Game Recap

Galvis, Sanchez both homer in defeat

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The BlueClaws blew a lead for the third straight game, falling to Greensboro 7-4 on Wednesday afternoon at NewBridge Bank Park.

The BlueClaws were in complete command with a 4-0 lead in the sixth inning and starter Chance Chapman cruising. But the ‘Hoppers got two runs in the sixth and added five more in the seventh to win their third straight over Lakewood.

Chapman had allowed just one baserunner through the first five innings, but faltered in the sixth, walking one and allowing three hits to bring across a pair of Greensboro runs.

The right-hander was pulled two batters into the seventh, giving up four runs on six hits in six innings. Chapman did not factor in the decision, though the ‘Claws fell to 2-5 in games started by the 24-year old.

Joe Rocchio (2-4) gave up three runs on three hits in just one inning to take the loss.

Lakewood vaulted to an early lead with a consistent attack against Greensboro starter Colby Miller. The ‘Claws got one run in the second on an RBI base hit from Freddy Galvis and added three more in the fifth inning.

Galvis again was prominently featured in the later rally, leading the inning off with an inside-the-park home run. It was his first home run of the season and also the first of his American professional career.

Jesus Sanchez followed with his first home run of the season, before Michael Taylor brought another run in on a two-out base hit.

The outburst gave Lakewood a 4-0 lead that would not last. The BlueClaws could have added more, loading the bases on three walks in seventh inning, but Taylor and Durant both went down to end the threat.

The Grasshoppers seventh-inning offensive explosion came on five hits and one critical Dominic Brown error. Rocchio also hit a batter to fuel the rally. Hunter Mense’s two-RBI double pushed the go-ahead run across.

Corey Madden (2-0) garnered the victory, while Garrett Parcell earned his second save of the series and tenth of the season.

The ‘Claws will try to avoid the series sweep when they take the field on Thursday night at 7 p.m. for the series finale. The BlueClaws were swept in a similar four-game set last season at NewBridge Bank Park.

 The good news for the BlueClaws is that they have their ace Drew Naylor (3-2) going on Thursday. Kyle Kaminska (0-1) will take the mound for the Grasshoppers.

Lakewood makes series of costly defensive miscues in defeat

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Lakewood made three critical errors, including two on one play, to squander an early lead in a 7-5 loss to Greensboro on Tuesday night at NewBridge Bank Park.

Dominic Brown misplayed a routine flyball from Adam Howard with two outs and the bases loaded in the sixth inning and then threw the ball into the stands, allowing all three runs to score. The series of miscues tied the game, 4-4.

Jacob Diekman had walked the bases loaded to set up the run-scoring play. All three walks came with two outs.

The BlueClaws (19-19) remained winless in games started by Diekman this season. Lakewood is now 0-8 in games started by the 21-year old southpaw.

Diekman gave up just one earned run in 5 2/3 innings while taking a no decision. He had not walked a batter until the three straight with two away in the sixth.

The ‘Hoppers (21-17) got the winning runs in the bottom of the seventh, scoring three runs on just two hits. Joel Naughton made his first error of the season in the inning and BlueClaws pitchers contributed a pair of walks.

The BlueClaws had taken a 4-1 lead in the top of the sixth thanks to the bat of Dominic Brown. Brown blasted his fourth home run of the season off of Greensboro starter Stu Alexander to drive in three runs.

Alexander, like Diekman, did not factor in the decision, giving up four runs, three earned, in 5 2/3 innings.

A.J. Battisto (2-0) took the win for the Grasshoppers, while Chris Kissock (1-1) took the loss in relief for the BlueClaws. Kissock lasted just 2/3 of an inning, giving up two runs, on earned.

Michael Taylor added his sixth home run in the top of the eighth, but the solo shot was not enough bring the game back into reach. The long ball was the fifth for Taylor in his last six games.

The BlueClaws will look to go back above .500 on Wednesday morning when they take on the Grasshoppers in the third game of the four game set. Chance Chapman (1-3) will make the start for the BlueClaws, while right-hander Colby Miller (1-6) will take the mound for Greensboro. First pitch is scheduled for 10:45 a.m. from NewBridge Bank Park.

Mitchell’s home run not enough for ‘Claws

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The BlueClaws squandered an early 3-0 lead en route to a 7-5 defeat at the hands of the Greensboro Grasshoppers on Monday night at NewBridge Bank Park.

Lakewood jumped out to a quick advantage thanks to four hits in the second inning, but the offense faltered down the stretch as Greensboro struck for five runs against Julian Sampson.

The Grasshoppers scratched the winning run across in the sixth inning against Yen-Feng Lin (0-2) using three hits and a walk to take a 6-5 lead. Tom Hickman drove in Bryan Peterson with a base-hit to break the 5-5 tie.

Ryan Anetsberger gave Greensboro some breathing room by hitting his first home run of the season in the eighth inning off of Ben Pfinsgraff.

Sampson, who came in with an ERA of 6.12, gave up five runs, four earned, on eight hits in six innings. Sampson ran into serious trouble in the third, giving up four runs on four hits. Derrick Mitchell was unable to convert a routine double-play ball to extend the inning. All four runs crossed after the error, but just one went as unearned.

Mitchell helped to atone for his earlier mistake by hitting his third home run of the season off of Greensboro starter Brett Durand. D’Arby Myers reached with two outs on an error by ‘Hoppers rightfielder Mike Stanton, setting up Mitchell’s game-tying blast.

Durand (5-1) gave up five runs in six innings, although just three of the runs were earned.  

The BlueClaws had a chance to tie the game late, when Michael Taylor led off the eighth inning with a base hit, before promptly stealing second. But Greensboro reliever Steven Cishek got the next three hitters, two on strikeouts, to diffuse the threat.

Garrett Parcell pitched a scoreless ninth to earn his ninth save in ten chances this season.

The loss vaulted Greensboro (20-17) a game ahead of Lakewood (19-18) in the North Division standings.

The teams will meet again on Tuesday with first pitch coming at 7 p.m. The ‘Claws will be looking for their first win this season in a game started by Jacob Diekman (0-3, 5.06), while Greensboro will send Stuart Alexander (4-2, 4.14) to the mound.

Taylor, Durant, Rizzotti all go deep

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Michael Taylor, Mike Durant and Matt Rizzotti each homered to power the BlueClaws to an 11-2 victory over Kannapolis in a rain-shortened game on a drizzly Sunday night at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium.

Taylor’s third-inning lead-off home run was his fourth in the last four games in which he has appeared. He also has 10 RBIs over that stretch. Taylor has three extra-base hits (two home runs and a triple) in the two games since returning from back spasms.

Durant matched Taylor’s feat to start the sixth inning, crushing a Daniel Albritton pitch out to leftfield. The long ball was the ninth of the season for Durant through the first 36 games of the 2008 season. Durant is rapidly approaching the team record of 22 set by Juan Richardson in 2001.

Rizzotti added his second home run of the season in the eighth inning.

With the BlueClaws leading 11-2 with one out in the bottom of the ninth, thunderstorms rolled in leading to a premature end to the contest. The game ended while Kannapolis had runners at first and second with just one out.

While Taylor, Durant and Rizzotti added some flash with their big flies, most of the damage against Kannapolis came on just one hit in the fifth inning. Lakewood used four walks by a set of Intimidator pitchers and an error by Joe Persichina to push four runs across and put the game out of reach.

The offensive outburst came in support of Walter Tejeda, who was making just his second start of the season. Tejeda (3-1) lasted a season-high five innings, allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits.

Moises Melendez and pitched four scoreless innings out of the bullpen for the BlueClaws. After giving up a lead-off single in the sixth inning, the southpaw retired nine straight hitters.

Jason Rice (1-4) took the loss for Kannapolis. The right-hander lasted just four innings, giving up four runs, all earned on eight hits.

The win pushed the Lakewood (19-17) to a season-best two games over .500 and within three games of first-place Lake County. The victory also sealed a second-straight series win and pushed the BlueClaws record to 5-3 against the Intimidators (16-20) this season.

