Lakewood BlueClaws Grab One Away from Hagerstown Suns 7-3 - A, South Atlantic League

MLN Newswire - www.mlntherawfeed.com - HAGERSTOWN, Md. - The BlueClaws managed to salvage one game in a four-game set with the Suns, taking a 7-3 win over Hagerstown on Wednesday night at Municipal Stadium.

The win, coupled with two Lake County losses in their doubleheader with Delmarva, moved the BlueClaws (36-30) to three games behind the first-place Captains. Each team has four games remaining before the All Star break.

The BlueClaws used a persistent offensive attack, never trailing and scoring runs in five different innings. Lakewood took a lead in the second inning on an RBI double by Travis Mattair and added two more in the third. The Blueclaws never trailed by fewer than two runs the rest of the way.

Your Ad Here

Julian Sampson (3-1) pitched very well in his second start since returning from the disabled list last week. The 19-year old right-hander pitched six innings, giving up only one run on five hits. He struck out have and walked just two.

Sampson was able to outduel fellow 19-year old Josh Smoker (0-3). Smoker, who was picked with the 31st overall pick of the 2007 Draft, survived just four innings, giving up five runs, four of which were earned. He faced two batters in the fifth, both of who reached on errors by second baseman Jake Rogers, before being removed in favor of Ryan Harrison.

Sampson was relieved to start the seventh by Joe Rocchio, who struggled mightily to find the zone. He lasted 1 2/3 innings and walked four in that brief stretch. Two runs came across in the seventh inning, both on an RBI double by Boomer Whiting. Ben Pfinsgaff pitched the final 1 1/3 innings to close out the victory.

BlueClaws slugger Michael Taylor picked up another hit with a seventh inning single. The hit extended his road hitting streak to a South Atlantic League-best 22 games. He finished the game 1-for-5.

Karl Bolt was the only player to manage more than one RBI for the BlueClaws. The BlueClaws first baseman went 2-for-5 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Lakewood is holding on to slim hopes for a first half title and will likely need a sweep of the Delmarva Shorebirds in the final series before the break.

Subcribe to MLN Sports Zone (SZ) the magazine of Minor League and Alternative Professional Sports for just $5.99! That's 50% off the full subscription price! Use discount code: BMR and SAVE 66% off of the Cover Price!!!