Rome Braves

HAGERSTOWN -- Joe Leonard had three hits and five RBIs to lead the Rome Braves to a 9-6 victory over the Hagerstown Suns on Thursday at Municipal Stadium. Leonard hit a three-run home run in the first inning off Hagerstown starter Paul Demny for a 4-0 lead and capped the night with a two-run double in the seventh off reliever Kyle Morrison to make it 8-5. Hagerstown (8-13, 44-47) came back to take a 5-4 lead with a four-run third inning. The Suns got a run in the first on a Justin Bloxom single before rallying in the third, highlighted by a two-run single by Brett Newsome and an RBI single by J.P. Ramirez.

The Hagerstown Suns' South Atlantic League game against the West Virginia Power scheduled for Sunday afternoon was postponed by rain. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader today at at 5:05 p.m. Washington Nationals pitcher Jordan Zimmermann will make a rehab start for the Suns in the first game today. Zimmermann, a right-hander who started 16 games as a rookie in 2009 before going onto the disabled list and undergoing Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery, will be making his fifth rehab start in 2010.

Matt Grace, Shane McCatty and Chris Manno combined for a three-hit shutout, and Bryce Harper stayed hot with an RBI double as the Hagerstown Suns beat the Rome Braves 4-0 on Sunday for their fourth straight victory. Grace (2-3) pitched the first six innings for the win, allowing two hits and three walks and striking out three. McCatty went the next two inninings, giving up only a hit and a walk while striking out one. Manno finished the job in the ninth, recording a pair of strikeouts with a walk.

Washington Nationals pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, will make a rehabilitation start for the Hagerstown Suns tonight, the Suns announced in a news release. The Suns will play Rome Braves at 7:05 p.m. at Municipal Stadium.   Wang, a native of Taiwan, has yet to pitch for the Nationals this season after going 4-3 with a 4.04 earned-run average for Washington in 2011. The righthander pitched four innings for the Potomac Nationals on April 28 in his only rehab start thus far this season.

Steven Souza was one of only two Hagerstown Suns starters not to get a hit in Tuesday's win over the Rome Braves. He wasn't about to be left out on Wednesday. Souza went 4-for-6 and drove in nine runs as the Suns pounded out 24 hits and pummeled Rome 24-2. Billy Burns, Jason Martinson, Caleb Ramsey, Justin Miller and Bryce Ortega each had three hits for Hagerstown (10-8), who have collected 37 hits in the first two games of the series with the Braves. The Suns batted around in both the first and fifth innings and only failed to score in the fourth and sixth innings.

Bryce Harper got most of the hype for the Hagerstown Suns on Thursday night. The top draft pick with the big bat lived up to that hype, going 2-for-4 in his professional debut. But in the end, the Suns won their season opener with a little small ball, scoring the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh inning to take a 3-2 win over the Rome Braves. Jason Martinson’s single to center field drove in Wade Moore with the eventual winning run in the seventh and Ben Graham recorded a six-out save.

The Hagerstown Suns scored five runs in the third inning Sunday to give starting pitcher Josh Smoker all the support he would need in a 7-2 victory over the Rome Braves at Municipal Stadium. The Suns (10-14 South Atlantic League second half) took a 1-0 lead in the first. Jeff Kobernus hit a leadoff single and stole second, and Braves starter Robinson Lopez (3-6) walked Francisco Soriano and hit Stephen King with a pitch to load the bases with no outs. Destin Hood hit a one-out sacrifice fly to score Kobernus, but Lopez escaped the inning without further damage.

ROME, Ga. -- The Hagerstown Suns saved the best for last. The Suns scored four times in the eighth innng and six more in the ninth on Tuesday to come from behind for an 11-5 victory over the Rome Braves. It was Hagerstown's seventh victory in eight games. Sean Nicol drove in four runs for Hagerstown, while Justin Bloxom had two hits and three RBIs. The Suns (15-10) broke a 1-1 tie in the eighth against Rome reliever Corey Rasmus (1-1) with the help of three critical Braves errors.

ROME, Ga. -- Robert Hefflinger's grand slam highlighted a six-run fifth inning as the Rome Braves rallied for a 9-5 win over the Hagerstown Suns in a morning matinee on Thursday. Hefflinger's homer to left also signaled the end of the game for Suns starter Josh Smoker, who was ejected by the home plate umpire after Hefflinger's blast gave the Braves a 6-4 lead. Smoker (0-5) hadn't allowed Rome a hit in the first four innings, but got into immediate trouble in the fifth as Matt Weaver, Braeden Sclehuber and Derek Wiley started the inning with three consecutive singles.

