(September 17, 2017 – York, Pa.): The York Revolution closed out the 2017 regular season with a wild 11-8 loss in 11 innings to the Lancaster Barnstormers on Sunday afternoon in front of 4,372 fans at PeoplesBank Park. The Revs now turn their attention to the postseason as they host the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs in Game One of the Freedom Division Series on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m.
Following his dramatic grand slam to help the Revs clinch a playoff berth the night before, Chase Simpson opened Sunday’s scoring with a home run over the Arch Nemesis in left, giving York a 1-0 lead in the third inning.
The Revs rallied with two outs in the fourth to plate two more. Luis Cruz drew a walk and Travis Witherspoon singled to set things up. Simpson walked to load the bases, and Jay Carp, making his first start of the season, cashed in with a two-run single to right to go up 3-0.
Lancaster got on the board in the fifth on a two-run double to right from Travyon Robinson, drawing within a run.
The Revs answered in their half of the fifth as Jared Mitchell led off with a double to right-center, took third on a bunt single by Rubi Silva, and scored on a Telvin Nash sac fly to left, giving York a 4-2 advantage.
The Barnstormers drew even in the sixth, as Sean Halton launched a leadoff homer to left-center, his league-leading 26th, and Lance Zawadzki later added an RBI single, knotting things at 4-4.
Lancaster went ahead with two runs in the seventh. Darian Sandford led off with an infield hit and took second on his 44th steal of the year, putting him in position to score on a Robinson single to left. Nate Coronado also singled home a run later in the inning as the Barnstormers had a 6-4 lead.
The Revs had designs on a late comeback victory, surging in front with three runs in the eighth. Playing seven defensive positions on the day, Halton made his first professional pitching appearance and walked Isaias Tejeda and Luis Cruz to start the inning. Witherspoon cracked an RBI double to left, and Halton was lifted after a walk to Simpson loaded the bases with no outs. Carp greeted reliever Scott Shuman with an RBI fielder’s choice to tie the game, driving in his third run of the day. Alonzo Harris gave York the lead with an RBI groundout, putting the Revs on top 7-6.
The Revs were a strike away from victory with two outs in the ninth when Zawadzki lined a two-run homer to right, giving Lancaster a sudden 8-7 lead.
York answered again as Silva reached on an infield hit and Nash singled to put runners at the corners to begin the bottom of the ninth. Cruz legged out a one-out infield single, bringing home Silva with the tying run to make it 8-8.
Zawadzki clubbed another two-run homer to right in the top of the 11th, and after the Barnstormers had substituted for their designated hitter earlier in the game, reliever John Anderson added an RBI single to left in his first professional at-bat to provide the final margin. Anderson (3-1) earned the win, working scoreless frames in both extra innings on the hill.
Notes: Each team struck out 18 times; the total is the second highest in a game in franchise history by the York pitching staff and their 17 strikeouts through the first nine innings would have set a club record for a nine-inning game. On the offensive side, it came one shy of tying a club record for most in a game. York starter Frank Gailey struck out nine and allowed just two unearned runs on two hits over five innings in a no-decision, finishing the season 14-9, tied for the second most wins in a season in team history. His 112 strikeouts are tied for the seventh highest total in a season in team history. At four hours and 25 minutes, it was the longest game of the season for the Revs. The 11 innings tied the longest game of the season. Lancaster infielder and hitting coach Josh Bell worked a scoreless seventh inning in his first career pitching appearance. Harris tallied his 31st stolen base of the season in the first inning, tying the fifth-highest total in a season in Revs history. The Revs welcomed a total of 15,731 fans to the three home games against Lancaster this weekend. Simpson’s home run was the Revs’ league-leading 139th home run of the season, the Revs’ highest total since the 2012 season as York led the league for the first time in franchise history. The Revs finished the second half with a 40-30 record, winning at least 40 games in a half for the fourth consecutive year.
