Saturday’s News & Notes

Syracuse 10 Rochester 9 (10 inn.)
• Stammen 4⅓ IP, 7H, 7R, 6ER, BB, 4K
• Zinicola (W, 1-0) 1⅔ IP, 0H, 0R, 2BB, K
• Valdez 4-6, 3R, 2B, HR, 4RBI
• Curran 3-5, R, 3B
• Frazier 3-6, R, RBI

After blowing two four-run leads and giving up a seven-run 5th, the Chiefs rallied for five runs in the late innings and held on for a 10-9 win in 10 innings. Craig Stammen got knocked from the box in the 5th, charged with seven runs (six earned) on seven hits and a walk. Jesus Valdez’s three-run shot in the 8th tied the game at 8-8, while Corey Brown’s two-run single in the 10th gave Syracuse a 10-8 lead. Zech Zinicola got the win while Josh Wilkie hit a batter and gave up a run on two hits but got the three outs needed to earn his 16th save. The win was Syracuse’s sixth straight

Akron 7 Harrisburg 1
• Martis (L, 8-6) 5IP, 8H, 5R, 5ER, BB, 3K, HR
• Lehman 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 2K
• Norris 0-2, R, 2BB
• Davis 1-3

The Senators were flat in a 7-1 loss to Akron, collecting just four base hits and striking out 10 times as a team. Shairon Martis gave up the first five runs on eight hits and a walk over his five innings to take his sixth loss of the season. Richmond and Bowie flip-flopped again in the standings, and for folks wondering what that might mean for the first round of the playoffs, Harrisburg has gone 9-13 vs. Richmond, 13-5 vs. Bowie this season.

Potomac 7 Lynchburg 3
• Solis (W, 6-2) 7IP, 6H, 3R, ER, BB, 4K
• Holland 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 1K
• Kobernus 2-4, 2R, RBI, BB, 4SB (51)
• Walters 3-5, R, 2B, RBI
• Leon 2-4, R, RBI

Potomac stole nine bases in a 7-3 win over Lynchburg to complete a four-game sweep of the Hillcats. Jeff Kobernus stole four of the nine bases and broke the 50-steal mark, the most since Boomer Whiting stole 54 in ’09. Sammy Solis was solid in his (presumably) final regular-season start, going seven innings and giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits and a walk while striking out four. Neil Holland and Hector Nelo both threw a scoreless inning of relief. Frederick kept pace with Potomac with a 10-0 win over Kinston to maintain its ½-game lead. Should the two teams tie at the end of the regular season, Potomac holds the rather odd tiebreaker of having won the first meeting of the second half as both teams went 10-10 in head-to-head competition.

Hagerstown 6 Lakewood 5
• Ray 4IP, 6H, 5R, 5ER, 0BB, 2K
• Holt 3IP, 1H, 0R, BB, 2K
• Kelso 2-4, R, RBI
• Nieto 1-4, R, HR, 2RBI

A four-run rally in the bottom of the 8th ended an eight-game losing streak as Hagerstown clipped Lakewood, 6-5. Robbie Ray had a rough final outing, giving up all five BlueClaws runs on six hits with no walks and just two strikeouts over four innings. Blake Kelso (2-for-4) and Adrian Nieto (2RBI) led the offense which made the most of its six hits to score six runs, aided by three Lakewood errors. At 32-34, Hagerstown will need to win the rest of its games (3) to finish above .500 for the second half.

Batavia 4 Auburn 2 — GAME ONE
• Dupra (L, 4-4) 4IP, 4H, 3R, 2ER, BB, K, HR
• Hanks 1IP, 1H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Ortega 1-3, R, 2B
• J Miller 1-3, RBI

Batavia took an early 3-0 lead with runs in the 2nd and 3rd innings. Auburn rallied for two in the bottom of the 6th, but gave up an insurance run in the top of the 7th to lose 4-2. Brian Dupra took the loss with three runs given up over four innings on four hits and a walk. Five different Doubledays got a hit, with Bryce Ortega doubling and Justin Miller notching the lone RBI single (Matt Skole drove in the other on a groundout).

Auburn 2 Batavia 1 (8 inn.) — GAME TWO
• Meza (ND) 6IP, 3H, 0R, 0BB, 5K
• Henke (W, 4-2) 1IP, 0H, 0R, 0BB, 0K
• Miller 2-4, RBI
• Montilla 2-3

Justin Miller’s RBI single in the last of the 8th gave the Auburn a 2-1 win to cap the doubleheader and give the fans a treat in the home finale. Coupled with a Williamsport loss, the Doubledays clinched the Pinckney Division title, the first for the team since 2007 and the first division crown for the organization in the New York-Penn League since 1996. Christian Meza nearly got the win with six shutout innings pitched, as the Doubledays took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 6th, but the Muckdogs rallied against Colin Bates for the tie at 1-1. Travis Henke got the win with a 1-2-3 top of the 8th.