Kannapolis Intimidators

Zach Gonzalez leaned too far for a foul ball at the Hagerstown Suns game Tuesday and fell onto the field, while his friends from E. Russell Hicks Middle School continued to reach for the ball. Zach retrieved the ball safely. His friends are, from left, Daniel McClanathan, Mfunisi Kitchen and Robert Remington. The Suns defeated the Kannapolis Intimidators, 11-4.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Joe Napoli scored from third base on Francisco Guzman's sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the 11th inning, and the Hagerstown Suns defeated the Kannapolis Intimidators 6-5 on Monday night. Aaron Jackson (5-5) pitched the final two innings for the win, not allowing a run, hit or walk. The Intimidators rallied for three runs in the ninth against Suns closer Yader Peralta to tie the game at 5. Michael Martinez and Marcos Cabral each had three of Hagerstown's 14 hits, while Napoli, Patrick Nichols and Trevor Lawhorn each had two. Nichols and Francisco Guzman each had two RBIs for the Suns.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Scott McKee drove in all four runs as the Kannapolis Intimidators blanked the Hagerstown Suns 4-0 on Wednesday night. Craig Szado (3-2) got the win for the Intimidators, allowing four hits in seven innings while striking out five. McKee, the only Kannapolis player with two hits, drove in an unearned run in the bottom of the first with a base hit off of Suns starter Ryan Hannaman (2-2). McKee doubled in the fifth off Hannaman to drive in two more and give the Intimidators a 3-0 lead, and McKee closed the scoring with an RBI groundout in the seventh off Julio Pavon.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Twice this season, a Hagerstown Suns pitcher has thrown a complete game. Unfortunately, each time, the Suns have lost. Wednesday against the Kannapolis Intimidators, Anthony Pannone was strong. He threw eight innings, allowing just one earned run on a Gustavo Molina home run in the bottom of the second inning. That was the only score in the game. Pannone (4-3) allowed four hits, walked one and struck out three. Offensively, Hagerstown's story was Bryan Carter.

Suns walk into a win Today Hagerstown Suns Boof Bonser (2-0, 0.50) at Kannapolis Intimidators Chris McWirter (3-1, 1.44) Time: 6:30 Radio: WHAG 1410 KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - After spending the better part of six innings just standing around, it was fitting the Hagerstown Suns had its winning run walk home. Trey Lunsford drew a bases-loaded walk in the 14th inning to plate Jason Ellison with the winning run Thursday night to cap a 7-6 come-from-behind victory over the Kannapolis Intimidators.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - When it came to defining a victory, the Kannapolis Intimidators turned to Webster. Anthony Webster drove in two runs - one to tie the game and the other to win it - on Sunday as Kannapolis outdueled the Hagerstown Suns, 3-2. Webster homered in the sixth inning to tie the game at 1-1 and then hit a sacrifice fly in the Intimidators' two-run seventh for a 3-1 lead. Hagerstown starter Merkin Valdez (5-4) held Kannapolis scoreless until the sixth, but ended up taking the loss.

Mark Gildea made his first game with the Hagerstown Suns a memorable one. Gildea, the Washington Nationals' ninth-round pick in the 2007 draft, went 3-for-3 with a double and a home run Sunday to help the Suns to a 7-4 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators before a sparse crowd of 657 at Municipal Stadium. Stephen King and Jake Smolinski also homered for the Suns (21-21), who have won five of their last six games. King hit a one-out solo home run in the fourth inning. One out later, Gildea singled to right and Smolinski followed with a two-run blast to give Hagerstown a 3-0 lead.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- The Hagerstown Suns got a solid pitching performance from Bradley Meyers and scored all of their runs with two outs to beat the Kannapolis Intimidators 4-1 on Monday night. Meyers (8-5) allowed 10 hits and one earned run in six innings, walking one and striking out seven. Meyers has not allowed more than two earned runs in seven consecutive starts since the beginning of July. The Suns (20-24) started the scoring by manufacturing a run in the top of the first.

Nothing has helped Suns draw fans To the editor: In my letter to The Herald-Mail this spring , I questioned whether the poor attendance at Suns' games was due to the lack of amenities at the stadium, or a lack of quality of the team on the field. In 2012, the Suns finished second in the first half of the season, and as of today (August 29) are currently in first place by three and one half games. To date, according to the Official Site for Minor League Baseball, Suns' attendance this year totals only 81,793 fans - an average of 1,363 per game, down from an average of 1,931 fans in 2011.

Nothing has helped Suns draw fans To the editor: In my letter to The Herald-Mail this spring , I questioned whether the poor attendance at Suns' games was due to the lack of amenities at the stadium, or a lack of quality of the team on the field. In 2012, the Suns finished second in the first half of the season, and as of today (August 29) are currently in first place by three and one half games. To date, according to the Official Site for Minor League Baseball, Suns' attendance this year totals only 81,793 fans - an average of 1,363 per game, down from an average of 1,931 fans in 2011.

