Game 78: Blue Crabs 6-4 in 10

Yamel Guevara, Juan Francia and Judd Songster.

	Eric Ackerman 3-6, 5.04 ERA		Keith Ramsey 2-3, 5.11 ERA

One thing the Barnstormers could use is a hitter who comes out of nowhere and exceeds expectations. Those are fairly common in the unpredictable Atlantic League. No one had York’s Kennard Jones penciled in for a .347 average, but there he stands after 29 games. No one expected Newark’s Cory Aldridge to be a contender for the batting title, but he was until he was signed away by the Brewers.

Could Luis Perez be Lancaster’s surprise? It’s too soon to tell, of course. Perez has only played seven games in a Barnstormers uniform. The early returns are encouraging. The right fielder is 10-for-27 with a pair of home runs already. In Friday night’s win over Southern Maryland, Perez poked a knuckleball down the right-field line for a double and ripped a fastball over the left-field wall for a two-run homer. That’s some pretty good hitting.

Perez has a background that suggests he can be a good player in this league. The last time he played a full season was 2006, when he .325 in 101 games in the High-A California League. The Venezuela native finished that season on a tear, hitting .446 over his final 31 games. That included a 22-game hitting streak.

After missing all of last year because of torn ligaments in his left wrist, Perez couldn’t find a job this spring. He was considered damaged goods after being out of the lineup for so long. The outfielder started the season in the independent American Association, but was released earlier this month after posting a decent .767 OPS in 43 games with the Lincoln Saltdogs.

The Barnstormers were the first team to come calling. They needed outfield production desperately and manager Von Hayes knew Perez from his five seasons in the Oakland A’s system. So far, the newcomer has been extremely productive. The next few weeks will show if the Barnstormers have caught a break and found themselves a big surprise.

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Ack back on mound:

This could be a telling start for Eric Ackerman. The Barnstormers’ All-Star lefthander has fallen into a funk. In his final two starts before the All-Star break, Ackerman allowed 18 runs on 26 hits in just 13 innings. Although he was the winning pitcher in the All-Star Game, he was tagged for four runs in one inning.

The natural concern is fatigue. Ackerman has already pitched 84 innings, which exceeds his totals for the entire season in 2006 and 2007. The Cocalico graduate hasn’t been a full-time starter since 2003 and has only thrown more than 90 innings once in his seven-year career.

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Lineups …

5-2	4-3
George Sandel, SS	Juan Francia, 2B
John Ramistella, RF	Mike Woods, LF
Curtis Pride, DH	Danny Gonzalez, SS
Patrick Osborn, 3B	Matt LeCroy, DH
Clint Johnston, 1B	Manny Mejia, C
Jeremy Owens, CF	Ian Bladergroen, 1B
James Shanks, LF	Luis Perez, RF
Chris Maples, 2B	Lloyd Turner, 3B
Adam Shorsher, C	Jordan Herr, CF

Scoring summary …

Blue Crabs	001	001	000	4	6	7	2
Barnstormers	000	000	020	2	4	7	2

WP: Derrick DePriest (3-5)
LP: Judd Songster (3-2)
SV: Travis Wade (1)

FINAL: Blue Crabs 6, Barnstormers 4

Crabs 3rd: Shorsher hits solo home run.
Southern Maryland leads 1-0.

Crabs 6th: Johnston’s walk scores Ramistella.
Southern Maryland leads 2-0.

Stormers 8th: LeCroy’s single scores Herr and Francia.
Game tied at 2.

Crabs 10th: Maples hits solo home run. Osborn’s double scores Ramistella and Pride. Johnston’s double scores Osborn.
Southern Maryland leads 6-2.

Stormers 10th: Mejia’s single scores Gonzalez. Perez’s groundout scores LeCroy.
Southern Maryland leads 6-4.

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Box score:

RECORD: 4-4 (34-44)

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Chris Maples

Southern Maryland’s second baseman launched a game-winning home run in the top of the 10th, which was the first part of a four-run rally. The homer was a Clipper special that barely reached the picnic deck. Maples has six homers this season, but was only slugging .366 entering this game.

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NOTES:

*Eric Ackerman returned to form:

8 IP

3 H

2 R

1 ER

4 BB

6 K

This was a gem. Adam Shorsher’s solo homer was the only hard-hit ball to leave the infield. Ackerman put the struggles from his previous two starts behind him. He looked like the guy who belonged in the All-Star game.

*Two streaks ended for Judd Songster in the 10th. The closer saw his stretch of 24 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run end on Maples’ homer. That was the first homer Songster has allowed in 38 innings. He was tagged for four earned runs.

*There was a compelling matchup in the eighth inning: Derrick DePriest vs. Matt LeCroy with the bases loaded and one out. LeCroy won this time. His two-run single erased Southern Maryland’s 2-0 lead. LeCroy’s hitting streak is at 11 games.

*The Barnstormers had two missed opportunities in the late innings. With the score tied at 2, they had runners at first and third with one out and failed to push the go-ahead run across. They had runners at first and second with no outs in the ninth and came up empty.

*Juan Francia batted leadoff again and went 0-for-5. His on-base percentage has dipped under .300. That’s not good for any spot in the lineup, especially leadoff.

*Jutt Hileman sat out with a bruised elbow. He was hit by a pitch Friday. Jordan Herr made his first start in CF, his natural position, and went 1-for-3 with a double and a walk.

*The Barnstormers have committed nine errors in their last three games.

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BOTTOM LINE:

A tough loss. The Barnstormers clawed their way back from a two-run deficit in the late innings and nearly pulled this one out. Lancaster hasn’t won back-to-back games since that incredible rally against York on July 4.