Brett Newsome’s two-run home run highlighted Hagerstown’s three-run second inning, and Bobby Hansen allowed just two hits in six innings as the Suns defeated the West Virginia Power 3-1 on Friday night in the South Atlantic League. Wade Moore opened the second inning with a walk against Power starter Zack Von Rosenberg. Moore stole second before Randolph Oduber’s RBI single to center. One out later, Newsome hit his second home run of the season — and second of the series — out to right.

Washington Nationals pitcher Chien-Ming Wang, who is recovering from a hamstring injury, will make a rehabilitation start for the Hagerstown Suns tonight, the Suns announced in a news release. The Suns will play Rome Braves at 7:05 p.m. at Municipal Stadium.   Wang, a native of Taiwan, has yet to pitch for the Nationals this season after going 4-3 with a 4.04 earned-run average for Washington in 2011. The righthander pitched four innings for the Potomac Nationals on April 28 in his only rehab start thus far this season.

Chien-Ming Wang can only hope his regular-season outings with the Washington Nationals are all as effective as his rehabilitation outing with the Hagerstown Suns. The Nationals pitcher returned to Hagerstown to work out the kinks from his recovery from a hamstring injury and looked like he was never injured, as he was in total control for six innings to lead the Suns to a 10-2 victory over the Rome Braves before 1,221 fans at Municipal Stadium. The right-hander struck out seven and threw 65 pitches - 45 for strikes.

The Hagerstown Suns have found something calming about playing at Municipal Stadium. The Suns continued to defend their house and dominate opponents as they buried the Rome Braves 10-5 on Wednesday to start a seven-game homestand before 482 fans at the old ball yard. Hagerstown (14-12) moved its home record to 8-2 as a couple of struggling players took advantage of home cooking to record the rather easy victory. The Suns used early home runs to establish the lead and finished it off with a five-run fifth inning to back Wirkin Estevez (3-1)

ROME, Ga. - The Hagerstown Suns stunned the Rome Braves with six runs in the ninth inning - highlighted by Justin Miller's grand slam - to break a 3-3 tie and score a 9-3 victory in Friday night's South Atlantic League game. Braves reliever Jean Carlos Gil (0-2) - who pitched a scoreless sixth and seventh before allowing a run in the eighth - walked the first two Suns hitters in the ninth and Burns singled to load the bases. Clint Wright relieved Gil and hit Jason Martinson with a pitch to break the tie. Matthew Skole then hit a sacrifice fly for a 5-3 lead.

Steven Souza was one of only two Hagerstown Suns starters not to get a hit in Tuesday's win over the Rome Braves. He wasn't about to be left out on Wednesday. Souza went 4-for-6 and drove in nine runs as the Suns pounded out 24 hits and pummeled Rome 24-2. Billy Burns, Jason Martinson, Caleb Ramsey, Justin Miller and Bryce Ortega each had three hits for Hagerstown (10-8), who have collected 37 hits in the first two games of the series with the Braves. The Suns batted around in both the first and fifth innings and only failed to score in the fourth and sixth innings.

Bryce Harper sparked a five-run seventh inning with a bunt single as the Hagerstown Suns rallied for an 8-2 victory over the Rome Braves in a midmorning matinee Tuesday. The Suns (17-9) have won six straight and have not lost to Rome (6-20) in eight games this season. Trailing 2-1 through six innings, Hagerstown looked to Harper to manufacture a run. Harper led off the top of the seventh against Rome starter Carlos Perez by beating out bunt down the first-base line and David Freitas followed with a walk.

What’s the best way to sum up Cameron Selik? Just say “nothing.” And that would be a compliment without understating a thing. Selik has been masterful as an ace starting pitcher for the Hagerstown Suns. In fact, it would be very difficult for him to be any better. The right-hander from the University of Kansas has kept opposing hitters on their heels in his first starts, heading into his scheduled outing on Saturday against the Rome Braves. He has a 0.00 ERA in four starts.

The Hagerstown Suns found out Cameron Selik wasn’t perfect. Near perfect was good enough on Saturday. Selik allowed his first run of the season, but the Suns found different ways to pick their ace up for a 4-2 victory over the Rome Braves. Bryce Harper hit his sixth home run to give the Suns the lead and Jason Martinson added some daring base running to put Hagerstown ahead for good. Selik (3-0), who entered the game with a 0.00 ERA, gave up his first run — earned or unearned — with two outs in the fourth inning to end a run of 26 2/3 scoreless innings.

Brett Newsome’s two-run home run highlighted Hagerstown’s three-run second inning, and Bobby Hansen allowed just two hits in six innings as the Suns defeated the West Virginia Power 3-1 on Friday night in the South Atlantic League. Wade Moore opened the second inning with a walk against Power starter Zack Von Rosenberg. Moore stole second before Randolph Oduber’s RBI single to center. One out later, Newsome hit his second home run of the season — and second of the series — out to right.