LANCASTER, PA- The Somerset Patriots defeated the Lancaster Barnstormers 12-7 in front of 6,915 fans at Clipper Magazine Stadium on Friday evening.
The Barnstormers sent ten men to the plate and scored six runs in the bottom of the second inning to take an early 6-0 lead. Lancaster loaded the bases on a lead off single to right by leftfielder Dominick Ambrosini, a single to right center by catcher Lance Burkhart and a Patriots fielding error on a ground ball to first off the bat of first baseman Eric Crozier. Designated hitter Russ Cleveland followed with a two run double down the left field line that scored both Ambrosini and Burkhart and then third baseman Dionys Cesar hit a two run double to right center that plated Crozier and Cleveland. Second baseman Michael Woods then hit a one out RBI triple to left center to score Cesar and shortstop Danny Gonzalez followed with a RBI single to left that brought in Woods.
The Patriots got a run back in the top of the third inning to make it 6-1 when centerfielder Mike Lockwood ripped a two out solo home run to left center, his 20th of the 2007 season.
Lancaster plated a run in the bottom of the third inning to take a 7-1 lead when Crozier hit a one out single to right, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on a two out RBI double down the left field line by Cesar.
Somerset answered by sending eleven men to the plate and scoring five runs in the top of the fourth inning to cut the Barnstormers lead to 7-6. Third baseman Jose Morban led off with a single to right and moved to third on a one out single to left by first baseman Todd Leathers. Rightfielder Luke Allen followed with a RBI single to right that plated Morban and then catcher Jason Belcher singled to center to load the bases. Shortstop Elliott Ayala cleared the bases with a three run triple into the right field corner, scoring Leathers, Allen and Belcher and then Lockwood followed with a RBI to right that brought in Ayala.
The Patriots tied the game at 7-7 with a run in the top of the fifth inning when Leathers drew a lead off walk, advanced to second on a single to right by Allen and after a wild pitch, scored on a RBI groundout to second by Belcher.
Somerset rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth inning to take a 10-7 lead. Lockwood drew a lead off walk and advanced to second on a single to right by leftfielder Jason Romano. Designated hitter Alan Zinter then lined a one out RBI double down the right field that scored Lockwood and Leathers followed with a two run bloop single to center that plated Romano and Zinter.
The Patriots added two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to extend their lead to 12-7. Somerset loaded the bases on a single to right center by second baseman Patrick Boran, a single to right by Ayala and a bunt single up the third base line by Lockwood. Romano then lined a two run single to center that drove in Boran and Ayala.
Patriots reliever Jason Ricardson (1-4) picked up the win, throwing three scoreless innings allowing only one hit while striking out three. Barnstormers reliever Brendon Davis (0-6) suffered the loss, allowing three runs on two hits while walking two and striking out one in 1.1 innings pitched.
With the win the Patriots improved to 34-21 in the second half and 69-49 on the 2007 season while the Barnstormers dropped to 26-28 and 55-62 overall.
The Somerset Patriots 10th Anniversary Season presented by Ford will continue on the road until Tuesday, September 11th when the Patriots return home for a 7:05 pm game against the Lancaster Barnstormers. The game includes Law Enforcement Night & Wildlife Conservation Night. Great seats are available by stopping by the Patriots Ticket Office located at the ballpark, by calling (908) 252-0700, or on-line at www.somersetpatriots.com.