Lakewood next heads to Greensboro for a critical four-game series with the Grasshoppers. Julian Sampson (2-1, 6.12) is scheduled to take the hill for the ‘Claws, while Brett Durand (4-1, 6.00) will throw for Greensboro. First pitch is at 7:00 p.m.

Aussie right-hander strikes out 12 in complete game

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Drew Naylor threw a complete game to carry the BlueClaws to a 6-1 victory over Kannapolis on Saturday night at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium.

It was the third straight winning decision for the 21-year old right-hander, who continued to justify his status as staff ace. Naylor gave up just one run on two hits, while getting seven 1-2-3 innings. He fanned a career-high 12 Kannapolis hitters and issued one walk.

It was the first nine-inning complete game of the season by a BlueClaws pitcher. Chance Chapman threw an eight-inning complete game on April 27 in a 1-0 loss to Lexington.

Naylor (3-2) struck out 11 hitters in his last start against Lexington on May 4 and now has now struck out 62 hitters in eight starts, the most in all of Minor League Baseball. Naylor led the New York-Penn League in strikeouts last season with the Williamsport Crosscutters.

The win moved Lakewood to 18-17 on the year, the first time all season they have been above .500. The ‘Claws are four games behind first-place Lake County at the halfway point of the first half of the season.

The BlueClaws offense got a boost from the return of Michael Taylor. The Lakewood leftfielder has missed the last two games with back spasms, but was reinserted in the lineup on Saturday in the designated hitter position.

Taylor quickly shook off any effects of the injury, going 3-for-5 with a triple, a home run and three RBIs. The home run was Taylor’s fourth of the season and third in the last three games in which he has played.

Most of the BlueClaws offensive efforts came against Kannapolis starter Nathan Jones (1-3). Jones gave up all five runs in 3 1/3 innings. He did strike out six hitters, but also allowed five hits and two walks.

Mike Durant also hit his eighth home run of the season in the Lakewood victory. The blast came against Wander Perez in the top of the eighth inning.

Santo Luis pitched 3 2/3 innings of scoreless relief for the Intimidators. Kannapolis pitching combined to strikeout 13 BlueClaws hitters.

Both Kannapolis hits came in the fourth inning. Ronnie Gaines singled to start the frame and Christian Marrero tripled two batters later to bring the run across.

Lakewood will go for their second straight four-game series win on Sunday evening in Kannapolis (16-19). Walter Tejeda (2-1) will make his second start of the season for the BlueClaws, while Jason Rice (1-3) will take the mound for the Intimidators.

Mitchell drives in winning run in the top of the 12th

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – Derrick Mitchell drove in the winning run in the top of the 12^th inning to help the BlueClaws to a 5-3 win over the Intimidators on Friday night at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium.

After giving up a two-run lead in the bottom of the eighth, the ‘Claws needed bonus baseball to win their fourth game in the last five tries. Lakewood got three straight hits to open the 12^th off of Danny Arbritton (0-1) to push across the go-ahead run. Mike Durant followed Mitchell’s lead, driving in another run with a two-out infield hit.

The BlueClaws had put up just five hits through the first 11 innings before posting four in the 12^th.

Joe Rocchio (2-3) pitched the last three innings to take the victory.

It took Lakewood 12 innings to pull out the victory thanks to a two-run eighth-inning home run by Ronnie Gaines. Gaines was called up from Extended Spring Training prior to the game and the long ball was his first hit with the Intimidators this season. The blast off of BlueClaws reliever Chris Kissock tied the game up, 3-3

The BlueClaws (17-17) used a strong performance from starter Chance Chapman to take an early lead. Chapman gave up just one run on six hits in seven innings, but did not factor in the decision.

The only damage against Chapman came in the first inning when John Gallagher blasted his first home run of the season. But from that point forward, the Intimidators put just one runner in scoring position against the BlueClaws right-hander.

Freddy Galvis made the Intimidators (16-18) pay for their lack of offense firepower, driving in Travis Mattair from first base with a triple off of Wander Perez in the seventh inning to give the ‘Claws a 2-1 lead. It was just the second triple of the season for Lakewood, both coming in the last two nights.

The BlueClaws evened the game early against Kannapolis starter Johnnie Lowe in the sixth. Derrick Mitchell reached on a bunt single before eventually coming to score on a passed ball from catcher Danny Jordan. The unearned run was the only blemish against Lowe, who took a tough-luck no-decision despite giving up three hits in six innings. He also struck out seven BlueClaws hitters.

The BlueClaws added another unearned run against Perez in the eighth after Dominic Brown advanced all the way to third on an error by Intimidators centerfielder Sergio Morales. Mike Durant drove Brown in with a sacrifice fly.

The BlueClaws returned to .500 on the season for the fourth time. They have never been able to move above an even mark, but will try for a winning record on Saturday when they send ace Drew Naylor (2-2, 2.25) to the mound against Kannapolis. The Intimidators will counter with right-hander Nathan Jones (1-2, 6.14) with first pitch coming at 7:05 p.m.

Lakewood still winless in games started by Diekman

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. – The BlueClaws could not hold on to a late 3-0 lead against Kannapolis on Thursday night, dropping a 4-3 decision at Fieldcrest Cannon Park.

The Intimidators scored two runs in each of the sixth and eighth innings to erase the BlueClaws three-run lead. Danny Jordan drove in the game-winning run with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning off of BlueClaws closer Jared Simon.

Lakewood jumped out to an early lead with a run in the first inning and two more in the second against Kannapolis ace Anthony Carter. Carter entered the ballgame with a 1.36 ERA, good enough for third in the South Atlantic League, but buckled at the start.

D’Arby Myers walked to start the game and advanced into scoring position thanks to an error from Kannapolis shortstop Greg Paiml. Matt Rizzotti drove Myers in with a two-out base hit to hand the ‘Claws a 1-0 lead.

Lakewood got a pair in the second, once again courtesy of a leadoff walk. Travis Mattair was the beneficiary this time, before Freddy Galvis singled and Derrick Mitchell hit the first BlueClaws triple of the season to drive in both runners.

But Carter settled down after the early stumble, allowing just one more hit in his time on the mound. The Intimidators right-hander went five innings and allowed three runs, two earned, on four hits.

The BlueClaws did not fare much better against the Kannapolis bullpen, as the offense managed just one more hit the rest of the way. Hector Santiago, Santo Luis (3-2) and Henry Mabee combined to pitch four scoreless innings to keep the Intimidators close. Mabee got the final three outs to earn his seventh save of the season.

Jacob Diekman made the start for the ‘Claws, looking for his first win of the season. The southpaw was dodging trouble from the get-go, but went unscathed until the sixth. Diekman gave up four straight hits with one out, including RBI hits from John Gallagher and Christian Marrero.

Diekman did not factor in the decision, allowing two runs on nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. The BlueClaws fell to 0-7 in games started by Diekman this season.

Despite the frequent Intimidators chances, the BlueClaws held a 3-2 lead heading to the eighth inning. But with reliever Sergio Escalona (0-1) on the mound, Kannapolis got a pair of baserunners on. Simon entered but could not stem the tide, giving up run-scoring hits to Mike Grace and Jordan.

The loss means the BlueClaws (16-17) will have to run off at least two victories to get above .500 for the first time this season. They will take on the Intimidators (16-17) again on Friday night at 6:35.

Sampson earns second win of the season

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Michael Taylor and Dominic Brown both went deep to power the BlueClaws to a 5-2 victory over Lexington on Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Park.

The win captured the first series win in a four-game set this season for Lakewood and moved the ‘Claws to .500 for the third time this season. The BlueClaws have not been over .500 at any point this season.

Taylor staked Lakewood to a 3-0 lead in the first inning, driving the first pitch he saw from Lexington starter Leandro Cespedes over the leftfield fence. It was the second homer in as many games for the BlueClaws leftfielder, who hit a three-run home run in Monday’s 11-7 Lakewood win.

Dominic Brown also homered to start the third inning off of Cespedes (2-2). The line drive home run to right was Brown’s third of the season and second of the series.

