Grand Slam

Maikel Franco's grand slam capped Lakewood's five-run eighth-inning rally that broke a 1-1 tie as the BlueClaws snapped the Hagerstown Suns' four-game winning streak with a 6-1 victory Friday night in the South Atlantic League. Suns reliever Josh Smoker (0-1) entered to start the eighth and walked leadoff hitter Tim Carver. He took second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a flyout. Brock Stassi walked before Christopher Duffy's RBI single to center scored Carver for a 2-1 BlueClaws lead.

The Hagerstown Suns had a little fun at Blake Kelso’s expense on Sunday. The third baseman didn’t mind. He took the verbal jabs like he was fielding grounders. After all, Kelso provided the very thing the Suns needed to have the last laugh. Kelso became fair game and a hero in one swing of the bat with a third-inning grand slam to put the Suns ahead for good in a wild 12-11 victory over Lexington on Sunday before a Mother’s Day crowd of 1,008 at Municipal Stadium. The victory gave the Suns (20-10)

The Hagerstown Suns beat the visiting Greensboro Grasshoppers 11-3 Saturday night at Municipal Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 2,487. The Suns broke open a 3-3 game by scoring six runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. The rally was highlighted by Tim Pahuta's two-out grand slam -- his 12th homer of the year. Robert Jacobsen had four of Hagerstown's 16 hits, including two doubles, and three RBIs. Garrett Bass had three hits in the victory, while Jesus Valdez, Michael Burgess and Stephen King each had two. Suns reliever Jamie Lehman (1-1)

All Boonsboro senior Brian Cibula had to do when he stepped to the plate with one out in the seventh inning against South Hagerstown on Friday was put the baseball in play enough to push across the winning run from third base. Cibula went one step above and beyond keeping the ball fair, crushing a grand slam that gave the Warriors a 9-5 victory over the Rebels in an MVAL Antietam contest. Cibula turned on a fastball from Airin Martin, sending it beyond the fence in left field for his first homer of the year.

CAMBRIDGE, Md. - Wyatt Screiver hit a grand slam, one of three home runs for Conococheague in a 13-6 win over Rising Sun in the winners' bracket of the Maryland State Little League Baseball 9-10 Tournament on Friday. Sinjin Shoop and Blake Harne also homered for Conococheague. Screiver, Riley Arnone and Jordan Stonebreaker each had two hits. Screiver finished with 6 RBIs.

YOUTH BASEBALL Hancock Little League Nationals 9, Red Sox 4 Nationals: Tristan Douglas 3 hits; Connor Litton HR, grand slam; Hunter Murray 2 hits. Red Sox: Trent Rider 13 Ks. Maugansville Little League Burkholder's 15, Maugans Oil 12 Burkholders: Kenny Daniels 3 hits; Matthew Shipley, Steven Eyler 2 hits each; Kyle Moir 5 Ks. Maugans Oil: Nathan Patey 3 hits, HR; Ethan Spicher, Mason Crawford 2 hits each.

HALFWAY - Cleanup hitter Brandon Burnett crushed a grand slam during the bottom of the fourth inning to help National get a 10-8 victory over Halfway on Tuesday night in a Maryland District 1 Little League 11-12 Tournament losers' bracket game. National will host defending district champion Maugansville this evening at 6. "It was awesome," Burnett said. "It was my first grand slam. First of all, I just thought that it would be a regular hit. But then, I started to see the ball carry.

WILLIAMSPORT -- Joey Miller hit a grand slam and finished with five RBIs as Funkstown Post 211 beat Williamsport Post 202 16-8 in a Western Maryland District American Legion baseball game Friday night. Funkstown (6-1, 5-1), which is in first place in the district, got on the scoreboard first with four runs in the top of the first inning on an RBI single to center by Miller and a three-run homer to right by Dwight Boward. However, Williamsport (4-5, 3-5) proved that it was going to make things interesting for at least a little while, scoring all eight of its runs in the bottom of the first to take an 8-4 lead.

