Game 72: Bluefish 12-6

Danny Gonzalez

	Eric Ackerman 3-5, 4.54 ERA		Eric DuBose 4-2, 3.38 ERA

The Atlantic League’s daunting schedule deals the Barnstormers and Bluefish another challenge today. Following their first off day in four weeks, the teams face a 10:35 a.m. start. That means the Barnstormers get to play two games in the span of 15 hours before sitting around Bridgeport for 1½ days, playing on Thursday night and bussing overnight back to Lancaster for a series with Long Island. It’s not exactly player-friendly planning.

Despite the early start time, the Barnstormers have to be feeling a little better this morning. They are 1-0 and they have their All-Star starter on the mound.

Eric Ackerman was a worthy selection. This is the kind of pitcher that should be on display in the league’s showcase event. The lefty isn’t a marquee name, but he has steadily improved in his three seasons with the Barnstormers and has successfully transitioned from the bullpen.

Ackerman has thrown 79 innings, which is 16 more than any other pitcher on the team. He’s the only member of the initial rotation who is still around. In a season filled with turnover, he has been a constant — allowing three earned runs or fewer in nine of his 13 starts.

If they want to improve to 2-0, the Barnstormers will need to defeat Bridgeport starter Eric DuBose. The lefthander is 1-0 with a 3.38 ERA in three starts against the Barnstormers.

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Lineups …

1-0	0-1
Juan Francia, 2B	Travis Ezi, CF
Mike Woods, LF	Henry Mateo, 2B
Danny Gonzalez, SS	Luis Lopez, 3B
Matt LeCroy, 1B	Jesse Hoorelbeke, 1B
Manny Mejia, C	Ryan Bear, RF
Luis Perez, RF	Branden Florence, LF
Lloyd Turner, 3B	Calvin Pickering, DH
Jutt Hileman, CF	Brian Munhall, C
Jordan Herr, DH	Alex Prieto, SS

Scoring summary …

Barnstormers	101	002	101	6	12	2
Bluefish	000	340	50x	12	16	0

WP: Eric DuBose (5-2)
LP: Eric Ackerman (3-6)

FINAL: Bluefish 12, Barnstormers 6

Stormers 1st: LeCroy’s single scores Woods.
Lancaster leads 1-0.

Stormers 3rd: LeCroy’s double-play grounder scores Woods.
Lancaster leads 2-0.

Bluefish 4th: Hoorelbeke’s double scores Lopez. Florence’s single scores Hoorelbeke. Pickering’s sacrifice fly scores Bear.
Bridgeport leads 3-2.

Bluefish 5th: Prieto and Ezi score on Turner’s throwing error. Bear’s single scores Mateo. Pickering’s single scores Hoorelbeke.
Bridgeport leads 7-2.

Stormers 6th: Herr’s home run scores Turner.
Bridgeport leads 7-4.

Stormers 7th: LeCroy’s double scores Gonzalez.
Bridgeport leads 7-5.

Bluefish 7th: Pickering’s double scores Hoorelbeke, Bear and Florence. Prieto’s double scores Pickering and Munhall.
Bridgeport leads 12-5.

Stormers 9th: LeCroy’s single scores Francia.
Bridgeport leads 12-6.

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Box score:

RECORD: 1-1 (31-41)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Calvin Pickering

It’s a tough call. Jesse Hoorelbeke had four hits. Alex Prieto reached safely in all four plate appearance. Pickering gets the nod because he delivered five RBIs, including a three-run double in the seventh that broke open a tight game.

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NOTES:

Eric Ackerman had a strange outing:

4.2 IP

10 H

7 R

7 ER

0 BB

1 K

The lefty retired nine of the first 10 batters and took a shutout into the fourth. He then allowed seven runs on nine hits over the span of 13 batters. When he was pulled from the game, the Barnstormers were trailing 7-2. Ackerman fell to 3-6 and his ERA rose to a season-high 5.04.

*Jason Scobie made his debut. The righthander faced five batters without allowing the ball to leave the infield. He issued one walk.

*D.J. Mattox had a nightmare relief outing. He failed to retire any of the seven batters he faced and allowed five earned runs. That turned a 7-5 deficit into a 12-5 deficit and put the game out of reach. The bullpen, outside of Ryan Cullen and Judd Songster, is wildly unpredictable.

*Jordan Herr drilled his first professional home run, a two-run shot off former big leaguer Eric DuBose.

*Matt LeCroy had three hits and three more RBIs. His average is up to .275 and he has 16 RBIs in his last 14 games.

*The Barnstormers wasted some scoring chances early and it came back to haunt them. They had nine baserunners in the first three innings and managed just two runs. Their 2-0 edge could have been larger.

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The bottom line:

The first two games of the second half have been a microcosm of the first half. The Barnstormers can put a winning combination of pitching and hitting together sometimes, but they can’t do it consistently. This team has been outscored by 48 runs over its last 15 games.