Julian Sampson (2-1) pitched six innings, allowing just one run on four hits. The 19-year old right-hander had failed to reach the fifth inning in each of his last two starts.

But on Tuesday night Sampson looked in command from the start, allowing just one second-inning run. Sampson walked Rusty Dixon before giving up a two-out single to Steve Brown.

That was the only run the Legends (10-22) would get against Sampson. Yen-Feng Lin pitched a pair of perfect innings, but Joe Rocchio gave up a run on three hits in the ninth.

Lakewood will get an off day on Wednesday as they head to Kannapolis for a four-game series starting on Thursday. The BlueClaws (16-16) and Intimidators split a four-game series at FirstEnergy Park last week.

The BlueClaws return home on Friday, May 16 to take on the West Virginia Power, the Class A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers. There will be post-game fireworks, courtesy of Toyota and Scion World of Lakewood.

Taylor, Durant hit home runs in winning effort

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The BlueClaws held on for a 11-7 victory over Lexington on Monday night at FirstEnergy Park, despite being aided by seven Legends errors.

Ronny Ramirez committed four of the season-high seven errors by Lexington. The errors were spread over the first five innings and led to three unearned runs.

Despite a six-run second inning by the BlueClaws, the Legends cut the Lakewood lead to just one, 8-7, in the top of the eighth.

 But Michael Taylor hit a towering three-run home run to centerfield off of Jay Pacella in the bottom of the eighth to give the ‘Claws some breathing room heading to the final frame.

Early in the evening, it looked like the BlueClaws were on their way to their second consecutive easy victory. Lakewood got six runs, four earned, against starter Anthony Bello in the second inning. Dennis Winn picked up a pair of RBIs in the frame, while Travis Mattair, Jesus Sanchez and Dominic Brown also drove in runs in the rally.

Even with seven errors, the BlueClaws scored just three unearned runs, including two in the second and one in the fourth. By the time Bello (0-2) departed after the fourth inning, the ‘Claws had a 7-2 lead.

But the Legends did not go down quietly in the final four innings. Lexington began their march back into the game with a pair of runs against Chris Kissock (1-0) in the sixth, before adding one more in the seventh.

Kissock earned his first victory of the season, despite giving up three earned runs in two innings of work. Walter Tejeda made his first start of the season, but pitched just four innings, not enough to qualify for a victory.

The Legends added another run against Sergio Escalona in the eighth, before getting one more in the inning against closer Jared Simon. Simon was able to get the final five outs of the game for his third save of the season.

Mike Durant gave the ‘Claws some much-needed insurance in the bottom of the seventh, clubbing his seventh home run of the season off of Legends reliever Jacob Leonhardt.

The BlueClaws (15-16) will go for their first four-game series victory of the season on Tuesday night at 6:35 in the finale with Lexington (10-21). Julian Sampson (1-1) will take the hill for the BlueClaws, while Leandro Cespedes (2-1) will start for the Legends.

As always, it will be Senior Day Tuesday, presented by Commerce Bank. Every senior will receive a voucher for a hot dog, chips and a soda and every fan in attendance will get a baseball bingo card. The first 500 women 18 and older will receive a $20 gift card to Monmouth Mall.

Naylor strikes out 11 in eight-inning performance

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Drew Naylor struck out a season-high 11 and the BlueClaws offense did the rest, powering Lakewood to an 11-1 victory over Lexington on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Park.

Naylor pitched eight innings, giving up just one earned run on five hits. It was his longest outing of the season and hi 11-strikouts were the most by any BlueClaws pitcher since Scott Mitchinson struck out 11 on Sept. 2, 2007.

Naylor struck out the side on two occasions.

Naylor (2-2) looked relaxed pitching with the lead in every inning except the top of the first. The BlueClaws scored five runs against Lexington starter Colt Adams in the bottom of the first, on their way to an 11-run, 16-hit afternoon.

Adams (1-3), who came into the game with a 7.15 ERA, lasted just two innings, giving up seven earned runs on seven hits in that stretch. The first four hitters he faced all reached base, including Dominic Brown, who slugged a two-run home run out to deep right-centerfield.

Brown was one of six BlueClaws with multi-hit efforts. Every Lakewood starter had at least one hit and seven had at least one RBI.

The BlueClaws scored eight of their 11 runs in the first three innings, before adding three more in the bottom of the seventh against reliever Fernando Abad. Mike Koons was the only of the four Lexington pitchers in the game that did not allow a run.

After splitting the first two games of a four-game series, the two teams will meet again on Monday at 6:35 p.m. at FirstEnergy Park. The first 2,000 fans 18 and over will receive BlueClaws sombreros, courtesy United Teletech Financial.

Walter Tejeda (2-1) will make his first start of the season for the BlueClaws (14-16), while Anthony Bello (0-1) will get the start for the Legends (10-20).

Chapman lasts just four innings in start

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Chance Chapman struggled from the first pitch of the ballgame as the BlueClaws dropped a 7-1 decision to the Lexington Legends on a misty Saturday afternoon at FirstEnergy Park.

Chapman, who had not allowed more than one earned run in any of his previous four starts, matched that total in the top of the first before giving up four more in the top of the second.

The big blow against Chapman came with two outs in the second. With the bases loaded, Collin DeLome tripled to right-centerfield to push the Legends (10-19) advantage to 5-0.

Chapman (1-3) gave up one more unearned run in the fourth inning, before Moises Melendez entered from the bullpen to start the fifth. Chapman gave up nine hits and struck out two while walking two.

The outing was a dramatic departure from his starting performance against the Legends last Sunday. In that start, the 24-year old right-hander gave up just three hits in an eight-inning complete game, though it came in a losing decision.

Champan’s opponent in last Sunday’s 1-0 pitchers’ duel, Sergio Severino, officially made his first relief appearance of the season, though it was known before the game that the Lexington southpaw would enter to start the third inning. Jeff Icenogle was recalled from the disabled list prior to first pitch and made his first appearance of the season in a two-inning start.

Icenongle pitched a pair of scoreless innings before giving way to Severino to start the third. And while Severino (3-1) did not match his no-hit performance his last time out against Lakewood, he did throw six innings of one-run baseball. The 22-year old lefty held his ERA steady at 1.50, among the leaders in the South Atlantic League.

The BlueClaws offense picked up just one run despite loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. Travis Mattair, Freddy Galvis and Jesus Sanchez all singled off of Severino, but D’Arby Myers hit into a double-play before Derrick Mitchell popped out to end the threat.

The loss was the third in a row by the BlueClaws (13-16). The ‘Claws had not lost three in row all season before this weekend.

Lakewood and Lexington will meet again on Sunday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. Drew Naylor (1-2) will meet Colt Adams (1-2) on the mound at FirstEnergy Park. The first 2,000 fans 18 and older will receive BlueClaws playing cards, courtesy of the Strand Theater and Accu-Image Design.

Johnson hits winning home run in top of the eighth

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The BlueClaws nearly erased a ninth inning deficit for the second time against Kannapolis, but came up just short in a 3-2 loss to the Intimidators on Friday night at FirstEnergy Park.

Dennis Winn came up with the bases loaded and one out in the bottom of the ninth, but bounced into a game-ending double play. Henry Mabee kept his perfect mark intact, recording his sixth save in his sixth opportunity, helping Kannapolis to series split.

Logan Johnson drove in the winning run via a solo home run off of Joe Rocchio (1-3) in the top of the seventh. Johnson’s fourth home run of the year broke a 2-2 tie.

Rocchio was perfect except for Johnson’s home run. He retired nine of the ten hitters he faced, with Johnson being the lone exception.

The BlueClaws managed a pair of runs against Anthony Carter, one of the top pitchers in the South Atlantic League. Joel Naughton doubled home a pair of runs with a two-out hit in the bottom of the second. Both the runs were unearned against Carter thanks to an error by Kannapolis second baseman Dale Mollenhauer.

But Naughton’s hit was the only the BlueClaws had with runners in scoring position, as Carter rebounded to pitch three more scoreless innings. The right-hander has not allowed more than two runs in any of his six starts this season.

