Game 3 vs. Lancaster Barnstormers

After going even in the series, the Skeeters looked to take the final game of the 3 game series before heading to Somerset tomorrow night. The 1st inning had Drew Locke hitting in the lead off position and it paid off as he hit a single. Jason "BIG MAN" Botts extended his consecutive game hit streak to 10 by busting a double, scoring Locke from first base. That is all the Skeeters could muster as the next 2 batters went down. Matt Wright came in and sat the Barnstormers down...3 up & 3 down...1-0 after the 1st inning. The 2nd inning saw the bats come alive and after a strike out to Colt Morton for the first out, Benitez, Cabral, & Locke had consecutive singles to load the bases. Bubba Bell came up with the bases juiced and hit into a 4-6-3 inning ending double play. Once again, Wright faced 3 batters and sat them down in order, not allowing a hit. In the 3rd inning, Jason "BIG MAN" Botts received his first walk of the season to lead off the inning. Pressley hit into a 4-6-3 double play, the second of the game, to make it 2 outs. Harrison hit a 2 out single back up the middle, giving Van Ostrand a chance to increase the lead for the Skeeters. Van Ostrand delivered a 2 out double scoring Harrison from 1st base, Van Ostrand reached 3rd base on a throwing error. With that double, Van Ostrand's consecutive game hit streak reaches 4 games. Morton ended the inning with a ground out to the 3rd baseman. The Barnstormers seemed to have Wright figured out as he allowed a lead off HR, and a single. Colt Morton threw out the runner attempting to steal second for his first caught stealing of the season, 2 outs. Wright was still able to make it 3 up & 3 down by striking out the pitcher to end the inning...the score was now 2-1 after 3 innings. The top half of the 4th inning had the Skeeters struggle as the first 2 batters went down. That changed when Drew Locke doubled for his 3rd hit of the game. Bubba Bell then stepped in and smashed a 2 run HR for his first HR of the season...the ball landed in the outfield pool. Jason "BIG MAN" Botts ended the top half of the inning by flying out to CF. Wright faced 4 batters and held the Barnstormers scoreless to keep the score 4-1 after 4 innings. The middle of the line-up was due in the top half of the 5th inning for the Skeeters and saw the Skeeters go 3 up & 3 down for the first time in the game. Matt Wright came out to pitch in the bottom half of the 5th inning to make it the 3rd game in a row for him to pitch into the 5th inning...still looking for his first win of the season. After struggling just a bit, Wright was able to hold the Barnstormers scoreless, leaving 2 runners on base...keeping the score 4-1 after 5 innings, making him eligible for the win. The 6th inning was a duplicate of the 5th inning seeing the Skeeters go 3 up & 3 down. Wright came out for the bottom half of the 6th inning and faced 6 batters giving up 1 unearned run and leaving 2 runners on the bases...making the score 4-2 after 6 innings. The Skeeters brought the top of the line up into start the 7th inning and proceeded to go 3 up and 3 down for the 3rd straight inning...10 batters sat down in order for the Skeeters. Michael Nix came in to relieve Wright in the 7th inning and faced 4 batters, retiring 2 and allowing a single and a walk. Heath Phillips came in to close out the inning but gave up a 3 run HR on his first pitch of the inning. He then walked the next batter, allowed a bunt single, and walked the next batter to load the bases before finally retiring the side...the score was 4-5 after 7 innings. It appeared that the Barnstormers were going to hit the "copy" button for the top of the 8th inning as the first 2 Skeeters went down in order...making it 12 Skeeters down in a row since Bubba Bell in the 4th inning. Jimmy Van Ostrand broke the hit less streak by tagging a single to reach base. The inning ended with a fly out to the second baseman in foul territory. Even after his meltdown in the previous inning, Phillips returned to the mound for the Skeeters in the bottom half of the 8th inning. He faced 2 batters and got 2 outs on 3 pitches before being relieved by Sean Morgan, the local pitcher from Clements High School. Morgan immediately began to struggle as he gave up 3 consecutive hits, 2 singles and a double, which produced 2 runs for the Barnstormers on 5 total pitches. With a runner on 2nd base, Morgan finally got out of the inning with a ground out to the 2nd baseman...the score was 4-7 after 8 innings. Having only 3 outs to get something done, the Skeeters needed to have Martinez, Carbral, and Locke to start the rally. The Skeeters fell back into old habits however by going 3 up & 3 down...ending the game and starting another losing streak.

Jason "BIG MAN" Botts now has a 10 game consecutive hit streak, Jimmy Van Ostrand has a 5 game consecutive hit streak while Drew Locke, and Ben Harrison each have a 3 game consecutive hit streak.

With this loss, the Skeeters fall to a 4-6 record while the Barnstormers move into a tie with the Somerset Patriots for the Freedom Division lead with a 5-5 record. The Skeeters have a chance to make a big move when they begin a 4 game series against the Somerset Patriots tomorrow evening. The first game of the series tomorrow night begins at 6:05 PM local time.