Hagerstown Suns

Brandon Miller hit two home runs, Mike McQuillan also went deep and the Hagerstown Suns ripped 18 hits and pounded the West Virginia Power 14-4 in Saturday's South Atlantic League contest. The Suns (10-7) opened the scoring in the second inning off Power starter Clay Holmes (1-1). Wander Ramos walked and came around on two-out singles by Hunter Bailey and Pedro Severino. Hagerstown doubled its lead in the third. Wes Schill drew a one-out walk, stole second, took third on a wild pitch and scored on McQuillan's groundout.

After 14 games against Delmarva and Lakewood to start the season, the Hagerstown Suns found a different opponent and one to their disliking on Thursday. Beginning a four-game series, the Suns fell to West Virginia 7-4. The Suns (8-7) struck in the first inning for a 1-0 lead on a walk to Mike McQuillan and a fielding error allowing McQuillan to reach second. With one out, McQuillan scored on a groundout by Wander Ramos. West Virginia (7-8) reached Ronald Pena for a single run in the third for a 1-1 tie before the Suns went ahead 2-1 in the fourth inning.

Brandon Miller had a surge of power on Tuesday. So did the Hagerstown Suns. Miller, Hagerstown's right fielder, hit a grand slam in the seventh inning to complete the Suns' three home run night, which paved the way to a runaway 11-2 win over the Lakewood BlueClaws before 512 fans at Municipal Stadium. It was a direct turnaround for the Suns (7-6), who struggled to get five hits in Monday's 5-1 loss and showed little diversity in the offense. On Tuesday, they rolled out the power with all three of the team's heaviest hitters connecting.

“Is the City of Hagerstown out of its mind? Are they really paying $320,000 for a rundown building with a collapsed roof and numerous code violations? Why wasn't the owner forced to comply with the code, rather than rewarded with a nice, fat check?” - Hagerstown “Has anyone heard - including the new mayor - has anyone heard anything about the senior center in Hagerstown? I have not seen anything in The Herald-Mail since last December.” - Hagerstown “I wish to put a good word in for the MVA. The recent experience was appreciated.

Sometimes when the margin for error is razor thin, there's no way to avoid being cut. On Monday, the Hagerstown Suns were sharp. The Lakewood BlueClaws were just sharper. Lakewood took advantage of two Hagerstown mistakes in the late innings to break a 1-1 tie and pull away to a 5-1 victory on Monday before a sparse crowd at Municipal Stadium. The Suns played well, but it wasn't crisp enough to win. The difference was a pitch that missed location and an errant throw, both of which took away the chances for Hagerstown to pull out a win in the ninth.

An economic impact study evaluating the prospect of building a multiuse stadium in Fredericksburg, Va., is in the works, an official there confirmed Monday. The Fredericksburg Economic Development Authority last week approved spending up to $18,000 for a market study that analyzes potential attendance and gate receipts for a facility that could be used for professional baseball and other events, according to Richard Tremblay, assistant director for economic development in Fredericksburg.

The Delmarva Shorebirds did something on Saturday they couldn't manage on Friday. They scored ... and did it early and often. Nik Balog highlighted a four-run first inning as the Shorebirds took an early lead and then held on tightly for a 7-6 victory over the Hagerstown Suns. It was a twist from Friday, when the Suns shut down the Shorebirds to the tune of 4-0. But this time, Delmarva scored all seven of its runs in the first three innings and settled in behind Branden Kline (1-0)

For Brett Mooneyham, it was all about efficiency. Everything was simple once he got on top of things. Mooneyham allowed one hit over six innings - after making a minor pitching adjustment - to pave the way for the Hagerstown Suns' 4-0 victory over Delmarva on Friday before a hearty 961 fans at Municipal Stadium. The Suns left-hander - the Washington Nationals' third-round pick in the 2012 draft - started going under in the second inning when he had trouble getting over the top of his four-seam fastball.

The Hagerstown Suns took the field for their minor league baseball home opener Thursday, an unseasonably warm spring night, sporting new red, white and blue uniforms mirroring their parent team, the Washington Nationals. Mayor David S. Gysberts ceremoniously tossed out the first pitch before the Suns took on the Delmarva Shorebirds. “It was exhilarating,” said Gysberts, who is in his first term as mayor. “To think I used to sit in this dugout as a bat boy ... I never thought I would be here, as the mayor, throwing out the first pitch.” Chris Preisler, 65, of Chambersburg, Pa., said she has been attending Suns' games for the past 20 years.  Preisler said on Thursday, however, she expected a larger opening day turnout, before calling out to another longtime fan, 49-year-old Glenn Reynolds, jokingly chastising him for nearly being late.

Carlos Lopez went 3-for-4, Mike McQuillan hit his first home run of the season and the Hagerstown Suns defeated the Lakewood BlueClaws 6-3 on Tuesday night. The Suns jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and held on for their second straight win to improve to 3-3. The BlueClaws fell to 1-5. Hagerstown went up 4-0 in the top of the first inning against Lakewood's Jordan Guth (0-2). Tony Renda reached on an error to start the game, and McQuillan followed with a home run to right field for a 2-0 Suns lead.