vs CAMDEN RIVERSHARKS
Ryan Costello (0-4, 4.74 ERA) vs.
Gustavo Martinez (0-2, 5.51 ERA)
The Barnstormers attempt to win their first three-game series since May 8-10 against the Long Island Ducks. Martinez is seeking his first Atlantic League win in his fourth start. Costello posted a 1.50 ERA in two starts against Lancaster last season.
Pre-game notes:
–Russ Cleveland makes his third consecutive start in RF. Chris Van Rossum sits against the lefty starter.
– Barnstormers utility man Mike Woods took batting practice for the first time since suffering a strained hip flexor on May 22. He could be activated from the DL by the end of the week.
– Pitching matchups for the Bridgeport series, which starts Wednesday:
*Matt Beech (3-1) vs. Brett Evert (1-2)
*Mike Porzio (3-1) vs. Rob Henkel (2-3)
*Bryan Edwards (1-0) vs. Josh Stevens (3-1)
– Steve Van Note is 9-for-20 in his last six games.
Lineups …
Camden (12-11) …………………..Lancaster (7-16)
Rene Aqueron, 3B …………………Quincy Foster, LF
Denny Abreu, LF …………………..Danny Gonzalez, SS
L.J. Biernbaum, RF ………………..Dominick Ambrosini, DH
Angel Pena, DH …………………….Jeremy Todd, 1B
Justin Singleton, CF ……………….Jutt Hileman, CF
Brad Strauss, 1B ……………………Lance Burkhart, C
Randy McGarvey, C ………………..Steve Van Note, 3B
Matt Demarco, 2B ………………….Russ Cleveland, RF
Milko Jaramillo, SS ………………….Bo Hart, 2B
FINAL: Barnstormers 6, Riversharks 5
Scoring summary …
Sharks 1st: Abreu hits solo home run.
Sharks 2nd: McGarvey’s single scores Strauss. Jaramillo’s single scores McGarvey.
Stormers 2nd: Van Note’s home run scores Hileman and Burkhart.
Stormers 6th: Van Note’s single scores Burkhart.
Stormers 8th: Van Note’s single scores Hileman. Foster’s single scores Van Rossum.
Sharks 9th:Demarco’s single scores Strauss. Abreu’s single scores McGarvey.
RECORD: 8-16
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Steve Van Note (3-for-4 with a three-run homer and two run-scoring singles).
WHAT WENT RIGHT: The Barnstormers escaped. Their 6-3 ninth-inning lead was cut to 6-5 and Camden had the bases loaded with two outs. Reliever Eric Ackerman got Riversharks cleanup man Angel Pena to fly out to right field to end the threat. Everyone could exhale.
“I had confidence we were going to win even in that situation,” manager Frank Klebe said. “We were up. Am I relieved? I’m glad the game is over and we won. I wanted it for these guys. I wanted them to believe they can win the close ballgames.
*It was a rare save opportunity for Ackerman, who has been used primarily in middle relief this season.
“There were nerves,” Ackerman said. “That’s natural. But they were excited nerves. … As long as I’ve been playing, I’ve been in that situation before. Maybe not in the last inning of the game. Having guys on base usually doesn’t make a difference for me.”
*Van Note showed power. The third baseman hit a three-run homer in the second inning that erased a 3-0 deficit. He then delivered RBI singles in the sixth and eighth. Over his last seven games, Van Note is 12-for-24 and has raised his average to .290. He made an adjustment in his swing — putting more weight on his back foot before striding — and it made a big difference.
“I wasn’t loading up as much as I should have been,” Van Note said. “I thought I was. But until you see yourself on video or someone tells you, you don’t know. We made an adjustment there. That helps with my timing and my balance on my swing. Since then I’ve been doing a lot better.”
*The much-questioned Van Note experiment is starting to look smarter.
“It’s just a matter of growing pains,” Klebe said. “It’s a matter of figuring out what he’s doing at the plate.”
*Quincy Foster went 4-for-5 with two bunt singles. It was the Barnstormers’ first four-hit game of the season.
*Scott Sobkowiak made his first relief appearance after four starts. He pitched a scoreless seventh and looked dominant in the process.
*Gustavo Martinez allowed three runs in six innings as he earned his first win.
WHAT WENT WRONG: James Lira couldn’t close the door. The closer walked the first two hitters he faced and allowed two runs before Klebe turned to Ackerman in a last-ditch effort to salvage the win.
“He can’t locate his fastball down in the zone and it makes it hard to just have to throw a slider all the time,” Klebe said of Lira. “Until he gets that straightened out – which I think he will – we’re going to be in these types of predicaments. I hope he can figure it out next time we need him.”
*Dominick Ambrosini and Jeremy Todd, the No. 3 and 4 hitters — went a combined 0-for-9 and are hitless in their last 16 at-bats.
*Russ Cleveland, a catcher playing right field, misplayed a line drive in Camden’s two-run second inning.
Surviving the ninth inning was huge for the Barnstormers. They couldn’t afford to suffer that kind of defeat after dropping 14 of the previous 17 games.
“That would have stunned us if we would have lost that one,” Ackerman said. “We came out and played good all around today. It was a good win for us.”
Added Klebe …
“Whether we won it looking good or looking ugly, we still won.”
I knew it…Martinez kept throwing nothing but fastballs…
The Roadwarriors beat York today 5-0 and are only 1/2 game behind us for last place…gee I hope we get going…
well…worst record in the league..my mistake..
Hey Pitch,
Did you just yell changeup at the top of your lungs? If so, I admire your enthusiasm.
Gee..Martinez only throws fastballs ..you can’t do that in any type of baseball..2-zip..doesn’t look good..
Jason…I’d of liked to yell..curveball..changeup..sinker whatever..he seems to be a 1 pitch pitcher..actually thrower not pitcher.
