Lehman Tosses Gem, Mainers Top Silkworms 8-1
Mainers walk away with fourth straight win.

Sanford, ME – For his second straight start, Pat Lehman took a no-hitter into the eighth inning as the Sanford Mainers defeated the Manchester Silkworks 8-1 Saturday night at Goodall Park. Lehman fired eight and a third innings without allowing an earned run, stretching his personall scoreless streak to 20 and two-thirds frames. The Mainers supported Lehman, scoring at least one in each inning from the third through the seventh.

With the scored tied 1-1, the Mainers would get the bats going in the fourth. Brian Harris came to the plate with two outs and Will Greenberg on second. Harris drilled a 2-2 pitch over the head of centerfielder Michael Gallic in center for a double to score Greenberg and give the Mainers the lead. With Corey Hunt at the plate, Harris came in to score on a wild pitch then pass ball. After Hunt walked and reached second on another passed ball, Steve Brooks would come through with his second RBI single in as many innings to give Sanford a three-run edge.

The Mainers would some add some insurance in each of the next three innings. Kyle Groth doubled home Devin Harris in the fifth and Brooks scored on a wild pitch in the sixth. Then in the eighth, Sanford would get their final two tallies on a Branson Joseph sacrifice fly to plate Groth, and an RBI single by Brian Harris.

Manchester would strike first with an unearned run in the third. After Ryan Piacentini reached on a Brian Harris throwing error, Joseph Cotter sacrificed him over to second. A.J. Rusbarksy hit a soft grounder to short. Harris couldn’t smother it and Piacentini came into score from second and give the Silkworms an early 1-0 lead.

Sanford would get that run back in their half of the third. Greenberg became the first baserunner to reach on a bunt single to lead off the frame. He advanced to second on a passed ball by Manchester catcher Chris Affinito. Brooks then came through with an opposite field single to plate Greenberg.

Lehman picked up his first win of the year in his eight and a third innings. The righty struck out six and did not walk a batter. Ryan Cole recorded the final two outs in the ninth. Jeremiah Bayer took the loss for Manchester. After retiring the first six batters he faced, Bayer ended up allowing four runs in four total innings of work.

Notes… Lehman’s outing was the deepest for a Mainer starter this season, breaking his own record from his last start against Vermont (7.2 IP)…Kyle Groth recorded his third multi-hit game in a row (eight hits in that stretch)…The Mainers are off each of the next two days before traveling to Manchester to take on the Silkworms for the second straight game. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00. Audio and video streaming are both available at sanfordmainers.com