The music was playing in the clubhouse again and that’s always a good sign for the Barnstormers. Their two-game funk is history. They collected 15 hits, played error-free ball and pitched well enough to hold off the mighty Long Island Ducks.
RECORD: 3-2
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Quincy Foster (3-for-5, two runs scored, stolen base). With the way the Barnstormers are hitting right now, you could really take your pick.
WHAT WENT RIGHT: Lance Burkhart remains the hottest hitter in the league. The catcher went 3-for-4 with an RBI and run scored. He has reached safely in 14 of his 17 plate appearances this season. That’s a tidy .824 on-base percentage.
Burkhart, who batted .222 last season, was moved into the fifth spot in the lineup. Manager Frank Klebe had a feeling Burkhart was ready to rebound this summer.
“He made a lot of hard outs last year,” Klebe said. “He was hitting the ball right at guys. Now his ball has eyes a little bit. He’s seeing the ball real well. Hopefully, knock on wood, he keeps doing what he’s doing all year.”
*Rob Henkel pitched 5 2/3 innings. He allowed four runs and struck out eight. Against this lineup, in this ballpark, that qualifies as a quality start. He was pushed past 90 pitches and was strong at the end.
*Steve Van Note drove in two runs. He’s only 1-for-12 this young season, but we dwell on the positives here at Barnstormin!
*Mike Woods doubled off the right-field wall and dropped down a bunt single. He has speed to burn. I think he’s faster than Foster, but those two guys won’t back me up on that one.
“No, man,” Woods said with a smile. “Quincy’s pretty fast.”
*Foster has 11 hits in five games. He’s already in All-Star form.
*Derrick DePriest and James Lira look like a good one-two punch at the end of games. Lira worked the ninth for his first save. Except for that blow-up against the Road Warriors, the bullpen has been lights-out.
*The Barnstormers have scored 22 runs in their past three games.
WHAT WENT WRONG: Clyde Williams departed for Mexico, leaving a hole in the middle of the lineup. Although Manny Santana and Dario Delgado will see more at-bats in the short term, the team will likely go shopping for another power bat.
That’s about it.
The Barnstormers have ridden a roller-coaster already this season. Two flawless games. Two poor games. Now another strong effort. That’s all part of the 126-game grind.
“Sometimes you come out and everybody is hitting and everybody is pitching well and you play great defense,” Woods said. “Sometimes everything goes the opposite way. You can’t get too high or too low. That’s just the way it is.”
Woods, incidentally, has enjoyed his stay in Lancaster so far …
“It’s a nice city. The fans are really supportive. We have a great of group guys. When you get into a system where everybody is pulling for everybody, it makes coming out to the ballpark that much better.”
***
YORK UPDATE: Revvers beat Riversharks 17-6. The drought is over on the other side of the river (or, technically, Camden). The York Revolution blog rejoices.
Nate Espy went 4-for-4 with five runs and seven RBIs. Yeah, I might have been a little wrong about him.
That bunt from Woods was great! Perfect position, perfect time, great run…it was classic Foster. Oops…I mean Woods.
It was also *real* nice to see the pitching on target. It seemed to make all the difference as the defense fell into place and the Ducks were held in check. Overall, a good night and a good game from start to finish!
Henkel has 15 strikeouts in 10 2/3 innings. That’s a great sign.
Jason, could you talk to somebody from the Ducks and find out what happened to former Phillie Mark Lewis? He was listed on their roster and got into a game on May 5, but has since disappeared from their website. I’m just curious to know whether he hung ‘em up or was released or whatever. Thanks!
Maybe you can get Woods and Foster to do the Brush Off. Then we would know who was the fastest.
I thought after the Ducks jumped on a 2-0 lead, here we go again. But every one settled down and did not panic, which you would have thought would happen after the last two games.
It was a confidence booster.
Have you ever had a chance to interview PJ Rose? It would be intersting his thoughts on baseball, his dad, the Atlantic League. It was also interesting to see him in a Ducks uniform again after he finished last year with the championship series playing Bluefish.
On another note, Scott did not do so bad as the MC. It was nice to have a night without Val’s voice. It gave my ears a night off.
Quincy is the man. When I take my 9 year old to games I always tell him that the game of baseball should be played “just like Quincy plays”.
JP,
I hope to talk with Dave LaPoint tonight. I’ll make a note to ask him about Lewis.
I enjoy reading all the news and updates. Keep up the great job Jason. Looking forward to another great season watching and following the Barnstormers!
Wish I could make the game tonight but no such luck, family comes first and my son has a concert.
In addition to last night’s win, it was also nice to see York get their first win against Camden. Well, slaughter….17-6 is a little more than a win, as we found out Sunday.
I wouldn’t mind seeing something from PJ Rose, too. I’d imagine it would take a real love of the game to come back and play after all his problems, and there he is. So there must be an interesting story in there.
I’ll catch part of the game on the radio so good luck tonight!
York has just won a early game against Camden by a score or 6-2. Two in a row. Hope they don’t get cocky.
JP,
Mark Lewis re-injured his knee and has been placed on the inactive list. He’s not with the team and there’s no timetable for his return.
Jason:
Thank you for the information.