Rodriguez's slam leaves Suns dazed AUGUSTA, Ga. - For the second straight game, Augusta first baseman Carlos Rodriguez played a game of "can you top this?" against the entire Suns team. For the second straight game, not only did Hagerstown fall short, it wasn't even close. Rodriguez's grand slam in the fifth inning Thursday, his third home run in the last two games, was the decisive blow in an 8-0 Greenjackets romp, the Suns' fifth straight loss. Hagerstown (55-66, 21-30 second half)

Williamsport baseball coach David Warrenfeltz would like to bottle up the end results of Saturday's annual Larry Wadel Classic and use them for the rest of the season. In winning two games - 10-0 over St. Maria Goretti and 12-0 over Keyser - the Wildcats' pitching staff produced 10 innings of scoreless work, allowed only six hits, and even better yet, allowed no walks. “We definitely played good baseball today,” Warrenfeltz said. “It all starts with pitching, and when you throw in the zone, it also makes for better defense.” In the first of four games in the classic, Williamsport (3-2)

The Rosemarie Linenberger Grand Slam Charity Bridge group has been meeting nearly every Friday for 12 years with two purposes in mind - to play bridge and support the local charities of the group's choice. This year, the group voted to help four organizations - Holly Place, Maryland Food Bank-Western Branch (formerly Food Resources), REACH Cold Weather Shelter and The Salvation Army. While enjoying casual bridge each Friday at Western Sizzlin' restaurant, the group collects $2 per person per week and donates the total to the charities after its Christmas luncheon.

Saturday, August 4, 2012 YOUTH BASEBALL Adam Kees Memorial Tournament Upper Loudoun 8, Maugansville 0 Upper Loudoun: Zach Cunningham, Chris Yermak, Jordan Winnett 2 hits each; Billy Coburn 7 Ks. Greencastle 5, West End 2 Greencastle: Brady Strite HR; Cade Bender 2 hits, 5 Ks. West End: Joseph Ringus HR; Xavier Dominquez 4 Ks. ADULT SOFTBALL Washington County Co-Rec League Tournament ...

Matt Skole is the last person a Hagerstown Suns opponent wants to see at the plate. Unfortunately fo Lexington on Friday, he was the guy they saw. Skole connected on the first pitch he saw from Legends reliever Murilo Gouvea for a two-out, walk-off grand slam to lift the Suns to a dramatic 6-3 victory at Municipal Stadium. Skole finished with two hits and five RBIs, moving his total to 87. The homer was his his South Atlantic League leading 25th, including two grand slams. The Suns (66-45, 24-18)

Monday, July 16, 2012 YOUTH BASEBALL CAMBRIDGE, Md. - Xavier Dominguez had three hits, including a game-tying grand slam and a game-winning two-run double, as West End defeated Brunswick 12-11 in a winners' bracket semifinal at the Maryland State 10-11 Little League Tournament. West End will face Berlin - last year's 9-10 state champions - in the winners' bracket final tonight at 5:30. The semifinal was started Sunday, with West End holding a 5-0 lead with one out in the top of the second inning when rain forced a suspension.

Maikel Franco's grand slam capped Lakewood's five-run eighth-inning rally that broke a 1-1 tie as the BlueClaws snapped the Hagerstown Suns' four-game winning streak with a 6-1 victory Friday night in the South Atlantic League. Suns reliever Josh Smoker (0-1) entered to start the eighth and walked leadoff hitter Tim Carver. He took second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a flyout. Brock Stassi walked before Christopher Duffy's RBI single to center scored Carver for a 2-1 BlueClaws lead.

All Boonsboro senior Brian Cibula had to do when he stepped to the plate with one out in the seventh inning against South Hagerstown on Friday was put the baseball in play enough to push across the winning run from third base. Cibula went one step above and beyond keeping the ball fair, crushing a grand slam that gave the Warriors a 9-5 victory over the Rebels in an MVAL Antietam contest. Cibula turned on a fastball from Airin Martin, sending it beyond the fence in left field for his first homer of the year.

What might have been the biggest smash off the bat did not result in a base hit on Wednesday. And some of those smashes helped lead North Hagerstown to a 14-4 win over host South Hagerstown. North  leadoff batter Charles Cvijanovich ripped the second pitch of the game on a line at South starter Airin Martin. The ball lashed at Martin's left calf, who was in obvious pain, but was still able to throw for the putout. Martin left the game, appearing dazed and confused, but he regained his alertness in a matter of 10 minutes.

Conococheague hit five home runs and scored 17 runs over the final three innings to defeat Hancock 20-7 in five innings on Tuesday in a Maryland District 1 9-10 Tournament winners’ bracket semifinal. Conococheague will host Valley tonight at 6 in the winners’ bracket final. Hancock hosts Sharpsburg tonight at 6 in a losers’ bracket contest. Conococheague trailed by one after the first inning, but lit up the scoreboard in the innings to follow. Reserve Ryan Sharer hit two home runs once he entered the game, and Dalton Blundell, Jaustine Itnyre and Maddux Grove also went deep.