As has been the case many times this season, the BlueClaws were one big hit away from coming out on top. The ‘Claws stranded at least one runner in scoring position in each of the last four innings.

Mike Durant nearly tied the game up in the bottom of the eighth, crushing a ball off of reliever Steve Spurgeon that dropped just foul down the leftfield line. Durant ended up walking before being stranded at second.

Despite the strong start, Carter took a no-decision as the Intimidators (13-14) tallied just two runs against BlueClaws starter Jacob Diekman. Diekman had his second consecutive strong start, allowing two runs in six innings. He also walked three and struck out four. The BlueClaws are still winless in games started by Diekman this season.

Santo Luis (2-1) took the win by pitching two innings in relief. He allowed two hits and also struck out two. The win helped to make up for the blown save and loss that Luis took in Tuesday’s 5-4 Lakewood win.

The BlueClaws (13-15) will welcome Lexington (9-19) to FirstEnergy Park for a four game series starting at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday. Chance Chapman (1-2, 1.77) will square off against Sergio Severino (2-1, 1.50). The same two pitchers met in Lexington on Sunday and the result was a 1-0 Legends victory.

Saturday will also be the annual Bark in the Park at FirstEnergy Park. Festivities start at 1:00 and gates will open at 3:00. Fans can bring their dogs to the ballpark with a BluePaw pass, which is available at the game before the game.

Sampson lasts just three innings in rocky start

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – One day after recording their biggest victory of the season, the BlueClaws bats fell silent in a 6-3 loss to Kannapolis on Thursday night at FirstEnergy Park.

Lakewood had no trouble offensively on Wednesday night, tallying a 10-1 win, but on Thursday night it was a completely different story. The ‘Claws managed just three hits in the final six innings and could not take full advantage of the few early opportunities they were afforded.

Jason Rice (1-2) was erratic at the start for Kannapolis, but managed to settle down and find the strike zone enough to survive five bumpy innings. He walked a pair of hitters in the first inning and also lost control of two wild pitches to stake the BlueClaws a 2-0 lead.

His wildness also contributed to the BlueClaws final run in the third, when he allowed three hits and walked one, allowing a RBI double from Matt Rizzotti that tied the game, 3-3.

But Rice faced just the minimum six batters over the next two innings and did enough to keep his team in the game.

And while Rice was managing without his best stuff, Julian Sampson could not do the same for the BlueClaws. Sampson failed to make it through the fourth inning for the third time this season, giving up three runs in three innings of work. He was replaced by Yen-Feng Lin (0-1) to start the fourth inning after giving up five hits and three walks.

Lin took his first loss of the season, giving up a pair of runs in the sixth inning. Dale Mollenhauer knocked in the game-winning run with a double off of Lin with one out. Christian Marrero extended the lead to 5-3 with a base hit to center.

Henry Mabee pitched the final two innings for the Intimidators for his fifth save in five opportunities.

Matt Rizzotti was the only BlueClaw with more than one hit, finishing two-for-three with an RBI. Michael Taylor went 0-for-4 to snap a 14-game home hitting streak.

The BlueClaws will make another attempt to claim the series victory on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. at FirstEnergy Park. Jacob Diekman (0-3, 5.54) will square off against Anthony Carter (3-0, 1.61) in the series finale. There will be post-game fireworks following the last out, thanks to Toyota and Scion World of Lakewood.

Mitchell homers twice and drives in four

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Derrick Mitchell led a rejuvenated offensive unit with a pair of home runs in a 10-1 thrashing of the Kannapolis Intimidators on Wednesday night at FirstEnergy Park.

Lakewood (13-13) put together a complete performance from a strong outing from Tyson Brummett to a top to bottom effort from the BlueClaws offense.

Eight of the nine starters managed at least one hit as the ‘Claws nine-run win was the largest margin of victory this season.

Mitchell got the offense going with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning off of Intimidators starter Nathan Jones. The BlueClaws second baseman added his second long ball of the season and the game in the eighth inning to push the lead to 10-0.

Jones (0-2) struggled to find his control from the get-go and when he did finally find the plate, the BlueClaws jumped all over him. The right-hander gave up three runs on five hits, while walking four in just 2 1/3 innings of work. He did strike out five in that span.

While Jones could not locate the zone, Brummett (3-0) never looked troubled against an Intimidators offense that ranks last in the South Atlantic League.  The right-hander went six innings without allowing a run, striking out five while giving up three hits without walking a hitter.

Ben Pfinsgraff pitched a perfect seventh inning, before Walter Tejeda entered and gave up one run in two innings of relief.

Herman Demmink reached base five times in six trips to the plate in the leadoff spot. He scored four times and also drove in a run. Mitchell and Jesus Sanchez each scored twice.

Both Dominic Brown and Michael Taylor kept season-long home streaks alive. Brown went 1-for-3 with three walks and has now reached safely in every home game this season, while Taylor managed two hits and an RBI and has now recorded a hit in all 14 games at FirstEnergy Park.

The BlueClaws and Intimidators (11-14) will continue the series Thursday night at 6:35 p.m. when Lakewood right-hander Julian Sampson (1-1, 7.33) will square off against Kannapolis right-hander Jason Rice (0-2, 3.86). One lucky fan will receive a Haskell prize package courtesy of Monmouth Park Racetrack. 

Lakewood comes from four runs down in final two innings

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Michael Taylor’s RBI base hit in the bottom of the ninth capped a dramatic late-inning comeback, as the BlueClaws stormed from behind to claim a 5-4 victory over Kannapolis on Tuesday night at FirstEnergy Park.

Lakewood trailed 4-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth inning, but picked up one run in the eighth, before tagging a pair of relievers for four runs in the ninth.

Taylor’s base hit up the middle off of Santo Luis (1-1) scored Derrick Mitchell from second base to cap the final-inning rally. The hit provided some redemption for Taylor, who had been 0-for-4 up to that point will all four of his previous at-bats coming with runners in scoring position. 

The BlueClaws (12-13) needed just two hits in the game-winning frame thanks to three walks, one intentional, and a hit batter. Wander Perez started the inning by hitting Travis Mattair and walking Freddy Galvis and pinch-hitter Karl Bolt before being replaced by Luis.

D’Arby Myers brought one run in on a sacrifice fly, before Derrick Mitchell drove in two runs to tie the game with a double down the leftfield line. Luis intentionally walked Brown to set up Taylor’s heroics.

Drew Naylor appeared destined to take his third loss of the season, despite a solid performance on the mound. The Australian right-hander allowed three runs, two earned, in seven innings of work, while striking out six.

The damage seemed to be done against Naylor in the top of the third, when the Intimidators got three straight hits to open the frame, scoring twice.

But Naylor rebounded allowing just one unearned run the rest of the way. Freddy Galvis’ throwing error allowed a run to score in the sixth inning and gave the Intimidators a 3-0 lead.

Johnnie Lowe did his best to give his team a chance to win in the start for Kannapolis. The right-hander pitched six scoreless innings while giving up just four hits and certainly deserved a better fate than a no-decision.

Prior to the eighth inning rally, the BlueClaws had been held scoreless for 19 straight innings, dating back to the seventh inning of Saturday’s game in Lexington. The ‘Claws were shutout on Sunday afternoon, 1-0, by the Legends.

Joe Rocchio (1-2) took the win for Lakewood after pitching a scoreless top of the ninth inning.

Lakewood breaks up no-hitter in ninth

LEXINGTON, KY – One sloppy play in the fifth inning scored the only run of the game for the Lexington Legends as they beat the Lakewood BlueClaws 1-0 at Applebee’s Park on Sunday afternoon.  Chance Chapman (1-2) threw eight innings and allowed just three hits while striking out six, only to be out dueled by Sergio Severino (2-1).

Severino only allowed three base runners in his six innings of work, all from walks.  He struck out seven.    Mike Koons came in and pitched a hitless seventh and eighth innings to carry the Legends’ no-hitter into the ninth inning.  Only a controversial play at home plate kept the BlueClaws from tying the game at one. 

