COUNTER ATTACK!

Lexington Rallies Late to Topple Lancaster

The Lexington Counter Clocks scored six unanswered runs in the last four innings on Sunday afternoon to defeat the Lancaster Barnstormers, 7-6, in a homestand finale at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

Lexington improved to 7-2 on the year while the defending champion Barnstormers fell to 2-7.

Jacob Lemoine allowed only three hits through the first five innings, retiring 12 in a row in one stretch, but the right-hander, leading, 6-1, opened the sixth inning with a walk to Ronnie Dawson.  Manuel Geraldo singled into right center, sending Dawson to third.  Abiatal Avelino’s slow roller on the third base side was fielded by Lemoine, but the right-hander skipped his throw past first baseman Andretty Cordero and down the right field line as two runs scored.

Lemoine got through the rest of the sixth unscathed and turned the ball over to Brian Marconi for the seventh to face a string of left-handed batters.  Connor Owings reached him for a double into the right field corner, and Logan Brown followed with a single into right, putting runners at the corners.  Jake Gitter struck out, and Jesus Tavarez followed with a slow grounder to the hole at shortstop on which Jake Hoover could only get a force out.  Tavarez stole second, and Dawson reached on a bobble to put runners at the corners.  Marconi’s wild pitch cut the lead to 6-5, and Geraldo tied the score with a single to left.

Mike Adams survived a one-out triple by J.C. Encarnacion in the eighth inning, but the Counter Clocks put together the winning rally in the ninth.  With one out, Tavarez spanked a double past third base.  Dawson blooped a single into shallow left center without Tavarez moving, and Travis Lakins, Sr. (0-1) appeared to be out of the inning when Geraldo chopped a pitch back to the mound.  Lakins, attempting to start a double play, pulled the throw behind shortstop Jake Hoover covering the bag.  Hoove managed to save the throw and get the second out of the inning, but Avelino singled through the right side for the winning tally.  Garrett Schilling shut the door in the ninth for his fourth save.

Trace Loehr led the early charge by the Barnstormers.  The third baseman singled home Hoover in the second for a 2-1 lead and added a three-run homer to right center in the fourth.  Cordero doubled home Melvin Mercedes in the fifth for the 6-1 advantage but then was doubled up at home trying to score on a fly out by Kelly Dugan

Lancaster managed only one hit, a single by Ariel Sandoval, for the remainder of the game.

Aaron Oschenbein (1-0) pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win.

The Barnstormers will open a three-game series at Charleston on Tuesday evening at 6:35.   Lancaster will start right-hander Brandyn Sittinger (0-2) against Dirty Birds lefty Derrick Adams (0-1).  Fans may tune into the game on Flosports.tv, starting at 6:30.

NOTES:  Lancaster is 0-4 in one-run games…The club has lost seventh inning leads on back-to-back Sundays…Loehr had the first four-RBI game by a Barnstormer this season…Sandoval has batted safely in eight straight to start the season…Five of Cordero’s six hits have been for extra bases…Mike Adams’ streak of outs ended at 13 on Encarnacion’s triple off the right field wall.