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Nettles, a long-time Atlantic League star, hit a two out, two-run single in the 10th inning to give Somerset the deciding runs in a 6-4 win over the Lancaster Barnstormers Tuesday night at Clipper Magazine Stadium.
With the game tied 4-4 and runners on second and third, Lancaster could have walked Nettles to load the bases and pitch to Travis Anderson.
For Anderson, who had entered the contest to catch in the ninth, it would have been his first at-bat of the game. But Lancaster reliever Edie Camacho (2-2) pitched to Nettles, who drove a ball into center field, scoring both Sean Smith and Josh Pressley.
"I'm surprised I got a pitch to hit," Nettles said. "I didn't think they'd intentionally walk me, but I thought they might pitch around me."
"I think that's always a consideration (to walk Nettles), but the main thing is Anderson's probably hitting about .900 off of us the last two years," Lancaster manager Von Hayes said. "He just has a thing against our team where he just swings the heck out of it. And it was going to be a situation where if we fall behind Nettles, then you probably walk him.
"But I don't like to get in the habit of walking the bases loaded with somebody out there not commanding the strike zone. He walked the leadoff batter (Smith) to start the mess."
And Camacho also walked Pressley.
For the game, Nettles was 4-for-5 with four RBIs. His two-run homer in the first inning gave Somerset a 3-0 lead and after doubling in the ninth, he scored to tie the game at four.
The Lancaster loss eliminates the Barnstormers from the Atlantic League's Freedom Division first-half race.
It looked as though Lancaster would win the game when they took a 4-3 lead into the ninth inning.
Gerard Haran hit a double to deep left center field in the bottom of the eighth inning to score Michael Woods from second base and give the Barnstormers a 4-3 lead. Patriots' left fielder Elliott Ayala nearly made a diving catch but the ball squirted out of his glove and Woods sprinted home.
Antonio Alfonseca pitched the ninth inning, attempting to record his first save as a Barnstormer. But Somerset scored on a bases-loaded double play to tie the game. Nettles doubled, Alfonseca hit Jason Belcher with a pitch and Teuris Olivares singled to load the bases with no outs.
Ayala grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, scoring Nettles. Anthony Granato grounded to short to end the inning.
Alfonseca also pitched two innings in Monday's game and may not have pitched Tuesday. But the 'Stormers were short-handed since their game Monday also went extra innings (12) and Nick Abel was unavailable due to the flu.
Somerset's Bret Prinz pitched the bottom of the 10th and struck out the side to get his third save of the season.
Casey Cahill (3-0) threw a scorless ninth to get the win.
Bryan Sabatella's three-run homer off Somerset starter Jason Standridge tied the game at 3-3. They were the only runs that Standridge, who pitched six innings and gave up six hits, would allow. He struck out six and walked just one.
Making a spot start, Ricardo Gomez pitched six innings, his longest outing of the season. He gave up three runs in the first inning but shut out the Patriots for the next five innings. Gomez surrendered five hits, struck out four and walked two.
The Barnstormers' Juan Ovalles replaced Gomez and retired all four batters he faced, striking out three of them. Lancaster lefty Ross Peeples came on to get the last two outs of the eighth inning.
Notes: Gomez made a spot start because Eric Junge was signing a contract with an affiliated organization. Tuesday night, Junge was still on the Barnstormers roster because the Atlantic League had not yet received compensation for his contract. … Joe Burke struck out five times in Monday's game. It was the first time a player struck out five times in a game vs. the Barnstormers. It was the second time a Patriot had struck out five times in a game. Nettles had five Ks against Bridgeport in a game in 2005.
E-mail: bwilson@lnpnews.com
