Skeeters "stormed" by Lancaster

Headed into the 6-game series versus the division leader Lancaster Barnstormers, the Skeeters need to go 4-2 at Constellation Field to gain first place in the division. They stood a good chance at taking the 1-0 lead with Jason Lane on the mound while Lancaster put Dwayne Pollok on the mound.

Things started well for Lane as he got the first 2 batters out, and then the lights went out! After a 20 minute delay, the game got started again. Unfortunately, so did the Barnstormers. Blake Gailen tagged Lane for a home run. The Skeeters went 3 up & 3 down...1-0 Lancaster.

Lane settled down for the 2nd & 3rd innings, going 3 up & 3 down in both. The Skeeters took the lead in the 3rd inning. With 2 outs, Manny Mejia & Dominic Ramos hit back-to-back singles and both scored on an Ofilio Castro single. Castro then scored on a Josh Pressley ground out to the pitcher...3-1 Skeeters!

The 4th inning was disastrous for Lane as he completely fell apart. He allowed 5 runs on 7 hits while stranding 2 runners on base. The Skeeters then loaded the bases but failed to get an runs out of the effort...6-3 Lancaster.

 Lane came back out to pitch the 5th & 6th innings, allowing only 1 hit and keeping the Barnstormers scoreless. Lane's final numbers were 6.0 innings pitched, 10 hits, 6 runs while striking out 4.

Garrett Parcell took over in the 7th inning and allowed 2 runs on 2 hits. For the 5th time of the game, the Skeeters went 3 up & 3 down...8-3 Lancaster.

Will Startup took over in the 8th inning but did not stop the Barnstormers from hitting. He managed to get 2 outs but loaded the bases on 3 singles. Gary Majewski came in and got the final out of the inning, luckily keeping home plate from being abused by the Barnstormers. The Skeeters got 1 run back when Josh Pressley hit a home run...8-4 Lancaster.

The Barnstormers got that run back by scoring 1 run on 3 hits, and for the 2nd inning in a row, left the bases loaded. The Skeeters were able to get a rally going in their final at bat. Dionys Cesar (walk), Steve Moss (hit by  pitch), & Dominic Ramos (walk) all scored on a 2-out double by Ofilio Castro. Bubba Bell then singled to keep hopes alive but Josh Pressley ended the game with a fielder's choice ground out...Lancaster wins game 1 with a 9-7 score.

My MVP of the game is Ofilio "OC" Castro. He went 2 for 5 with a single, double and 4 RBIs, while scoring 1 run.

Hitting Streaks:

Bubba Bell (7)

Manny Mejia (4)

Ofilio Castro (2)

Aaron Bates (2)

Home Runs:

Josh Pressley (13)

With the loss, the Skeeters are now 2.5 games behind Lancaster for 1st place in the division.

Game 2 is scheduled for Saturday night at 7:05pm local time.