Kieboom, Suns sweep Grasshoppers

It would have been easy for Spencer Kieboom and the Suns to get down after they lost their lead. Instead, they showed the hallmarks of a team heading to the Championship Series.

The Nationals catching prospect drove in a pair of runs Friday night as Hagerstown beat Greensboro, 6-2, to complete a sweep of its best-of-3 South Atlantic League semifinal series.

Kieboom helped the Suns early, extending their lead to 2-0 with a third-inning sacrifice fly. After the Grasshoppers tied it in the bottom of the seventh, the 23-year-old backstop singled home the go-ahead run in the eighth.

"Really, it was just another day," Kieboom said. "I was looking to get it done early. I was trying to sit fastball early and [reliever Tyler Kinley] threw me a fastball first pitch. I was just trying to drive it back up the middle."

Taking a 2-0 lead into the seventh, the Suns watched as Mason Davis tied game with a two-run double.

"Nothing really changed," Kieboom said. "It happened, we moved past it and the guys are looking to come up to the plate and do what we've been doing. It was great to see us bounce back from giving up two runs like that."

Suns starter Reynaldo Lopez pitched six shutout innings, striking out 10 and giving up two hits.

"Reynaldo is a really good pitcher," Kieboom said. "He's been very consistent since he got back up to Hagerstown. Everybody's got confidence in him. He had a pretty good mix tonight. He has a very good fastball, he can pump it up to 100 mph sometimes. His breaking ball wasn't his best, but it got the job done."

The Suns, who shared the league's best record during the regular season, return to the best-of-5 Finals after falling to Savannah in four games last year.

"Everyone's excited," Kieboom said of the Hagerstown clubhouse. "We've been working towards this goal, it's great to finally to have it happen."

South Atlantic League MVP Wilmer Difo -- the Nationals' No. 20 prospect -- was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Jimmy Yezzo contributed two hits, including an RBI single, for the Suns.

Hagerstown will host the first two games of the Championship Series.

In other South Atlantic League action:
Asheville 2, Savannah 1, suspended

The Tourists were five outs away from sweeping the other semifinal series when the game was halted due to unplayable conditions. Rockies No. 3 prospect David Dahl led off the eighth inning with a double and scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch for Asheville.