Pinch-hitter, Matt Rizzotti, led off the ninth with a single to center that narrowly escaped the diving glove of shortstop Ronny Ramirez.  The next batter, Dominic Brown, punched one through the right side pushing, pinch runner, Herman Demmink to second.  After a pitching change to bring in Jay Pacella, Michael Taylor singled to right field which sent Demmink racing for home plate. 

The throw from Brandon Barnes was on target but a little late as Demmink slid in.  After a momentary delay and no signal given by umpire Larry Corey, Demmink was tagged by, catcher, Kevin Carkeek and was called out. 

With the tying run still on third base, Pacella struck out Mike Durant and Karl Bolt to end the game. 

Lexington’s only run scored on their third and final hit of the game.  Chapman allowed a single to the leadoff man in the first inning and then retired 11 in a row to keep the Legends scoreless heading to the fifth.  Colin DeLome led off with a single and Eric Taylor popped one up down the right field line. 

Brown charged the ball but had to slow up and play it on one hop.  The ball bounced off his glove and into foul territory allowing DeLome to advance to third and Taylor to race towards second.  Brown picked up the ball and fired to second only to have the ball carry to the side wall down the left field line.  DeLome came in with the games only run.

Chapman retired 12 of the final 13 batters with the lone exception reaching on a third Lakewood error.    

The BlueClaws (11-13) split the two game series with the Legends (8-16) and return home after posting a 4-3 record on the road trip.    Lakewood returns to FirstEnergy Park on Tuesday to start an eight-game home stand. They will take on the Kannapolis Intimidators (Chicago White Sox) for the first four games and wrap things up with the Lexington Legends (Houston Astros) once again. Check http://www.blueclaws.com/ for a complete list of schedules and promotions or call 732-901-7000 for ticketing information.

Legends two-run eighth inning the difference in 4-2 loss

LEXINGTON, KY – Both teams’ starting pitchers threw seven complete innings but earned no decisions as the Lexington Legends beat the Lakewood BlueClaws 4-2 on Saturday night at Applebee’s Park.  The loss snapped the BlueClaws (11-12) four-game winning streak and put them back below the .500 mark on the season.

Matt Cusick’s homerun to lead off the eighth inning against reliever Walter Tejeda broke a 2-2 tie and pushed the Legends in front for good.  It was his fourth homerun of the season and raised his batting average to .405 with another multi-hit game. 

It was the first batter that Tejeda (2-1) faced after Jacob Diekman pitched through the seventh.  He settled in for Lakewood after allowing runs in each of the first two innings and retired eight of the final nine batters he faced.  He allowed two earned runs on seven hits with three strikeouts and did not walk a batter. 

Before Diekman even threw a pitch on Saturday, his team had a 1-0 lead.  D’Arby Myers led off the game with a double to right-center and came around to score when Dominic Brown reached on an error by third baseman Roberto Mena.  The double by Myers was the only hit for Lakewood until Joel Naughton singled with one out in the fifth.

Lexington tied the game at one in their half of the first as, for the second night in a row, the first three batters all reached base.  Cusick and Corrado both singled and Colin DeLome picked up his 17^th RBI of the season with a single of his own.  In the second, Roberto Mena hit a ground-rule double and Nick Moresi notched his second triple of the series to give Lexington the lead, 2-1. 

That score held all the way into the seventh inning.  Starter Carlos Ladeuth had only allowed two baserunners since the first inning and had already matched his season-high in innings pitched.  Michael Taylor stroked a double down the right field line to start the inning and it took a two out single from Naughton to tie the game.  It was the sixth RBI of the season for Naughton who was the only BlueClaw to record a multi-hit game.

Jacob Leonhardt (1-4) came in to pitch the eighth for the Legends and retired Lakewood in order to setup Cusick’s homerun.  A walk and two, two-out singles followed the homerun and Lexington expanded their lead to 4-2.

A night after the BlueClaws posted new season-highs in runs (12) and hits (19) they were held to just two runs on four hits.  The four-game series and seven-game road trip will conclude on Sunday at 2:05pm.  Chance Chapman will make his fourth start of the season for the BlueClaws and he will be opposed by Sergio Severino of the Legends.  Radio coverage of every Lakewood game is available on the Shore Sports Network (1160 WOBM-AM and 1310 Fox Sports Radio) with BlueClaws Beat kicking things off 15 minutes prior to first pitch.    

Lakewood returns to FirstEnergy Park on Tuesday to start an eight-game home stand.  They will take on the Kannapolis Intimidators (Chicago White Sox) for the first four games and wrap things up with the Lexington Legends (Houston Astros) once again.  Check http://www.blueclaws.com/ for a complete list of schedules and promotions or call 732-901-7000 for ticketing information. 

Two teams combine for 23 runs on 36 hits

LEXINGTON, KY – Herman Demmink’s single with two outs in the top of the eleventh inning plated the eventual winning run in a 12-11 Lakewood BlueClaws win over the Lexington Legends Friday night at Applebee’s Park.  The BlueClaws (11-11) set a new season-high in hits and runs in their fourth straight victory.  They have now won four of the first five games on the current seven-game road trip.

The BlueClaws entered the game with just nine homeruns, second fewest in the South Atlantic League, but hit four of them in a six batter stretch.  Dennis Winn and D’Arby Myers went back-to-back with two outs in the fourth inning.  Dominic Brown led off the fifth with a homerun and after a walk Mike Durant hit his sixth of the season.  It was the first of the year for Winn, Myers and Brown.

Eight of the nine BlueClaws in the starting lineup recorded at least one hit and seven of the nine had multi-hit games.  Michael Taylor was 4-for-5 and scored three runs, including the game winner.

Lakewood spotted the struggling Legends four runs in the first two innings.  Starter Julian Sampson allowed the first three batters of the game to reach and score off him.  Lexington added a run in the second courtesy of a Nick Moresi triple and a Matt Cusick single. 

After a single Lakewood run in the third, they erupted to take a 6-4 lead in the top of the fourth.  Three straight singles started the inning as Matt Rizzotti picked up his 10^th RBI of the season.  With two outs Winn hit a three-run homerun and Myers followed with a solo shot to cap the five-run inning.

Sampson was chased from the game as Lexington scored four runs to regain the lead in the bottom half of the fourth.  His outing lasted 3.1 innings and he allowed eight runs on nine hits while walking three.  Yen-Feng Lin and Ben Pfinsgraff took over for the next four innings. 

Brown and Durrant’s homeruns put the BlueClaws in the lead again after the top of the fifth only to see the Legends tie it again in the bottom of the sixth. 

The two teams traded single runs in the seventh and eighth and a scoreless ninth pushed the offensively dominated game to extra innings. 

Jared Simon (4-1) came on with two outs in the eighth and pitched a scoreless ninth and tenth to earn his fifth decision in his tenth appearance.  Taylor’s fourth hit of the game came with one out in the eleventh and he promptly stole second base.  After Durant’s groundout left him on second Demmink delivered a bouncer up the middle that scored Taylor.

Chris Kissock set down the Legends in order in the bottom of the inning to earn his second save of the season.  Lakewood scored 12 runs on 19 hits and are now .500 for the first time this season.

The series continues on Saturday at 7:05pm from Applebee’s Park in Lexington, KY.  Lefty Jacob Diekman (0-3) gets the start for Lakewood against Lexington righty Carlos Ladeuth (1-3).  Radio coverage of every Lakewood game is available on the Shore Sports Network (1160 WOBM-AM and 1310 Fox Sports Radio) with BlueClaws Beat kicking things off 15 minutes prior to first pitch.       

Legends commit five errors in 6-2 Lakewood Win

LEXINGTON, KY – The first two batters of the game for the Lakewood BlueClaws reached on an Lexington Legends errors leading to an unearned run which became a theme for the BlueClaws in a 6-2 win over the Legends.  The win was the third in a row for the BlueClaws (10-11), the first time they have accomplished that feat this season. 

