Sunday’s News & Notes

Lehigh Valley 8 Syracuse 6
• Peacock (L, 0-1) 4⅓ IP, 6H, 7ER, 2BB, 4K, 3R HR, HR, 2 HBP
• Mandel 2IP, 2H, 0ER, 0BB, 4K
• Lombardozzi 2-5, R, HR, 2RBI
• Solano 2-4, 2R, 2R HR, 2RBI
Brad Peacock’s debut start for Syracuse was a sad 8-6 loss to Lehigh Valley. Peacock was rudely greeted to the International League as Lehigh Valley hit back-to-back leadoff doubles to usher him into the league and back-to-back homers later in a five-run first inning. Peacock was chased from the game in the fifth after allowing a one out single and hitting a batter. Zech Zinicola allowed both runners to score when he gave up a three-run blast later in the inning. He then pitched two more scoreless innings before Jeff Mandel pitched two shutout innings. Offensively, the Chiefs got on the board in the first on a Steve Lombardozzi leadoff home run. They added three in the fifth with a key RBI single from pitcher Zech Zinicola, a Lombardozzi RBI single, and a sac fly by Jesus Valdez. Down 8-4, the Chiefs rallied for two runs in the eighth on a Jhonotan Solano two run homer but failed to complete the comeback. Syracuse has now lost three in a row and falls to 39-53, sixteen back of first place Lehigh Valley in the IL North.

Akron 11 Harrisburg 5
• E Davis (L, 5-4) 3⅔ IP, 7H, 6R, 5ER, 5BB, 4K, 2HR
• C Martinez 2⅓ IP 2H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 2K
• Johnson 2-4, R, 2B
• Moore 3-4, R, 2B, HR, RBI
Starter Erik Davis was roughed up for six runs, five earned, in an 11-5 loss to Akron last night. Things started ugly for Davis, with a leadoff walk and back-to-back homers in the top half of first. Harrisburg answered with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning, but Akron scored
two in the second and one in the third to take a 6-2 lead that Harrisburg could not overcome. Tyler Moore had three hits, including his 19th homer. A slumping Derek Norris got back on the ledger with two hits to raise his average to .197. Relievers Carlos Martinez, Hassan Pena, and Pat Lehman all gave up runs as Akron extended their lead to a final score of 11-5. With the loss, Harrisburg falls to 54-38 but still has a one-game lead over New Hampshire for the best record in the Eastern league and a 4½ game lead over Bowie for first place in E.L. West.

Potomac 5 Kinston 3
• Solis (W, 3-0) 6IP, 8H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 9K
• Holland (S, 1) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Bloxom 2-3, R, 2B, HR, 2RBI
• Soriano 2-3, R, 2B, 2RBI
• Hood 1-3, R, HR, RBI

Potomac 3 Kinston 2
• Bronson 4⅓ IP, 6H, 2R, 2ER, 0BB, 3K, HR
• Lozada 1-3, 2B
• Dykstra 1-3, 2RBI
• Souza 0-1, R, 3SB (18, 19, 20)

A doubleheader sweep and two sportswriter’s wins Last Night In Woodbridge

Hagerstown 4 Lexington 2
• McKenzie (W, 3-3) 6IP, 2H, ER, BB, K, HR
• Brown (S, 3) 3IP, 3H, ER, 0BB, K, HR
• Sanchez 2-4, R
• Taylor 2-4, R, 2R HR, 2RBI
• Freitas 1-4, R, HR, 2RBI

Chris McKenzie pitched six strong innings in a 4-2 Hagerstown win over the Lexington Legends. Bryce Lane was the only Legend to score, hitting solo shots off both McKenzie and reliever Sam Brown. Hagerstown managed two homers of their own, a solo shot by David Freitas in the third (10th overall) and a two run shot by Michael Taylor (9th overall) in the sixth. Hagerstown’s other run was an unearned tally in the first after Jay Austin misplayed an Adrian Sanchez single to center to allow him to reach third base. Hagerstown managed 11 hits to just five for Lexington in the win. Hagerstown improves to 13-9, 1½ games behind Hickory in the Sally North.

Batavia 4 Auburn 2
• Meza (ND) 6IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 3K
• Skole 2-4, 2B
• J Miller 1-3, 2B, BB, RBI

Auburn’s loss streak reached three with a 4-2 loss to Batavia, spoiling a strong start by Christian Meza. The lefty went six innings and allowed just one run on three hits and two walks while striking out three. He left with a 2-1 lead but the Doubleday ‘pen was no match for the Muckdog counterparts, as the two Auburn relievers were touched for three runs over three innings while three Batavia pitchers tossed four scoreless innings. The loss drops Auburn to 15-14 and into fourth place, two games behind Jamestown in the Pinckney Division of the New York-Penn League.

GCL Marlins 9 GCL Nationals 5
• Medina (ND) 5IP, 3H, 1R, 1ER, 0BB, 8K
• Simko (BS, 2)(L, 1-2) 6BF, 0IP, 3H, 6R, 1ER, 0BB 0K, 0HR
• E Martinez 3-4, 2R, HR, BB, SB, RBI
• JC Valdez 2-4, R, 3B, RBI

With a run in the second, three in third, the G-Nats built a 4-0 lead. The G-Marlins chipped away, scoring single runs in the 4th, 6th, and 7th innings, to pull within one at 4-3. Sadly, today was not a doubleheader as the wheels, axles, and the driveshaft fell off the metaphorical bus as the G-Nats committed five errors in the six-run G-Marlins eighth. That’s now seven straight losses for the G-Nats, who are now 8-15 and 8½ games behind the pace.

DSL Rangers 5 DSL Nationals 3
• Pineyro (ND) 5IP, 4H, 1R, 1ER, 2BB, 6K
• K Rodriguez (H, 3) 2IP, 2H, 1R, 1ER, BB, 2K
• Difo 2-4, 2R, 2-3B, SB
• Rosario 2-4, R, 2RBI
• Mercedes 2-4, 2B, 3B, RBI

The bullpen implosion that ran rampant on Saturday night started here in the D.R. as the DSL Rangers scored three runs in the bottom of the 8th, and the four runs of the game to turn 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 win over the DSL Rangers. Ivan Pineyro got the start and went the first five, giving up one run on four hits and two walks while striking out six. The top three batters (Difo, Rosario, Mercedes) combined to go 6-for-12 with a double, three triples, amd three runs scored. The loss puts the D-Nats at 19-22, six games behind the D-Rangers in the B.C. South.