Wild Pitch

SALISBURY, Md. -- T.J. Baxter scored all the way from second base on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning, and the Delmarva Shorebirds snapped the Hagerstown Suns' four-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory to take the fourth and final game of the four-game series Monday night. Baxter singled off Suns reliever Glenn Gibson (1-1) to lead off the 11th. He took second on Michael Planeta's sacrifice bunt before scoring on the wild pitch. Delmarva (7-5) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

REENSBORO, N.C. - The Hagerstown Suns were in a giving mood on Friday. The Suns gift-wrapped two runs for Greensboro in the fifth inning, allowing the Grasshoppers to come from behind for a 6-5 victory. A wild pitch on a third strike, a hit batsman and a walk by Aaron Jackson loaded the bases for Carlos Piste's groundout to tie the game and a wild pitch to score the go-ahead run. Brett McMillian homered in the second and the Suns scored three in the third on Mike Daniel's three-run homer for a 4-4 tie. Hagerstown took a 5-4 lead in the fifth when Alex Nunez stole home on a strikeout.

MAUGANSVILLE -- Despite a rain delay, a change of scenery, three disputed calls and an injury, Maugansville managed to edge out Clear Spring 6-3 in the opening round of the Maryland District 1 Junior League All-Star Tournament. Maugansville jumped on the board early, scoring two runs after an error, a walk and a hit that led to a two-run single by Chris McNairn. In the third, Trevor Shuck hit a leadoff home to left field. Clear Spring was held hitless through the first three innings.

Sometimes it all evens out. The Hagerstown Suns spent the week suffering through miscues and errors that led to losses. Thank goodness for the weekend. The Suns found out what it was like to be on the other side as Delmarva committed all the gaffes to go with two key Hagerstown hits Saturday in a 4-0 victory. A pair of Shorebird errors gave the Suns their first run in the second. A pair of triples and a wild pitch in the sixth helped the Suns nail down the shutout win. Hagerstown starter Paul Demny allowed one hit and one walk in six innings while striking out seven to earn his third win. Delmarva had two hits on the night.

The Clear Spring baseball team did just enough offensive damage in the first inning and survived several South Hagerstown threats to post a 3-2 MVAL Antietam Conference win on Friday. The Blazers fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning and then scored three runs in their opening at-bats before the game became a battle of starting pitchers making adjustments. “We're fortunate to win this game,” said Clear Spring acting head coach Justin Michael. “South is an improved team.” Lefty Jared Brant made his first start of the year for Clear Spring (3-1, 3-1)

The Williamsport baseball team did all of the necessary little things to pull out a 5-3 win over the Tuscarora Titans on Wednesday. “We didn't swing the bats great,” Wildcats coach Dave Warrenfeltz said. “But we had some good at-bats to get baserunners and to move them around. I also thought that we really played well defensively.” Warrenfeltz said his pitching staff held its own. “I thought we pitched really well,” Warrenfeltz added. “Today was Ryan Boward's first start since his injury.

SALISBURY, Md. Jesus Flores, one of five Hagerstown Suns with two hits Friday night, had two doubles and four RBI as last-place Hagerstown beat the first-place Delmarva Shorebirds for the second straight night, 10-3. The Suns took an early 7-0 lead, scoring six runs off Josh Potter (3-3) in the top of the second inning to give starter Michael Devaney all the support he'd need. Devaney (9-4) allowed three runs (two earned), four hits and three walks while striking out four in six innings.

EASTLAKE, Ohio - Clint Everts, Edulin Abreu, and Trevor Lawhorn came to the Hagerstown's rescue on Sunday and took the Suns out of the darkness. Lawhorn singled to drive in the winning run in the top of the ninth, while Everts and Abreu combined to pitch four innings of scoreless relief to help the Suns take a 3-2 win over Lake County and end a four-game losing streak. Everts pitched 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief behind starter Jeff Mandel before Abreu (1-0) fired 1 2/3 innings of two-hit relief to get the win. But it wasn't without drama.

HICKORY, N.C. - The pitching tandem of Marcus Sandoval and Pat Lynch combined to shut down the Hickory Crawdads Monday and lead the Hagerstown Suns to a 7-1 victory for their third straight win. [cont. from sports page ] Sandoval and Lynch, a pair of starters who will be sharing the fifth spot in the Suns' rotation, limited Hickory to five hits. Sandoval (1-0) allowed Rico Williams a one-out homer in the first. Lynch wiggled out of trouble in the fifth to pitch four innings for a save.

GREENVILLE, S.C. - Chad Povich and Robert McClain combined to hold Hagerstown to five hits and the Greenville Drive defeated the Suns for the second straight night, 7-1 on Tuesday. Povich (7-3) allowed three hits and the Suns' only run in six innings while striking out three. McClain earned a three-inning save, allowing two hits and a walk. Hagerstown took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Mark Gildea walked, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Jeses Valdez's single.