Tyson Brummett (2-0) gave the BlueClaws another solid start by throwing seven complete innings to earn his second consecutive win.  His seven-inning outing pushed him ahead of teammate Drew Naylor for the South Atlantic League lead in innings pitched (31.0).  Brummett allowed two earned runs on eight hits and walked two while striking out three. 

Lakewood had first and third after back-to-back throwing errors by the third baseman Craig Corrado to start the ballgame.  With one-out, Michael Taylor hit a groundball back up the middle that was snagged the diving shortstop Ronny Ramirez to get the forceout at second, that allowed Derrick Mitchell to score the only run of the inning. 

Two more errors in the fourth inning led to a three-run frame for the BlueClaws.  Dominic Brown reached on an infield single to start the inning and Michael Taylor reached on a throwing error by the pitcher Anthony Bello (0-1).  With one out, Matt Rizzotti grounded the ball to first.  Eric Taylor tried to start the double-play with a throw to second but Michael Taylor beat it out with a foot-first slide.  Ramirez tried to still get Rizzotti and first but with no one covering the bag, his throw sailed into the first base dugout.  Both Brown and Taylor were awarded home plate to expand the BlueClaws’ lead to 3-0.  Karl Bolt then chipped in with a single and Rizzotti scored on the groundout by Freddy Galvis. 

Lexington scored a single runs in the bottom of the fifth and seventh innings off of Brummett.  Kevin Carkeek led off the fifth with a double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Ramirez.  In the eighth, both Nick Moresi and Matthew Cusick doubled to account for the Legends’ second run.

Each time the Legends scored, the BlueClaws responded with one of their own.  In the seventh inning, a two out single by Travis Mattair score Galvis from second who had walked to start the inning.  Mike Durant lined a solo homerun over the leftfield wall, his fifth of the year, with one out in the eighth to give Lakewood the final 6-2 score.

All-in-all the BlueClaws scored their six runs (only two earned to Lexington pitchers) courtesy of nine hits and five Legends’ errors.  Corrado accounted for three errors with Bello and Ramirez each adding one.  Lakewood stranded seven base-runners included leaving the bags full in the eighth. 

The two teams will meet again on Friday at 7:05pm.  Julian Sampson (1-1) will throw for the BlueClaws while Leandro Cespedes (1-1) will be on the hill for Lexington.  Radio coverage of every Lakewood game is available on the Shore Sports Network (1160 WOBM-AM and 1310 Fox Sports Radio) with BlueClaws Beat kicking things off 15 minutes prior to first pitch.

BlueClaws hold Suns to just four hits in 4-1 win

HAGERSTOWN, MD – Drew Naylor settled down after getting out of trouble in the first inning and kept the Hagerstown Suns scoreless through his six innings of work as the Lakewood BlueClaws took the final game of the series 4-1.  It was his first win of the season and he lowered his ERA to 2.48 with another six strikeout performance. 

Naylor now leads the South Atlantic League in innings pitched (29.0) and strikeouts (33). 

Karl Bolt drove in a run in each of his first three at bats for the BlueClaws as he went 2-for-3 as the designated hitter.  His first homerun of the season gave Lakewood (9-11) a 1-0 lead in the second inning.  He drove in the second run in the fourth on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that scored Derrick Mitchell. 

Hagerstown (8-12) starter, Colton Willems, left the game after five innings after allowing the BlueClaws to take a 3-0 lead.  Joel Naughton went 4-for-4 and started a rally in the fifth with a one-out double.  With two outs, Mitchell singled to center and brought home Naughton.  WIllems, the former first-round draft pick, allowed three earned runs on five hits while walking two and striking out three. 

The BlueClaws expanded their lead in the in the sixth to 4-0 by piecing together three hits against reliever James Lehman, making his 2008 debut.  Dominic Brown singled to start the frame and with one out Mike Durant’s second single of the game put runners on first and second.  Bolt delivered again with a base hit to left scoring Brown from second.  The three RBI by Bolt double his season total and raised his batting average 33 points. 

The only run scored by the Suns was unearned to reliever Chris Kissock after he replaced Naylor to start the seventh.  Stephen Englund started the inning by reaching on a Dennis Winn throwing error.  Jake Smolinski then doubled to center and the relay throw was mishandled by Derrick Mitchel.  The error by Mitchell allowed the run to score and cut the Lakewood lead to 4-1. 

Kissock allowed two baserunners in the eighth and was replaced by Jared Simon who recorded he final four outs for his second save of the season. 

The BlueClaws roadtrip continues on Thursday in Lexington, KY at 7:05pm.  Tyson Brummett (1-0, 2.25) will make his fifth start of the season for Lakewood.  Radio coverage is available of every BlueClaws game by tuning into the Shore Sports Network (1160 WOBM-AM or 1310 Fox Sports Radio).       

Duo combines for six hits, five RBI and five runs scored

HAGERSTOWN, MD – Herman Demmink hit the third pitch of the game over the right field wall to set the tone for the Lakewood BlueClaws as they beat the Hagerstown Suns 10-3 Tuesday night at Municipal Stadium.  The BlueClaws scored runs in five separate innings including three in both the third and the sixth to set a new season high in runs. 

The offense provided more than enough for starter Chance Chapman (1-1) who put together his best start of the season.  He allowed just one run on four hits in six innings of work while striking out four and walking just one. 

Chapman had a 1-0 lead by the time he first touched the rubber thanks to the leadoff homerun by Demmink.  The round-tripper was the first homerun of his professional career and his third RBI of the season.  The BlueClaws padded their lead in the third and it was Demmink again jumpstarting the offense.  His one-out single was followed by a Derrick Mitchell single and a bases clearing double by Dominic Brown.  It was his first of four RBI on the night and he came around to score on a pair of wild pitches by starter Cole Kimball (1-1).

Kimball didn’t make it through the fourth inning as Brown chased him from the game with an RBI single that scored Jesus Sanchez.  He took the loss by allowing five runs on six hits in 3.2 innings of work.  He turned the ball over to Eric Arnesen who didn’t fare much better.  Lakewood recorded three runs off Arensen in the sixth inning courtesy of Demmink, Brown and Matt Rizzotti.  Brown knocked in Demmink and Rizzotti hit a two-run bases loaded single with two outs for RBIs eight and nine of the season. 

The Suns would never get closer than five runs back at any point in the game after scoring once in the fifth and twice in the eighth.  Yen-Feng Lin struggled through an inning and a third allowing two runs on two hits and two walks.  Ben Pfinsgraff closed out the game recording the final five outs.

<p>Mitchell singled with the bases loaded in the top of the ninth to score two runs and bring the BlueClaws to their 10-run and 12-hit total. 

The two teams have split the first two games of the series with the finale coming at 10:35am on Wednesday.  Drew Naylor will make his fifth start of the season for Lakewood as he will be opposed by Colten Willems.  The BlueClaws road trip continues over the weekend in Lexington Kentucky.  Radio coverage is available of every BlueClaws game by tuning into the Shore Sports Network (1160 WOBM-AM or 1310 Fox Sports Radio). 

Hagerstown takes first of three at Municipal Stadium

HAGERSTOWN, MD – Michael Burgess’s fourth homerun of the season capped a three-run first inning for the Hagerstown Suns as they took down the Lakewood BlueClaws 6-2 Monday night at Municipal Stadium. 

The Suns went on to match a season-high with 12 hits in the game but didn’t pull away until another two runs crossed the plate with two outs in the eighth inning courtesy of a Jake Smolinski bases loaded single. 

BlueClaws starter Jacob Diekman (0-3) struggled through the first inning, allowing the leadoff batter to reach and advance to second base with two outs.  After an RBI single by Aaron Suess, Burgess cleared the bags with a shot over the right field wall. 

Diekman began to settle down and held the Suns scoreless over the next three innings and had struck out six batters by the end of the fourth.  He ran into trouble again in the fifth inning after allowing a leadoff double to Francisco Plasencia, who went 3-for-4 on the night.  The next batter, Dan Lyons, singled to left field and the ball was misplayed by Michael Taylor which allowed the run to score. 

