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Down 11-1, after four innings, the Barnstormers staged a fierce comeback that ended when Travis Minix struck out Lloyd Turner with the tying runs on base in the ninth as Somerset clung to the 11-9 win.
Somerset grabbed a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the first on two-out RBI singles by Matt Hagen and Travis Anderson. It was the fourth, however, that led to Lancaster's undoing.
Jason Belcher started the surge against Jason Scobie with an opposite-field double. Anderson was hit by a pitch, and Belcher scored on a double by Teuris Olivares. Elliott Ayala singled to left, driving home Anderson for a 4-1 lead. Anthony Granato followed with a three-run homer to left center as Somerset broke it open.
Scobie (1-2) retired the next two batters, but the Patriots began rolling again, literally. Left-handed batting Josh Pressley, batting against an exaggerated shift, placed a perfect bunt down the third base line for a two-out single. Hagen followed with a clean single to left. Belcher doubled down the right field line to drive in Pressley, and Anderson crunched a three-run homer for the 11-1 cushion.
A long at-bat by Michael Campbell that resulted in a double with two outs in the fifth snapped a streak of 13 consecutive outs for Josh Miller (5-2). Bryan Sabatella followed with a single to center, and the Barnstormers were on their way back.
Lancaster exploded for five runs in the sixth. Ryan Mulhern brought home two with a single up the middle, and Turner slugged a three-run homer to dead center to draw Lancaster within 11-7.
The Barnstormers built another rally in the seventh on a single by Aaron Herr and Gerard Haran's second double in as many innings, but Brian Henderson squirmed out of a jam with a pair of strikeouts. However, Henderson could not get through the eighth.
Bryan Sabatella picked up the third of his four hits and was forced at second by Turner. Casey Cahill entered the game and allowed a crisp single to right by Danny Bravo. Michael Woods doubled to left center, cutting the Patriots lead to three, and Bravo scored on a ground out by L.J. Biernbaum as the Barnstormers pulled within two. Olivares, playing third, made a diving catch of a liner by Herr to end the inning.
The Barnstormers put together one more threat in the ninth. David Housel worked out a walk on a 3-2 pitch with two outs. Sabatella lined a ball off Minix' glove. The deflection rolled to second baseman Brandon Johnson, whose rushed throw skipped into the dugout, putting the tying runs into scoring position. Turner battled but went down swinging on a slider to close the night as Minix earned his 10th save.
Notes: Turner stole his fourth base in the last two games and seventh in seven games. … Eddie Camacho threw 3 1/3 scoreless innings, his longest stint of the season. … The nine-run fourth inning by Somerset was the biggest against Lancaster in 2009.
