Lakewood

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Carlos Gomez led off the 10th inning with a home run Thursday to lift the Hagerstown Suns to a 2-1 victory over Lakewood. Suns closer Carlos Muniz was forced to work hard for his 10th save, striking out Ryan Frith with runners on second and third to preserve the win. Tim Worthington got the victory after replacing starter Gabriel Hernandez in the seventh. Hernandez was at his best with six shutout innings, allowing three hits while walking one and striking out nine in the no-decision.

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - The Hagerstown Suns were able to withstand the heart of Lakewood's batting order on Friday. It was the knees and ankles of the lineup that gave the Suns the most trouble. Matt Hopper, Kevin Nulton and Tim Gradoville - who entered the game hitting a combined .122 - provided Lakewood with its first three runs and turned the early lead over to starter Francisco Butto in a 5-2 victory over the Suns. The 3-0 lead was more than enough support for Butto (7-3)

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Hagerstown pitchers Kylin Turnbull and Taylor Hill combined to hold Lakewood to four hits, and the Suns beat the BlueClaws 5-1 on Friday in a South Atlantic League game. Hagerstown (6-3) took a 1-0 lead in the third inning off Lakewood starter Ethan Stewart. Brett Newsome led off with a double to left and scored one out later on Billy Burns' triple to left. Turnbull worked a scoreless first five innings before the BlueClaws got to him in the sixth, tying the score at 1. Gauntlett Eldemire led off with a double to center and scored on a two-out double to left by Maikel Franco off Hill, who had just entered the game.

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.

Lakewood did all its damage in sneak-attack style on Saturday. The BlueClaws did all their scoring before the Hagerstown Suns knew what hit them. Lakewood scored two runs in the first and settled in behind the two-hit pitching of Josh Outman and Brett Harker for a 2-0 victory over the Suns. Hagerstown (29-44, 1-2) posted threats in the sixth and seventh innings, but failed to cash them, falling for the second time in three games in the second half. Hagerstown starter Bobby Parnell allowed two hits - both in the first inning - over his seven innings of work to be saddled with the loss.

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Ryan Howard took his first day of rehab seriously. The reigning National League MVP of the Philadelphia Phillies, returned to where it all started on Wednesday, providing a three-run home run to help the BlueClaws to a 7-4 victory over the Suns. Howard, who is working to return to the Phillies by the weekend from a strained quadricep, went 2-for-3 with four RBI and a walk as the designated hitter. Howard played for Lakewood in 2002. Howard hit Chris Lugo's 0-2 pitch for the home run to key Lakewood's four-run seventh to win the game.

The Lakewood BlueClaws ordered a round of doubles on Monday to turn back the Hagerstown Suns. Lakewood used three doubles to produce its first two runs and held on for a 3-1 victory that dented Hagerstown’s drive to win the first-half title in the South Atlantic League Northern Division. The loss, coupled with Greensboro’s 5-0 win over West Virginia, cuts Hagerstown’s lead to one game. Lakewood took a 1-0 lead over Suns starter Taylor Jordan (6-3)  in the third inning on doubles by Alan Schoenberger and Zach Collier.

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Plain and simple, Lakewood defeated the Hagerstown Suns with relative Ruiz. Randy Ruiz made it look easy against Hagerstown again Friday by hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning to carry the BlueClaws to a 4-3 victory and a three-game sweep of the Suns. Ruiz homered in all three games of the series, including a walkoff shot in Wednesday's 3-2 win. The loss was Hagerstown's fourth straight. Ruiz's homer, his ninth of the season, spelled the beginning of the end for Hagerstown starter Ben Thurmond.

The Hagerstown Suns know how to perform in character. While dressed in dark blue Union Army jerseys, Hagerstown conquered with a Hill to claim victory in a Civil War themed night. Taylor Hill came on in relief in the second inning and pitched seven strong innings to lead the Suns to a 5-1 victory over Lakewood before 1,506 fans at Municipal Stadium. Hill, who was scheduled to start, replaced Washington Nationals pitcher Cole Kimball after a one-inning rehabilitation start and took total control of Lakewood's offense.

In a night that was a comedy of errors, the Hagerstown Suns provided everything but the laugh track. The Suns committed four errors, played a loose game defensively and only managed four hits against a collection of Lakewood pitchers on Wedneday in an embarrassing 7-2 loss at Municipal Stadium. Lakewood's first three runs were unearned and the final two were helped along by defensive lapses as the Suns (4-3, 44-33) lost their two-game winning streak. Offensively, both of the Hagerstown's runs came without the benefit of a hit as the Suns continued to struggle in bases-loaded situations.