Jays split four games with York

In a battle between two nationally-ranked baseball teams, the 11th-ranked Bluejays came away with a split with No. 18 York, leaving York with a one-game lead atop the standings.

The four-game series began Saturday with a 13-10 Tabor win in Game 1.

Although the Bluejays built an 8-3 advantage through three innings, York never went away.

Three Bluejays hit doubles in Tabor?s three-run first inning, including Michael Baca to lead-off the inning, Manny DeLeon to drive in Tabor?s first run, and Raulier Martinez to score two more.

Each team scored three in the second inning, then Tabor added two more in the third, thanks in part to Colton Flax?s RBI double and Baca?s sacrifice fly.

York narrowed the gap to 8-7 with a four-run sixth inning. When each team scored twice in the eighth?Ryan Neufeld highlighted the top half of the inning with a home run?Tabor clung to a 10-9 lead heading into the final inning.

With one out in that frame, Neufeld and Baca hit back-to-back singles, then Jerrik Sigg hit a three-run home run. That concluded scoring for Tabor, but it was enough, as the Bluejays limited York to one run, also via the long ball, in the bottom half of the inning.

?We had some opportunities to break it open and didn?t,? Standiford said. ?When you let them hang around like that, it?s going to happen. You knew they were going to put a run together and they did.?

DeLeon was 5-for-5 at-bat and had two RBIs. Sigg and Martinez each drove in three runs.

Thomas Longworth earned the win. He scattered 10 hits and seven runs (six earned) in 52?3 innings of work. He walked no one and struck out two.

Tabor lost Game 2, 9-2.

?Unfortunately the second game we came out very flat,??Standiford said. ?I don?t know if it was because the first game was so long and exhausting, but we didn?t perform very good that second game.?

Both of Tabor?s runs came via the long ball?a second-inning solo shot by Joel Frias, and a fourth-inning bomb by Manny DeLeon, which gave DeLeon the Tabor record for career home runs with 25.

York, however, used three hits and an error to score three in the opening inning, then added one in the second and one in the fourth to stake a 5-2 lead. A four-run bottom of the sixth sealed the seven-run victory.

Tabor tallied five hits in the game, one each by Baca, Jerrik Sigg, DeLeon, Frias and AJ Shaw.

Greg Turner sustained the pitching loss. In 51?3 innings, he gave up eight hits and nine runs (six earned). He walked five batters and struck out five. The Bluejays committed four errors in the game.

The Bluejays won Game 1 Sunday, 8-2.

In his second start of the season after battling injury, Dylan Algra went the distance for Tabor, scattering eight hits and two runs (both earned) over nine innings of work. He walked one batter and struck out six.

?(Dylan) was able to throw two pitches for a strike,? Standiford said. ?His secondary pitch was outstanding. It kept the hitters off balance. When he was down in the count, he didn?t have to come with a fastball. He was able to come back up with an off-speed pitch to get back in the count. It was fun to watch.?

The Bluejays plated run support for Algra early, scoring twice in the opening inning off Alex Couch?s two-run double. York scored one in the frame, but Tabor took a 5-1 lead with a three-hit, three-run top of the second.

York scored its second run in the fifth inning, and the score remained 5-2 until Tabor blew the game open by plating three runs in the ninth. After Shaw hit a leadoff single and Baca doubled, Couch drove in two runs with a single. Dalton Iveans drove in Tabor?s final run with a single.

Couch was 3-for-5 and had four RBIs. Joel Frias was also 3-for-5.

Tabor lost Game 2, 7-5, to split the series.

The Bluejays trailed for most of the game, as York scored once in the first and second innings to jump in front, 2-0.

Each team added a run in the fifth, before Tabor took a 5-3 lead with a four-run sixth inning. Ryan Neufeld led-off with a single, then Shaw bunted and reached base. Baca singled to load the bases, then Couch worked a bases-loaded walk. DeLeon hit an RBI single, forcing a pitching change. Tabor scored its final two runs thanks to Frias? sacrifice fly and a wild pitch. The Bluejays stranded two on base.

With Tabor leading, 5-3, York matched Tabor?s production, roughing up the Bluejay bullpen for four hits?including a pair of doubles?and four runs to regain the lead. The Panthers benefitted from two Bluejay errors as well.

The Bluejays stranded one on base in the seventh.

DeLeon was 2-for-3 and had one RBI.

?I do think we should?ve won that last game,??Standiford said. ?Good teams are going to make you pay for some mistakes, and that?s what they did.?

Jahaziel Cantu sustained the pitching loss. In 2?3 inning of relief, he gave up three hits and two runs (both earned). He walked one batter and struck out no one.

Standiford said it will be important to establish roles in the bullpen.

?We?ve got to shore some things up,??he said. ?The most important thing (is) we?ve just got to be consistent.?

Coming?Tabor will travel to Bethany (10-14, 19-23) for a four-game series Friday and Saturday. Game 1 is scheduled for 1 p.m. both days.

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