York struck right away in the first inning as Zander Wiel started the scoring with a two-out RBI single to left field, plating Matt McDermott who had singled earlier in the inning.

Leadoff man Damon Dues reached on an error in Lancaster’s half of the first, starting a tumultuous inning for Vallimont who walked three in the inning and uncorked a wild pitch, as the Stormers plated a pair for a 2-1 lead. The Revs righty did record a pair of fly outs to leave the bases loaded, minimizing the damage before settling in.

York did not muster another hit after the first inning until Alerick Soularie jumped on a first pitch fastball from Noah Bremer for a double to left center to start the fifth inning. Jacob Rhinesmith followed with an RBI single up the middle to knot the score at 2-2.

Vallimont got huge doubles plays in both the fifth and sixth innings to keep the game tied. In the fifth, it was a strike out, throw out double play as Mason Martin whiffed and catcher Roldani Baldwin nailed Isan Diaz attempting to steal, while in the sixth he coaxed Joe Stewart to ground into a 4-6-3 double play.

David Washington worked a one-out walk in the seventh against reliever Scott Engler and stole second base. That set the stage for Alerick Soularie who delivered again, driving a go-ahead triple to left center field, putting York in front for the first time since the top of the first with a 3-2 lead. Rhinesmith was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners, but Lancaster pitching punched out both Alfredo Reyes and Baldwin to keep the Revs to just the one-run lead.

The Revs showcased their speed and small ball abilities in the top of the eighth. Chase Dawson led off the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt from McDermott. Rudy Martin Jr followed with a high chopper to third that deflected off of Trace Loehr’s glove. Dawson, who never stopped running from second, jetted home and dove under the tag of catcher Jack Conley as York’s wheels provided a huge insurance run with a 4-2 lead.

Vallimont stayed in to begin the eighth inning and got Gaige Howard to ground out to start the frame. He followed with a 10-pitch battle against Diaz before the Stormers shortstop blasted a solo shot to right center to cut the lead to 4-3.

Alex Valverde replaced Vallimont and was met with a double to right by Martin to put the tying run at second with one out. Valverde escaped with two deep warning track flyouts as Soularie pocketed Niko Hulsizer’s deep drive to left and Martin Jr made a fantastic running grab in deep center on Joe Stewart’s bid, crashing into the fence with the final out in his glove.

Closer Matt Turner issued a two-out walk in the ninth but punched out Damon Dues swinging to lock down the one-run victory and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-five series.

The Revs will look to take a commanding 2-0 lead on Wednesday night as Aaron Fletcher takes the mound against Matt Swarmer at 6:45 p.m. Revs fans can catch the action live on SportsRadio 98.9 FM & 1350 WOYK, 989woyk.com, The New WOYK app, and FloBaseball.TV beginning at 6:25 p.m.

Notes: It is the ninth postseason appearance in Revs history and first since 2019. Tuesday’s game marked their first playoff contest in 1,816 days. York and Lancaster meet in postseason play for the third time and first since 2012. It is the Revs’ second playoff victory all-time at Clipper Magazine Stadium as their only previous playoff game victory in Lancaster came in the decisive fifth game of the 2011 Freedom Division series. It’s York’s first one-run win in a postseason game since taking all three games of the 2017 championship series vs Long Island by a single run. Tuesday’s game was the 42nd postseason game in Revs history and their 22nd victory. It was their 10th road playoff win all-time.