That was the final inning of work for Diekman who was charged with four runs (all earned) on eight hits while walking one and striking out a season-high seven batters. 

Lakewood chipped away at the Hagerstown lead with a single run in the third and another in the sixth.  Derrick Mitchell was a catalyst in each of the innings, finishing the night 2-for-2 with two doubles and an RBI.  His sacrifice-fly in the third scored Freddy Galvis, who had walked to start the inning, and Mitchell scored the BlueClaws second run after doubling and advancing two bases on two separate wild pitches from reliever Randy Mattias. 

Terrence Engles (3-0) picked up the win in his second start of the year after limiting the BlueClaws to just one run on two hits through his five innings.  Mattias labored through the sixth and seventh and Martin Beno notched his second save by throwing a scoreless final two frames.

Hagerstown added two runs in the eighth off of reliever Walter Tejeda.  Two singles and a walk loaded the bases for the Suns before Smolinski singled home a pair.  A walk reloaded the bases and Jared Simon was called upon to record just one out, which he did by striking out Plasencia.     

The two teams will meet again on Tuesday at 6:35pm and Wednesday at 10:35am to wrap up the three game set in Hagerstown.  It will be Chance Chapman (0-1) on the hill for Lakewood Tuesday while the Suns will throw Cole Kimball (1-0).  Radio coverage is available of every BlueClaws game by tuning into the Shore Sports Network (1160 WOBM-AM or 1310 Fox Sports Radio).

Shorebirds avoid sweep in series finale

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – One day after Lakewood’s best offensive performance of the season, the bats fell silent, managing just three hits in a 7-2 loss to Delmarva on Sunday afternoon at FirstEnergy Park.

Shorebirds starter John Mariotti (2-1) did not let a ball out of the infield in seven innings on the hill, limiting the BlueClaws to one hit. He retired 13 hitters on groundouts, one on a lineout and also got seven strikeouts.

Matt Rizzotti managed the only hit against Mariotti, an infield hit that ricocheted off the glove of second baseman Pedro Silveren. He also walked one hitter and saw Dominic Brown reach on an error.

Mariotti’s domination came just one day after the BlueClaws biggest offensive output of the season—nine runs on 14 hits on Saturday afternoon. The three hits on Sunday matched a season-low.

The ‘Claws did strike for two runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, thanks to RBIs from Michael Taylor and Mike Durant. Taylor’s base hit kept his home hitting streak alive at 12. Taylor has also hit safely in 16 of 17 BlueClaws games this season.

Julian Sampson (1-1) took the loss for the BlueClaws (7-10), giving up three earned runs in five innings. The 19-year old limited the ‘Birds to one run over the first five, but gave up two straight hits to open the seventh inning, before being removed without recording an out.

Chris Kissock allowed both inherited runners to score and allowed three runs of his own in the decisive sixth inning.

Tyler Henson hit his second home run of the series in the first inning for Delmarva (9-8), taking Sampson deep to leftfield to give the Shorebirds a 1-0 advantage.

Henson, Anthony Martinez, Matt Tucker and Brendan Monaghan all had multi-hit games for Delmarva.

Lakewood takes to the road on Monday, when they will face the Hagerstown Suns at 6:35 p.m. at Municipal Stadium. The BlueClaws will play three in Hagerstown before taking on Lexington for four games. They return to FirstEnergy Park on April 29 to begin a series with the Kannapolis Intimidators.

Lakewood collects 14 singles in biggest win of the season

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The BlueClaws amassed 14 hits, all singles, to pound the Delmarva Shorebirds 9-2 on a beautiful Saturday afternoon at FirstEnergy Park.

The offensive outburst helped set a number of new season highs for Lakewood in 2008 including most hits, runs and largest margin of victory. The ‘Claws had not won a game by more than three runs this season.

While the BlueClaws never managed an extra-base hit, that did not stop them from rallying for a pair of big innings. Lakewood scored four runs by sending nine hitters to the plate in each the third and the seventh innings, adding a single run in the sixth.

Eight of the nine BlueClaws starters reached base at least once and seven had at least one hit. D’Arby Myers, hitting in the leadoff spot for just the third time all season, reached base five times with four singles and a free pass thanks to an error. Michael Taylor also added three hits in four at-bats.

Travis Mattair drove in three runs in a 2-for-4 performance and now has seven runs batted in this season. He recorded his first two RBIs in Lakewood’s third-inning rally, dropping a in an opposite-field base hit with two outs and the bases loaded.

While the bats got to southpaw Cole McCurry (0-1) early and often, Tyson Brummett (1-0) did his part to keep the Shorebirds off the basepaths. The BlueClaws starter earned a well-deserved first win of the season, holding the ‘Birds to two runs, one earned, in seven innings. He also stuck out seven and walked just one.

Brummett now has 28 strikeouts on the season, one more than teammate Drew Naylor and most by any pitcher in the South Atlantic League.

The Shorebirds (8-8) did rally for a pair of runs in the fifth inning, temporarily cutting the BlueClaws lead to 4-2, but Lakewood (7-9) answered with an unearned run in the sixth and blew the game open against reliever Joe Esposito in the seventh.

Yen-Feng Lin and Ben Pfinsgraff each threw one scoreless inning out of the bullpen to nail down the BlueClaws victory.

The BlueClaws will go for their first series sweep of the season on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at FirstEnergy Park. Julian Sampson (1-0, 4.80) will start for Lakewood, while John Mariotti (1-1, 2.12) will take the mound for Delmarva.

The BlueClaws will be hosting their annual 5K Run in the Park prior to the game. The race will begin at 10:30 a.m. sharp and will finish on the FirstEnergy Park field. All participants will receive a race t-shirt, refreshments and a general admission ticket to the afternoon’s game.

Lakewood bats break out in late-inning victory

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – Mike Durant crushed a solo home run to lead off the eighth inning and help the BlueClaws to a 5-4 victory over the Delmarva Shorebirds on Friday night at FirstEnergy Park.

Durant’s home run off of reliever Jeff Moore (0-1) broke a 4-4 tie and gave the BlueClaws a late lead that they would not relinquish. Jared Simon came in and got the final three outs in order to pick up his first save of the season.

The BlueClaws (6-9) and Shorebirds (8-7) battled back and forth through the first seven innings, as neither team could pull ahead by more than two runs.

Drew Naylor had another solid start in his fourth trip to the mound of the season, but still remained without a win. The 21-year old right-hander gave up just two runs on five hits in six innings. He also struck out seven and walked a season-high three hitters.

Both runs against Naylor came on solo home runs—a first-inning blast by Joe Nowicki and a fourth-inning long ball from Tyler Henson.

Delmarva starter Tony Butler battled Naylor all the way, but his defense let him down at some critical moments. The Shorebirds committed four errors and four of the five BlueClaws runs were unearned. Butler threw five innings, giving up seven hits and four runs, but just one earned.

Possibly the most costly defensive miscue came immediately before Durant’s game-winning blast. Durant popped up a ball into foul territory, but catcher Brendan Monaghan could not make the catch and was charged with an error. Durant homered two pitches later, though the run was unearned against Moore.

Walter Tejeda (2-0) took the victory out of the bullpen for the BlueClaws. Moises Melendez and Tejeda each gave up single runs in one inning of work.

The bottom of the BlueClaws order chipped in with five hits, two RBIs and one run scored. The bottom four hitters in Lakewood’s lineup all came in hitting below .200, but Travis Mattair and D’Arby Myers each had two hits and Freddy Galvis picked up a hit and his first RBI of the season.

The two teams will meet again on Saturday at 1:05 p.m. Right-hander Tyson Brummett (0-0, 3.18) will square off against southpaw Cole McCurry (0-0, 1.64). Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 National Guard car will be on the concourse at FirstEnergy Park throughout the game.

Lakewood shutout for second time this season

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The BlueClaws missed numerous opportunities on Thursday afternoon, despite managing just three hits, as the Captains shut out Lakewood 3-0 at FirstEnergy Park. 

