Lexington Legends

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Tim Pahuta's two-run home run in the first inning got Hagerstown off to a good start, and the Suns went on to a 6-5 victory over the Lexington Legends on Tuesday. Brandon Whiting walked leading off the first against Lexington starter Leandro Cespedes. With two outs, Pahtua drove a fastball out to right for a 2-0 lead. The Legends cut the lead to one in the bottom half on a walk, single and sacrifice fly, then took a 3-2 lead in the third inning against Suns starter Bradley Meyers.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Jonathon Niese pitched a three-hit shutout and Fernando Martinez came off the disabled list to go 3-for-4 with a home run as the Hagerstown Suns beat the Lexington Legends 9-0 on Wednesday night. Niese walked two and struck out nine, improving to 9-6. Martinez's three-run homer in the top of the third inning broke a scoreless tie, giving the Suns the lead for good. Hagerstown had a four-run fifth inning, getting an RBI single from Will Vogl and capitalizing on three Lexington errors, to take a 7-0 lead.

The last few days have been like taking a waterpark vacation in the middle of a typhoon for the Hagerstown Suns. The Suns have had time off work, but they're not having any fun getting wet. The Suns and Lexington Legends suffered through their second straight elongated delay resulting in a rainout on Friday. On the surface, it means two consecutive doubleheaders over the weekend to complete the four-game series. But for Hagerstown, it's been a time to spend a lot of nervous energy.

Lately for the Hagerstown Suns, even the weather comes out a winner. The Suns' game with the Lexington Legends was rained out after one-half inning of play Thursday. The Legends held a 1-0 lead, thanks to an unearned run. The Suns are riding an eight-game losing streak and have dropped nine of their last 10. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Saturday, starting at 6:05 p.m. The first game will start in the bottom of the first with the Suns batting and will be a nine-inning game.

Beau Torbert went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBI and Ronnie Martinez scattered five hits over seven innings as the Lexington Legends beat the Hagerstown Suns 3-1 on Wednesday night. Torbert's solo shot off Orlando Rengel (2-4) in the top of the second put the Legends in front for good. Lexington went up 2-0 in the third when Clint McGill scored from third on a wild pitch by Rengel. Hagerstown got its lone run in the fourth. Jim Burt hit a two-out double to left and scored on Jesus Flores' single to center to make it a one-run game.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Armand Gaerlan and Ambiorix Concepion each homered for Hagerstown as the Suns posted a 7-4 victory Saturday night over the Lexington Legends in the opener of a four-game series. Gaerlan's solo shot in the second inning got the Suns (54-51, 13-24 second half) on the scoreboard. They added another run when Corey Coles singled home Russ Triplett with two outs in the inning. With the score tied 2-2, the Suns scored five unanswered runs. In the fourth, Triplett singled and scored on a throwing error to make it 3-2. Carlos Gomez later came home on a Concepion groundout.

Neither the Hagerstown Suns nor the Lexington Legends are likely to have it easy at Municipal Stadium this evening when they play for the South Atlantic League first-half championship and an automatic berth in the SAL playoffs. The game will feature a duel between two of the best pitchers in the league - Hagerstown's Gabriel Hernandez and Lexington's Troy Patton. Patton (5-1), a hard-throwing left-hander, leads the league in ERA (1.45) and strikeouts (89). Hernandez (5-1)

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Jonny Ash hit a solo home run in the seventh inning Saturday to lift the Lexington Legends to a 4-3 victory over the Hagerstown Suns. The Suns used a three-run seventh against reliever Paul Estrada to get back in the game after managing just one hit against Lexington starter Troy Patton (4-0). Ash's home run was the only hit allowed by Suns reliever Chuck Bowman, in relief of Gabriel Hernandez. The win moves Lexington within one game of the Suns (35-21)

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Chad Prosser and Ervin Alcantara hit back-to-back home runs in the bottom of the third inning and Mitch Talbot struck out 10 over seven innings as the Lexington Legends beat the Hagerstown Suns 3-1 on Saturday night. It was the 13th straight loss for Hagerstown (48-87, 20-48), which has two more games this season - today and Monday at Lexington. Saul Torres' RBI fielder's choice gave the Legends (66-71, 29-39) a 1-0 lead in the second. The Suns tied it in the third as Aaron Hornostaj reached on an error, went to third on Tim Hutting's single and scored on Jesse Schmidt's single.

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Sunday's series finale turned into a pitchers' duel with the Hagerstown Suns coming out on the short end of a 2-1 loss to the Lexington Legends. The Suns (2-2) scored their lone run in the fourth inning when Nate Schierholtz reached on an error and advanced to second on a single by Jesse Schmidt. Jason Columbus singled through the left side to drive in Schierholtz with the unearned run. Lexington (2-2) managed a solo run in the sixth to forge a 1-1 tie off Suns relief pitcher Jesse Floyd.