(June 22, 2024 – York, Pa.): The York Revolution pulled off yet another exhilarating comeback win on Saturday night, using a trio of eighth inning homers to secure a 6-5 win over the rival Lancaster Stormers in front of 4,748 fans at WellSpan Park. The Revs (34-18) have won all five games on the current nine-game homestand and have lowered their magic number to three to clinch a first half title, leading the North Division by a franchise record eight games with 11 to play in the first half.
After the Revs exploded for 18 runs in a blowout win the night before, starters Michael Horrell and Jack Labosky matched zeroes across the first three innings in Saturday’s contest.
Joseph Carpenter took a 1-2 pitch from Horrell to left center for a solo shot to open the scoring in the top of the fourth. Horrell avoided further damage by getting Chad Sedio to bounce into an inning ending double play.
Trey Martin doubled home a pair of runs off the top of the Arch Nemesis in the bottom half, giving York their quick answer and a 2-1 lead.
Horrell provided a shutdown inning in the fifth, stranding runners on the corners, and finished his night with a scoreless sixth.
Colton Welker got into scoring position in the sixth inning with a hustle double and scored on a Jacob Rhinesmith infield single coupled with a throwing error by shortstop Kyle Kasser to go up 3-1. With Rhinesmith running on a full count pitch later in the inning, Kobe Kato knocked a base hit to center field. Rhinesmith was sent to the plate attempting to score all the way from first but was called out on the relay, much to the dismay of manager Rick Forney and the Revs faithful as the lead remained two runs.
Tom Sutera relieved Horrell for the seventh but surrendered a go-ahead three run homer to right by Shawon Dunston Jr, making it 4-3 Stormers.
Two Lancaster runners reached with one out against Sutera in the eighth before York turned to Matt Turner. The lefty punched out Damon Dues but gave up a run scoring single to left by Jack Conley to put the Stormers up 5-3. Turner picked off Justin Farmer at second base to escape any further trouble.
David Washington and Welker ambushed reliever Phil Diehl for back-to-back home runs leading off the bottom of the eighth inning to tie the game at 5-5 in dramatic and stunning fashion. Martin followed two batters later with a solo blast to left center for the lead, capping another incredible comeback effort.
Frankie Bartow entered to pitch the ninth and retired Kasser for the first out on a great diving stop by third baseman Alfredo Reyes. Lancaster got a one out baserunner on an infield pop up that all four infielders lost sight of in the twilight, but Bartow rolled a game ending 6-4-3 double play ball to secure the 6-5 win.
The Revs will look for the sweep on Sunday afternoon when Ethan Lindow faces lefty Max Green at 2 PM. The jam-packed afternoon features Pickleball Day, Sunday Funday by Weis Markets, Rookie Revs Character Meet & Greet, Crab Feast catered by Captain Bob’s Crabs in the Home Run Patio, and WellSpan Wellness Weekend: Heart & Vascular. Tickets are on sale at YorkRevolution.com, (717) 801-HITS, and in-person at the Shipley Energy Ticket Office.
Notes: York’s eight-game division lead surpasses the previous record of seven games set late in the 2008 season. The Revs have won nine of their last ten overall and their 34-18 record is four games better than the previous franchise best through 52 games (2010, 2014, 2023). The magic number drops from six to three over Lancaster as York also clinched a winning head-to-head record in the first half, owning a potential tiebreaker as they are now 7-1 in this season’s War of the Roses series. They also lowered their magic number from five to three to eliminate third place Staten Island from first half contention as the FerryHawks lost a rain-shortened game on Saturday night. York has won 11 of its last 12 at WellSpan Park, improving to 16-9 at home. Sutera had allowed just four earned runs all season before being charged with four in Saturday’s game. Bartow notched his third save and first since April 30. Washington’s home run is the 90th of his Atlantic League career and his league-leading 21st this season, two shy of a Revs record for a half. It was his eighth homer in nine games and his 11th in June, one shy of a Revs single-month record and the most in a single month by a Revs batter since 2019. He also posted his league-leading 53rd RBI, breaking a tie with teammate Donovan Casey who went 1-for-4, extending his hitting streak to 14 games. Matt McDermott went 2-for-4, tying Casey for the league lead with 69 hits. Welker (3-for-4) extended his hitting streak to seven. The Revs have homered in all five games on the current homestand, totaling 12 long balls; they have hit three homers in three of the last four games including back-to-back nights, and now have 75 homers on the year as a team, the league’s second most. York traded infielder Paxton Wallace to Schaumburg (Frontier League) for a player to be named later.