Suns get on track

HAGERSTOWN, Md. - The Hagerstown Suns got on track for the second half of the South Atlantic League season near the end of last week.

The Suns beat the Lakewood BlueClaws for the second consecutive night Sunday, winning by a final score of 6-5.

The game was all Hagerstown until the eighth inning, as the Suns scored one run in the first inning and three more in the third to take a 4-0 lead. After Lakewood struck for one run in the top half of the fifth inning, the Suns added two of their own in the bottom of the fifth making the score 6-1.

Things got close in the eighth as Suns reliever Aaron Jackson surrendered four runs on three hits in two-thirds of an inning. Zach Baldwin came in to relieve Jackson with the bases loaded and two outs, and was able to get Lakewood first baseman Doug Morales to ground out to end the threat.

Baldwin retired the Blue- Claws in order in the ninth to record his second save of the season.

Suns' starter Jeff Mandel was very effective, pitching four scoreless innings, allowing only two hits and striking out five batters. Yader Peralta relieved Mandel and picked up right where he left off, pitching three innings without allowing a hit. Peralta got credit for the win, improving his record to 2- 0 on the season.

On Saturday, the Suns broke into the second-half win column with a 6-2 win over the BlueClaws.

Suns' starter Erik Arnesen pitched very well, lasting six innings, striking out six batters, and allowing only two runs. However, he did not receive credit for the win as all six Suns runs came in the bottom half of the seventh inning.

Outfielder Marvin Lowrance hit his fourth home run since joining the Suns in the seventh inning, and Mike Martinez, Joe Napoli and Marcos Cabral all doubled en route to a six run seventh inning.

Joe Welsh got the win in relief, pitching 2.2 shutout innings. Welsh (1-0) struck out four hitters. Josh Wilkie got the final out of the game to record his fifth save of the season.

Hagerstown lost to the Lake County Captains 12-8 on Friday, marking their eighth loss in a row to open the second half of league season and their ninth consecutive loss overall.

Poor pitching and defense was the downfall for Hagerstown, as the Captains scored 12 runs on 10 hits and the Suns committed two costly errors.

Suns's starter Don Levinksi lasted just 3.1 innings, allowing six runs on four hits. Levinski walked two batters and threw four wild pitches, all in third inning, in the start. He was saddled with the loss, falling to 1-5 on the season.

The Captains managed to score another six runs against the Suns' bullpen, with three coming against Chris Lugo and three more off Josh Wilkie.

The Suns were effective at the plate, scoring eight runs on 12 hits, including a home run in the first inning by Marvin Lowrance and another in the third by Leonard Davis. For Davis, it was his 11th home run of the season while Lowrance's two-run blast was his third since joining the Suns.

After the Suns' bats chased Captains' starter Paolo Espino, Matt Robinson earned the win in relief for Lake County, pitching three innings and allowing three runs. After Robinson left the game, the Suns were shut down, as Neil Wagner and Luis Perdomo combined to pitch three scoreless innings to finish the game.

A day earlier the Suns lost 10-4 to the Captains, who had three home runs in the game, including a second-inning grand slam by third baseman Beau Mills. Fernando Pacheco and Adam Davis also hit homers for the Captains.

Francisco Plasencia hit a home run in the seventh inning for the Suns. It was the first home run of the season for Plasencia.

Suns' starting pitcher Yunior Novoa took the loss, falling to 5-7 on the season. Novoa pitched five innings, surrendering seven runs, four earned, while striking out two.

Hector Rondon started the game for Lake County, pitching 4.1 innings, giving up two runs and striking out three. Scott Sumner got credit for the win for the Captains, pitching 2.2 innings in relief and allowing only one run.