The Hagerstown Suns stayed red-hot on Friday night, scoring four runs in the ninth inning - highlighted by Hendry Jimenez's three-run home run - before holding on to score a 6-4 victory over the Kannapolis Intimidators in the South Atlantic League. The Suns (37-23) moved within 2 1/2 games of Greensboro (40-21) in the Northern Division standings. The Grasshoppers lost 6-2 to Lexington on Friday. Hagerstown has won six straight while Greensboro has lost four in a row. Facing Intimidators reliever Bryan Blough (1-3)

Jon Bachanov pitched six scoreless innings and the Kannapolis Intimidators edged the Hagerstown Suns 2-1 on Sunday in the final game of an important four-game series in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division. Kannapolis (70-53, 33-22) entered the series with a one-game lead over Hagerstown (70-55, 30-25) and won 3 of 4 games to leave the Suns three games back with 14 to play. Suns starter Robbie Ray was brilliant for his four innings, allowing one hit and one walk while striking out seven to keep the Intimidators off the board.

Trayce Thompson hit a pair of home runs Saturday, and the Kannapolis Intimidators opened the game with a four-run first inning and beat the Hagerstown Suns 6-2 in the South Atlantic League. The Intimidators (69-53, 32-22 second half) have won two of the first three games of the four-game series, which concludes today. Kannapolis holds a two-game lead over the Suns (70-54, 30-24) in the Northern Division race. Kannapolis jumped all over Hagerstown starter Matt Swynenberg (6-2)

Blake Kelso went 2-for-3 with a double and a home run and a trio of Hagerstown pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout in the Suns’ 3-0 victory over the Kannapolis Intimidators (27-23) on Tuesday night. The Suns (32-20) took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning against Kannapolis starter Steven Upchurch (1-4). Kelso hit a leadoff double to left, took second on a sacrifice bunt by Adrian Sanchez and scored on a single to center by Bryce Harper. The Suns extended their lead to 2-0 in the third against Upchurch on Kelso’s one-out, solo home run to left.

Bryce Harper, Wade Moore and Jason Martinson each went deep on Sunday, and the Hagerstown Suns used a six-run sixth inning to pull away from the Kannapolis Intimidators 10-5 in South Atlantic League action. The Suns (31-18), who hold a 3-game lead in the Northern Division, took a 1-0 lead off Intimidators starter Dexter Carter (0-1) in the second inning on three walks and Michael Taylor’s sacrifice fly. Hagerstown made it 2-0 in the third. Bryce Harper drew a one-out walk and David Freitas followed with a double to left, sending Harper to third.

As guests go, the Kannapolis Intimidators are easily satisfied. They never seem to ask for any more than what is given to them. Take the first game of Thursday's doubleheader at Municipal Stadium. Kannapolis made the maximum out of the minimum to snatch a 6-2 victory from the Hagerstown Suns before a slightly dampened Thirsty Thursday crowd. It didn't get much better in the second game as the Intimidators scored two late runs for a 5-3 victory for a sweep. The Intimidators (22-24)

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. -- The Hagerstown Suns got a solid pitching performance from Bradley Meyers and scored all of their runs with two outs to beat the Kannapolis Intimidators 4-1 on Monday night. Meyers (8-5) allowed 10 hits and one earned run in six innings, walking one and striking out seven. Meyers has not allowed more than two earned runs in seven consecutive starts since the beginning of July. The Suns (20-24) started the scoring by manufacturing a run in the top of the first.

Mark Gildea made his first game with the Hagerstown Suns a memorable one. Gildea, the Washington Nationals' ninth-round pick in the 2007 draft, went 3-for-3 with a double and a home run Sunday to help the Suns to a 7-4 win over the Kannapolis Intimidators before a sparse crowd of 657 at Municipal Stadium. Stephen King and Jake Smolinski also homered for the Suns (21-21), who have won five of their last six games. King hit a one-out solo home run in the fourth inning. One out later, Gildea singled to right and Smolinski followed with a two-run blast to give Hagerstown a 3-0 lead.

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. - Joe Napoli scored from third base on Francisco Guzman's sacrifice fly to center field in the top of the 11th inning, and the Hagerstown Suns defeated the Kannapolis Intimidators 6-5 on Monday night. Aaron Jackson (5-5) pitched the final two innings for the win, not allowing a run, hit or walk. The Intimidators rallied for three runs in the ninth against Suns closer Yader Peralta to tie the game at 5. Michael Martinez and Marcos Cabral each had three of Hagerstown's 14 hits, while Napoli, Patrick Nichols and Trevor Lawhorn each had two. Nichols and Francisco Guzman each had two RBIs for the Suns.