Game 71: Stormers 7-5

Cylo

	Josh Hall 4-1, 4.28 ERA		Barry Hertzler 3-5, 4.63 ERA

It’s a new beginning for the Barnstormers, who are trying to avoid the same old fate. They want to shake their recent habit of getting off to poor starts. In the first 20 games of their last three halves, they’ve gone 6-14, 6-14 and 7-13. They’ve been buried in the standings after three weeks and have never recovered.

The first six games set up favorably this week. The Barnstormers play three at Bridgeport and three at home against Long Island. Those teams combined to finish 10 games under .500 in the first half and they rank sixth and eighth in the league in ERA.

Even better, the odd scheduling — which has the second half beginning before the All-Star break — gives the Barnstormers a chance to optimally set up their rotation.

Josh Hall was moved up to start tonight. That means he can start three of the first seven games of this half, if manager Von Hayes so chooses. Considering the fact the Barnstormers are 8-1 with Hall on the mound and 22-39 with someone else, this is a fortunate development.

While the dearth of position player upgrades has been frequently lamented on this site, the Barnstormers have often been able to find mid-season pitching additions straight out of affiliated ball. Hall, who came here from Double-A Harrisburg, and lefthander Shane Youman are two examples this season. Zack Parker was the team’s best pick-up in the second half of last season.

Over his last four starts, Hall has a 2.42 ERA and has allowed 24 hits in 27 innings. His WHIP is 1.19 during that time, so he has done an excellent job of keeping runners off base — no small feat in this league. When the pitching staff was getting pummeled last week, Hall was the one exception. He threw eight shutout innings against York Thursday.

“I just go out there and give it everything,” Hall said. “I just pray that I pitch well. I know I’ve had a couple of rough starts. But for the most part, the strides I’ve made since I got here are a lot better compared to where I was when I was in Harrisburg.

“I was a mess. I was just struggling. This is a funny game. It’ll humble you quick. It got to my head. The biggest thing is I got my confidence back.”

Hall begins the Barnstormers’ quest to become relevant again in the standings. They’re looking to avoid going two entire seasons without playing meaningful baseball.

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Lineups …

0-0	0-0
Juan Francia, 2B	Travis Ezi, CF
Mike Woods, LF	Henry Mateo, 2B
Danny Gonzalez, SS	Luis Lopez, 3B
Matt LeCroy, 1B	Jesse Hoorelbeke, 1B
Greg Blosser, DH	Ryan Bear, RF
Luis Perez, RF	Branden Florence, LF
Lloyd Turner, 3B	Jay Caligiuri, DH
Jutt Hileman, CF	Brian Munhall, C
Kevin Kotch, C	Alex Prieto, SS

Scoring summary …

Barnstormers	050	100	010	7	11	0
Bluefish	003	200	000	5	7	2

WP: Josh Hall (5-1)
LP: Barry Hertzler (3-6)
SV: Judd Songster (1)

FINAL: Barnstormers 7, Bluefish 5

Stormers 2nd: Hileman’s single scores Blosser. Kotch’s triple scores Turner and Hileman. Woods’ single scores Kotch. Gonzalez’s fielder’s choice scores Francia.
Lancaster leads 5-0.

Bluefish 3rd: Ezi’s single scores Munhall. Ezi scores on wild pitch. Lopez’s single scores Mateo.
Lancaster leads 5-3.

Stormers 4th: Blosser’s fielder’s choice scores Woods.
Lancaster leads 6-3.

Bluefish 4th: Mateo’s single scores Caligiuri and Munhall.
Lancaster leads 6-5.

Stormers 8th: LeCroy’s single scores Francia.
Lancaster leads 7-5.

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Box score:

RECORD: 1-0 (31-40)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Josh Hall

7 IP

7 H

5 R

5 ER

2 BB

5 K

There really wasn’t a single standout player in this game for the Barnstormers as the offense was spread around. Hall gets the nod because this team always seems to play well enough to win when he’s on the mound. Hall is 5-1 with a 4.52 ERA. The team is 9-1 in his outings.

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NOTES:

*Interestingly, Kevin Kotch started at catcher and Manny Mejia wasn’t in the lineup. Kotch has started five of the last six games behind the plate. His two-run triple was the biggest hit of the night. Kotch is slugging .609 since coming to Lancaster and has more at-bats with the Stormers than he had with the Revs.

*This was the first true save test since Jose Cabrera was suspended. Ryan Cullen and Judd Songster passed. They combined to retire all six batters they faced with four strikeouts. It was Songster’s first save since June 30, 2007 when he was with Double-A Tulsa.

*Juan Francia and Mike Woods, the 1-2 hitters in the lineup, combined to reach base five times and scored three runs.

*DH Greg Blosser returned to the lineup for the first time since July 1. He was out with a sore calf.

*OF Luis Perez went hitless five at-bats: four groundouts and a pop up to shortstop. Perez is mistakenly listed as D.J. Mattox in the above box score.

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The bottom line:

This was a nice win. The Barnstormers need to get off to a good start in the second half to avoid the “here we go again” feeling. Blowing a 5-0 lead with the No. 1 starter on the hill would have been a punch to the gut. Bridgeport cut the deficit to 6-5, but could never pull even. Lancaster is 7-1 all-time in the openers of the first or second half.