(July 7, 2022 – Lancaster, Pa.): The York Revolution and Lancaster Barnstormers once again engaged in a tight, low-scoring affair as their five-game home-and-home series concluded at Clipper Magazine Stadium on Thursday evening with the Barnstormers taking the rubber match in a 3-1 final.
Lancaster got on the board in the first inning on a two-out RBI single to left from Andretty Cordero, scoring Melvin Mercedes who had previously reached on a walk and advanced on a pair of wild pitches.
Much like his teammate Erik Manoah a night prior, Lancaster starter Oscar De La Cruz set down the first nine he faced.
Also like the previous night, Troy Stokes Jr. provided the Revs’ first hit of the night to lead off the fourth inning, this time a broken bat infield single. Stokes Jr. moved from first to third as Elmer Reyes ripped a single down the left field line. With runners on the corners, Carlos Franco smacked a base hit through the middle, scoring Stokes Jr. to tie the game at 1-1. For Franco, it was his league leading 74th RBI and extended his franchise record on-base streak to 50 consecutive games. After a 25-minute delay to an injury sustained by home plate umpire Marty Hassenfuss on a foul tip, Nellie Rodriguez followed with a single of his own, loading the bases with nobody out. De La Cruz beared down, however, striking out the next two and forcing Yefri Perez to fly out to center field.
After facing the minimum from the second through fifth innings, Revs starter Alex Sanabia ran into trouble in the sixth. Jake Hoover led off with a fly ball to right field that was lost in the twilight and made his way to second on obstruction called against Franco at first base. After back-to-back lineouts to second, Kelly Dugan hit a weak ground ball that just snuck through the right side. His 25th RBI against York this season put Lancaster ahead 2-1.
Carlos Ventura relieved Sanabia (3-3) for the seventh inning. Sanabia’s day ended with just the two runs allowed on four hits, while striking out five.
Ventura ran into trouble to start the seventh after walking the first two hitters. He responded by punching out Anderson Feliz looking and getting Trace Loehr to ground into a double play back to the mound.
Facing reliever Tyler Suellentrop in the eighth, the Revs put two on with walks to Stokes Jr. and Rodriguez. Both made their way into scoring position on a passed ball that skipped past catcher Colton Shaver. Suellentrop, however, got JC Encarnacion to swing through a slider for his third strikeout of the night to escape the jam, maintaining the 2-1 lead.
Hoover provided insurance to lead off the bottom of the eighth, driving his second homer of the season to left field against Revs reliever Josh Martin.
York looked to keep the game alive against Chase Johnson in the ninth as Connor Lien singled to lead off the inning, but Johnson retired the next three he faced to earn his first save of the season.
York falls to 0-2 in the second half and will now travel to face the first half champion Southern Maryland Blue Crabs for the weekend. Friday’s game will get underway at Regency Furniture Stadium at 6:35 p.m. Revs fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 98.9 FM & 1350 WOYK, 989woyk.com, The New WOYK app, and the WOYK YouTube channel beginning at 6:15 p.m. with Darrell Henry on the call.