The Williamsport baseball team did all of the necessary little things to pull out a 5-3 win over the Tuscarora Titans on Wednesday. “We didn't swing the bats great,” Wildcats coach Dave Warrenfeltz said. “But we had some good at-bats to get baserunners and to move them around. I also thought that we really played well defensively.” Warrenfeltz said his pitching staff held its own. “I thought we pitched really well,” Warrenfeltz added. “Today was Ryan Boward's first start since his injury.

What started as a pitchers' duel turned into a rout on Monday night, as a seven-run seventh inning led Boonsboro's baseball team to a 9-2 MVAL Antietam victory over South Hagerstown. Coming into the seventh inning tied at 2, Boonsboro (4-6, 1-6) started the frame with a walk and a single before Brad Enfield hit a grounder to South shortstop Colby Johnson, who threw home, but the ball was dropped as Ethan Foster scored, chasing Rebels starter Airin Martin. “That was a touchy decision for me,” said Boonsboro coach Ronnie Stewart.

The Clear Spring baseball team did just enough offensive damage in the first inning and survived several South Hagerstown threats to post a 3-2 MVAL Antietam Conference win on Friday. The Blazers fell behind 1-0 in the top of the first inning and then scored three runs in their opening at-bats before the game became a battle of starting pitchers making adjustments. “We're fortunate to win this game,” said Clear Spring acting head coach Justin Michael. “South is an improved team.” Lefty Jared Brant made his first start of the year for Clear Spring (3-1, 3-1)

Pedro Beato threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded in the 10th inning that allowed the winning run to score, and the Washington Nationals beat the New York Mets 5-4 after blowing a late lead Tuesday night.   The Nationals fell behind twice after leading 2-0 going into the ninth inning. Mets pinch-hitter Jordany Valdespin hit a three-run homer off closer Tyler Clippard. Then Josh Thole's RBI double put the Mets up 4-3 in the 10th after Danny Espinosa's single off Bobby Parnell in the bottom of the ninth sent it to extra innings.

Standing on third base with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, Ryan Zimmerman still was bummed about the two plays he failed to make in the field earlier Thursday for the Washington Nationals. Knowing that the Cincinnati Reds' relievers are prone to throwing “dirtballs,” Zimmerman was aware that Alfredo Simon might very well miss his mark. Sure enough, Simon threw a wild pitch, and Zimmerman raced home, helping the Nationals extend their best start since moving to Washington with a 3-2 victory over the Reds.

Elkton defeated Arbutus 7-6 on a game-ending wild pitch, and Northern Calvert defeated East Frederick 14-4 in five innings Saturday in first-round action of the Maryland State 10-11 Little League Tournament at West End Little League. Elkton led 5-0 when Arbutus exploded for a six-run rally in the top of the fourth, highlighted by a two-run double by Jalen March and a two-run single by Zachary Rouk. "I told my players to calm down, maintain focus and play our baseball," said Elkton coach Eric Gregson.

FUNKSTOWN --The towns of Funkstown and Williamsport are close in proximity, but they were on the opposite ends of the baseball spectrum on Friday night. The Funkstown American Legion Post 211 team exploded on offense in a 16-4 lashing of the Williamsport Nationals. Right fielder Andrew Yacyk drove in seven runs on just two swings -- a grand slam and a three-run homer -- for Funkstown (3-3). He finished with eight RBIs. With the bases loaded in the first inning, Yacyk fought off several pitches before Williamsport pitcher Jake Mann hung a curveball and Yacyk belted it the other way. "I fouled a lot of pitches off. He hung a curveball and I made him pay," Yacyk said.

HAGERSTOWN -- Nic Martin had a performance to remember on his Senior Night. Martin pitched a three-hitter with 13 strikeouts and went 4-for-4 from the leadoff spot to lead St. Maria Goretti to an 8-2 win over Broadfording Christian on Thursday night at Municipal Stadium. "I haven't pitched that well at all this season," Martin said. "It kind of surprised me. I just wanted to go out and throw strikes and trust the defense. Tonight, we did a good job in the field and that was a big help.

SALISBURY, Md. -- T.J. Baxter scored all the way from second base on a wild pitch in the bottom of the 11th inning, and the Delmarva Shorebirds snapped the Hagerstown Suns' four-game winning streak with a 3-2 victory to take the fourth and final game of the four-game series Monday night. Baxter singled off Suns reliever Glenn Gibson (1-1) to lead off the 11th. He took second on Michael Planeta's sacrifice bunt before scoring on the wild pitch. Delmarva (7-5) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning.

Sometimes it all evens out. The Hagerstown Suns spent the week suffering through miscues and errors that led to losses. Thank goodness for the weekend. The Suns found out what it was like to be on the other side as Delmarva committed all the gaffes to go with two key Hagerstown hits Saturday in a 4-0 victory. A pair of Shorebird errors gave the Suns their first run in the second. A pair of triples and a wild pitch in the sixth helped the Suns nail down the shutout win. Hagerstown starter Paul Demny allowed one hit and one walk in six innings while striking out seven to earn his third win. Delmarva had two hits on the night.