Vidal’s Go-Ahead Homer Leads Patriots To 3-2 Win

Lancaster, PA – Jon Hunton and the Somerset Patriots (8-7, 46-39) wiggled out of a first and third one-out situation in the last of the ninth inning to edge the Lancaster Barnstormers (6-9, 40-44) 3-2 Friday evening at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

After K.C. Hobson socked a booming double, and Mike McDade punched a single, pinch hitter Yuskuke Kajimoto came to the plate in the bottom of the ninth inning. He hit a small tapper inches in front of home and Yovan Gonzalez pounced on the ball and turned Somerset’s fourth double play of the night.

“That play was so much fun, it was awesome,” Gonzalez said with a smile. “I always play the game hard and I saw it stay fair so I did what I had to do. I made a terrible throw but Luis [Mateo who covered second] made a great pick and was able to finish the double play. That right there was the play of the game.”

Mycal Jones hit an RBI sacrifice fly in the third inning to give Somerset a 1-0 advantage.

The lead would be short lived as McDade hammered a two-run home run (9) to give the Barnstormers a 2-1 advantage in the fourth frame.

With two outs in the top of the sixth inning, the red hot David Vidal drilled an opposite field two-run home run (10). It was his fourth home run of the week and the second straight game he tallied a go ahead round tripper.

“I was seeing the same sequences all night,” said Vidal who is hitting .355 with 10 home runs and 25 RBI in 33 games this year. “I was looking for something in and up and I got a cutter and made the most of it.”

Shaun Garceau (3-3) earned the win. He induced inning ending double plays with the bases loaded in the second and fifth innings. He yielded two runs in five innings of work to grind out his first victory since June 21^st. Former Patriot Kelvin De La Cruz (6-8) sustained the loss. He hurled 6.0 innings while giving up three runs. Jon Hunton notched his 15^th straight save and 22^nd overall on the season.

The 2016 Somerset Patriots season presented by Ford continues on the road until Thursday, July 28^th when team returns to TD Bank Ballpark for a 7:05 p.m. game against the Bridgeport Bluefish. For tickets, call 908-252-0700 or visit www.somersetpatriots.com. Download our Mobile App for free in the Apple or Android App store.