The BlueClaws offense notched just three hits for the second straight ballgame and were shutout for the second time in 2008. But the home side had more than enough opportunities to come out on top. The Captains pitching staff walked eight hitters and also hit one batter to help the ‘Claws load the bases twice and put two on in three separate innings.

But every time it seemed like Lakewood was poised for a breakthrough, the Captains pitching staff got the big out to escape.

The Captains got two early unearned runs against starter Chance Chapman, which proved to be the only offense Lake County would need. Travis Mattair pulled Mike Durant off the base at first to allow Matt Brown to reach with one out. Michael Valadez and Jansy Infante then each doubled with two outs, each driving a run.

Chapman (0-1) looked strong in his second start of the season, firing six innings, allowing three runs, one earned, on six hits. He also struck out five and did not walk a batter.

Joe Rocchio and Jared Simon combined for three scoreless innings of relief.

The Captains added one more run in the fifth on an RBI double from Roman Pena.

The BlueClaws best chance against Captains starter Chris Archer (1-1) came in the first inning, when they loaded the bases with two outs. But Joel Naughton grounded out to Archer to end the threat.

The ‘Claws also loaded the bases without getting a hit against reliever Kyle Landis in the sixth inning. Landis walked two and hit a batter, but struck out Dominic Brown to get out of the jam.

Mike Pontius pitched the final 2 2/3 innings out of the bullpen without allowing a baserunner. He struck out five to earn his first save of the season.

The BlueClaws (5-9) fell to 2-6 on the season against the Captains (9-5). Lakewood will welcome Delmarva to FirstEnergy Park for a three-game series starting at 7:05 p.m. on Friday.

Rizzotti drives in BlueClaws lone run

LAKEWOOD, N.J. – The Captains controlled every aspect of the game on Wednesday night at FirstEnergy Park, as Lake County notched a 12-1 victory over the BlueClaws.

Lakewood committed six errors on the night, including five in the third inning and four in four consecutive plays. The defensive miscues led to six unearned runs, all charged to starter Jacob Diekman (0-1).

The Captains (8-5) had little difficulty capitalizing on the defensive breakdowns, taking a 7-0 lead after just three innings.

Shortstop Dennis Winn was the only infielder who avoided an error. Diekman and second baseman Derrick Mitchell each committed two errors, while Matt Rizzotti and Travis Mattair each made one.

The BlueClaws defense settled down after the third, playing error-free baseball the final six frames. The team record for errors in a game is eight, set on April 18, 2001 against Lexington.

The Captains committed two errors as well, but the eight total errors fell well short of the South Atlantic League record of 16 set in 1961.

The BlueClaws offense did not fare much better than their defense. The ‘Claws tallied just four hits against Captains starter Ryan Morris (2-0) and a trio of relievers, managing one ninth inning run.

Lakewood (5-8) got their lone run in the bottom of the ninth thanks to an RBI double from Rizzotti off of Captains closer Vinnie Pestano. The double was the first hit for the BlueClaws since Michael Taylor doubled with two outs in the sixth.

Roman Pena and Adam White led the offensive charge for the Captains, each driving in three runs. Eight of the nine Captains starters scored at least one run and the player that did not, Chris Nash, drove in a run.

The BlueClaws and Captains will be back in action again Thursday morning, when they meet at FirstEnergy Park in an 11:05 a.m. start. Chance Chapman (0-0, 3.86) will start for Lakewood, while Chirs Archer (0-1, 0.96) will take the mound for Lake County.

Taylor drives in two as Lakewood clips Lake County
 
EASTLAKE, OH – Julian Sampson continued to improve, producing his best outing of the season to help the BlueClaws to a 5-3 victory over Lake County on Tuesday afternoon at Classic Park.
 
Sampson went seven innings, allowing two runs on seven hits while striking out four and walking just one. He also picked off three runners at first, helping him limit the damage even when the Captains could get runners aboard.
 
The productive outing was a sign of further progress from the 19-year old right-hander, who was making just his third-ever professional start. Sampson did not make it through the fourth inning in his first start of the season and lasted five innings last Thursday.
 
Sampson (1-0) became the first BlueClaws starting pitcher to notch a victory this season. Starters had only earned three decisions coming into Tuesday''s game and all three were losses.
 
The BlueClaws offense showed signs of life against Captains starter Kelvin De La Cruz, a pitcher that shut Lakewood down the first time the clubs squared off. De La Cruz (1-1) entered the game with a 0.90 ERA, but could not make it out of the fifth inning on Tuesday. The southpaw starter gave up five earned runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. He also walked five.
 
The big breakthrough against De La Cruz came in the top of the fifth inning when the BlueClaws (5-7) put four straight on base with two outs. After two quick outs, De La Cruz walked Travis Mattair. Karl Bolt, Michael Taylor and Mike Durant followed with three straight doubles to turn a 2-2 tie into a 5-2 BlueClaws advantage.
 
The Captains (7-5) spotted Lakewood an early 2-0 lead. Michael Taylor notched the first of his two RBIs with a run-scoring double in the top of the first. The BlueClaws added one more in the fourth when Dennis Winn''s double scored Mike Durant from second.
 
But the Captains pulled even with a pair of runs against Sampson in the bottom half of the fourth. Lake County managed three straight hits with one out to score two, but Sampson picked off Matt Brown at first and got Chris Nash to fly out to end the rally.
 
The Captains did bring the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning against Yen-Feng Lin. Matt Brown drove in Karexon Sanchez to cut the ''Claws lead to two, but Lin got Nash on a strikeout and Roman Pena on a weak ground ball to seal the victory.
 
The same two teams will face off again on Wednesday, but this time on the Jersey Shore. Jacob Diekman (0-1, 4.82) will make the start for the BlueClaws at FirstEnergy Park, while Ryan Morris (1-0, 2.45) will go for the Captains. 

Late rally erases solid start by Brummett

EASTLAKE, OH – The BlueClaws got another gem from a starting pitcher, but could not get the big hits as the Lake County Captains came from behind for a 5-4 victory in ten innings on Monday night at Classic Park.

Mark Thompson singled in Adam White in the bottom of the tenth off of Joe Rocchio (0-2) to give the Captains a win and hand the BlueClaws (4-7) their second walk-off loss in the last three days.

Tyson Brummett kept the Captains offense in check early, throwing four perfect innings to start the game. The 23-year old right-hander lost his perfect game when Jeff Hehr doubled to open the fifth inning.

Brummett continued to throw six innings and give up three runs while striking out eight.

The BlueClaws looked dominant through the early innings, taking an early lead thanks to a complete lack of control from Captains starter Santo Frias. Frias lasted just 3 2/3 innings, walked five and hit one batter, but only gave up two runs. Both BlueClaws runners that scored against Frias reached base on a free pass.

The BlueClaws were able to extend their lead to 3-0 in the fifth against reliever Kyle Landis thanks to another Captains walk. The only BlueClaws runner who scored who did not reach base on a walk was Michael Taylor. The ‘Claws leftfielder hit his first home run of the season in the seventh inning to give Lakewood a 4-2 lead.

But once Mike Pontieus and Dallas Cawiezell (1-0) entered the game, the walks stopped and so did the BlueClaws offense. The relievers pitched the final 3 2/3 innings, combining to walk two and allow just one hit.

The BlueClaws could not hold the early lead as Lake County (7-4) chipped away at the 3-0 advantage with single runs in the fifth and sixth, before tying the game 4-4 in the seventh. Lucas Montero’s groundout to first drove in the tying run with one out in the seventh.

The BlueClaws nearly regained the lead in the top of the tenth inning. Derrick Mitchell singled with one out in the frame before stealing second. But Dominic Brown and Herman Demmink grounded out to end the threat.

The BlueClaws missed opportunity set up the Captains winning rally. Adam White tallied an infield hit to lead off the inning against Rocchio. He was bunted to second by Montero and scored on a base hit to rightfield from Thompson. Brown came up throwing, but his toss was off-line and the Captains took the walk-off win.

The BlueClaws dropped a walk-off loss on Saturday night, also with Rocchio on the mound. Delmarva scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth to take a 2-1 decision, the BlueClaws first one-