I think his problem right now is locating that fastball more than anything. If you can put a 90 mph sinker where you want, you get a lot of outs in this league.
Gee..I went to the bathroom and I said outloud come on Steve park one and I got back I couldn’t believe it til Dave said it twice…yippee!
Lets hope Steve’s blast rubs off on the other guys…
Come on Jason, your not singing along.
Hey PF. You might need to go to the bathroom everytime we get up to bat. If that is what it takes. One for the blog team.
hehe..I hope it happens agin tonight..
ahhh these walks are gonna hurt us..
DP…Whoopee!!!
Russ is playing like he wants to stay here in Lancaster.
can’t believe this team can’t get a Sac fly…come on Dom you need to get a hit
ahh same old..same old..
SAAAWEEET!
Way to go Notie. Really hitting to night.
I think Steve wants to stay in Lancaster too.
Boy Todd is struggling..I have to call it a night..I hope they can hang on…
hmmm….guess I shouldn’t hear any more complaining about Van Note.
What a night!! Pitching, defense, and timely hitting. How nice! Go Barnstormers!!!
My heart rate can go back down now…
I’m sorry.. that was just tooooo close. Much rather win by 15-5….or 12-0. I hate game that are hard on the nails.
Hey Radical. Tell James he will get them next time. He is still my favorite player.
Thanks.. will do.
Everyone is entitled to an off night.. even James.
Holy crap, a REAL WIN! Not some lucky shot in the dark blowout, a real earned win! Thanks Steve & Quincy!
these are the wins that you earned. and the kinds of wins you can build on. We may not win them all form here on out, but at least the team knows they can play it close and play for the win.
You said it Mark… the guys fought the whole game .. Nice job Stormers. Have a beer… not two.
Jason? Jason? … you haven’t posted since 7:37 P.M…. is everything OK? Are you not feeling well?
See you at the Clipp tomorrow
This is exactly the kind of game I’ve been talking about and hoping for. Even with Lira having an off night and Cleveland dropping the ball, pitching and defense were good enough to keep Camden at 5 runs and allow the BATS to win the game. There’s nothing wrong with defense and pitching that practice won’t improve upon and there’s no reason there can’t be more games like this. If Todd, Hileman and Ambrosini can figure out their problems and get back on top of things, we could again have a potent team.
It was nice to see Foster get back to .300 tonight and drive in the winning run and great to see Van Note basically hand us a win. It was a lot less fun to watch Hart stomp around like a spoiled little brat every time something didn’t go his way. And was it Ambrosini’s bat that went flying into the stands? Tell me that wasn’t a moment to hold your breath.
yea and i’ve noticed Ambrosini dosn’t were any Batting gloves, maybe thats why the Bat went fling.
and wasn’t that nice of Wise to get a Bat out and give it to that fan in exchange for Ambrosini’s bat back.
*If there’s a save situation in the next couple of games, it’ll be interesting to see who’s closing: DePriest or Lira.
*Ambrosini doesn’t seem to be seeing the ball well at the moment. He was in the cage prior to Tuesday’s game taking extra swings. It’s really tough to skip spring training and jump into the season.
*Foster has a .372 on-base percentage and 10 steals. He’s doing exactly what’s expected of him.
*The Barnstormers STILL need a slugger to put behind Todd. Of course, that’s been the case for about three weeks now.
By the way, was last night the first time they’ve won a series since the first against the Road Warriors?
They also won the second series against Long Island.
No offense to James (radical) but I think I prefer to see De Priest in the closing role. Derricks funky delivery….which I love to watch…!!! You understand right? I hope you will still talk to me..haha. BTW I missed seeing you last night…talk to you tonight!
If James is on, he is tough to hit. DePriest in the 7th and 8th and Lira in the ninth is a perfect setup. You go from a starting pitcher throwing different pitches, to a side arm delievery, and then finish it off with an over the top delievery.
Of course it only works for the hitters coming back up to bat in the ninth.
I should be there tonight… lots of school crap with the kids.. They have a few projects to finish… Can’t wait till summer vacation. This school work intrupting baseball really stinks.
On Lira… from what I’ve been told by several people (neighbors) who attended the game the umps. made some pretty questionable (BAD) calls.
I forgive you Amy. Already dropped by the “staff parking” lot so I’ll have to catch you at the game.
Heh…yeah, the umps have been a real treat so far this season. All of them. But Lira was pitching consistently low last night. He pulled off a couple of nice strikes but for the most part, they seemed to be coming in between the knee and ankle. None of the pitching last night made me comfortable but it was good enough and I’ve seen Lira on a good night and he was obviously off last night. Nothing was working. To that end, it was good to see Frank get on the ball about that, finally, and pull him out before things got out of hand. What’s worse, having an off night and getting pulled in a hurry or having an off night and blowing a BADLY needed win?
It looks like Clyde Williams was released by Tijuana. I’m not positive since my Spanish isn’t so great. I’ll check it out at the ballpark today.
Dave Collins can translate for you.
Cleveland Rocks. City of, sorry Russ. Made a road trip to Cleveland to catch the home town Pistons in games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Boy, it’s an exorbitant emotional price we pay as fans. Did visit the Rock and Roll Museum and Hall of Fame. For a late fifty year old, air guitarist, the place is fantastic. Mountain should be in there one day. Mississippi Queen is a R & R classic. If you are into suds like I am, Mountain will win you a lot of free beer. Have not met one person who knew they played at Woodstock back in 1969.
Good to see the Barnstormers took 2 out of 3 from Camden w/out burning the bats. Bridgeport will be a tough opponent, but it appears Frank has the pitching rotation set for this series about as good as it can be. Take it one game at a time. Lots of baseball left.