Middle-inning explosion keeps Lancaster Stormers' season alive in win over York
YORK — The Lancaster Stormers are still alive. One monstrous inning went a long way in making sure of that.
Leading 2-1 in the sixth, the Stormers sent 12 batters to the plate, scored seven runs and blasted a pair of three-run homers. The offensive explosion, coupled with a solid pitching performance from starter Oscar De La Cruz, fueled Lancaster to a 14-3 win over the York Revolution Friday night in Game Three of the Atlantic League North Division Series at WellSpan Park.
With the win, the Stormers avoided a three-game sweep and forced a fourth game in the best-of-five series tonight at 6:30 back in York.
"Our backs are still against the wall right now," said Lancaster manager Ross Peeples. "Hopefully we can get some momentum after this win. The pressure is still on us."
Lancaster spotted the Revs a 1-0 lead in the second, but quickly answered with a pair of runs in the top half of the fourth thanks to an RBI groundout from Gaige Howard and a sacrifice fly by Isan Diaz.
Facing elimination, the Stormers were dealing with York starter Jon Olsen, who had a 12-3 record in the regular season and led the Atlantic League with a 3.60 ERA (2-0 with a 2.82 ERA in three previous starts against the Stormers).
The Stormers threatened in the fourth with runners on the corners and again in the fifth with another runner in scoring position. Olsen, however, escaped with no runs allowed in either.
That changed in the sixth when Mason Martin drew a leadoff walk and Nico Hulsizer singled, which was the end of Olsen's night.
Joe Stewart greeted York reliever Denny Bentley by driving his first pitch over the fence in left-center field for a three-run homer and 5-1 Stormers lead. Howard added his own three-run bomb later in the seven-run, seven-hit inning.
Howard had three hits, a triple shy of the cycle, and drove in five runs. Damon Dues added three more hits as Lancaster finished with 18.
Dues and Howard, the top two hitters in the Stormers lineup, combined to go 0-for-17 in the first two games of the series, but had six knocks on this night.
"They put together some good at bats in a row, which put (Olsen) in the stretch more," Peeples said. "We kept pressure on him."
With Lancaster leading 9-1 in the bottom of the sixth, the Revs got a run back after Alerick Soulaire was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning. He later came around to score on Alejandro Rivero's triple, but as Soulaire crossed the plate he and De La Cruz got into a fight, which led to the benches clearing and a long delay.
De La Cruz, Lancaster catcher Jack Conley, Soulaire and York pitcher Oliver Garcia were all ejected once the teams were separated.
De La Cruz went 5.2 innings, allowing two runs on six hits while striking out eight and walking two.
"He threw the ball very well," Peeples said of De La Cruz. "He stepped up and that's exactly what we expected from him."
Hulsizer added a grand slam in the ninth inning for the Stormers who recorded hits in every inning but the first. "To win championships, you have to have things go your way," Peeples said.
