2BB

Six errors committed on defense, three hits on offense. You need to read more? Fine. The Hudson Valley Renegades put up crooked numbers in the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th innings and then got tired, scoring just one in the 5th en route to a 9-1 demolition of the Auburn Doubledays. Christian Meza took the loss with seven runs allowed on five hits and two walks, including a three-run blast in third. Auburn got its lone run on a hit batsman, a walk, and two wild pitches. The loss drops the Doubledays into second place, a game behind Jamestown and Mahoning Valley in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League.

GCL Astros 5 GCL Nationals 2
• Medina (L, 0-2) 5IP, 6H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 4K, HR
• Lee 2IP, H, 0R, 0BB, K
• Difo 3-5, 2-2B
• E Martinez 2-5, R

Once again, the G-Nats outhit their opponent and lost, falling to the G-Astros by a 5-2 score. Silvio Medina started and went the first five, allowing three runs on six hits and four walks, but took the loss. Wilmer Difo doubled twice and singled to the lead offense as the D-Nats got 10 hits total, but were an abysmal 2-for-14 with RISP, leaving 11 men on base. Estarlin Martinez was next with a 2-for-5 effort that raised his batting average to .350, third-best in the GCL. The loss cuts the G-Nats’ elimination number to 13 with a 12-21 mark, 11½ games off the pace in the GCL East.

DSL Nationals 13 DSL Marlins 3 — GAME ONE
• Pineyro (W, 3-4) 5IP, 3H, 1R, 0ER, BB, 6K
• Eusebio 3-4, 4R
• Marmolejos-Diaz 2-4, R, 2B, 2RBI
• Read 2-4, 2R, 2B, HR, 4RBI

Raudy Read’s grand slam highlighted a seven-run 5th as the DSL Nationals filleted the DSL Marlins, 13-3 in game one of the doubleheader. Ivan Pineyro got the win with five solid innings, allowing an unearned run on three hits and a walk while striking out six. Diomedes Eusebio led the 13-hit onslaught with a 3-for-4 effort, scoring four runs, followed by Read and Jose Marmolejos-Diaz, who both went 2-for-4.

DSL Marlins 6 DSL Nationals 4 — GAME TWO
• Suero, W (L, 3-1) 2IP, 5H, 5R, 5ER, 2BB, 3K, HR
• Barrientos 3IP, 2H, 0R, BB, 2K
• W Rodriguez 1-3, R, HR, RBI, BB
• Reyes 1-2, R, HR, 2RBI

Things were looking good in the second game as Aladin Reyes went deep in the top of the 2nd to give the D-Nats an early 2-0 lead. A five-run rally in the bottom of the 2nd put the D-Marlins up 5-2 en route to a 6-4 victory. Wander Suero took the brunt of the beating with five runs allowed in the first two innings on five hits and two walks, including a three-run shot. Joel Barrientos relieved Suero with three scoreless innings, but the D-Nats bats couldn’t mount the comeback. Wilman Rodriguez also went deep with a solo HR, but the D-Nats were held to just five hits and seven men left on base. With the doubleheader split, the D-Nats are still even-steven at 26-26, 5½ behind the DSL Rangers in the B.C. South.