Johnson's Blast Sends Senators Somewhere Beyond the Sea(Wolves)

The Harrisburg Senators downed the Erie SeaWolves 5-3 Tuesday night at FNB Field. Daniel Johnson broke a 3-3 tie with a two-run home run in the seventh inning to send the Senators to victory. 

The Senators took an early lead with a run in the first. Carter Kieboom reached on a one out single and went to third on an errant pickoffthrow by Erie starting pitcher Beau Burrows. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Daniel Johnson.
They added a pair of runs in the second. The first run scored on a mishandled groundball at shortstop by Sergio Alcántara which allowed Austin Davidson to cross the plate and the second run scored on a run-scoring groundout by Kieboom.
After scoring a pair of runs in the third, Erie tied the game in the fourth when Troy Montgomery homered to right off Senators starting pitcher Sterling Sharp. 
The game remained tied at 3-3 until the bottom of the seventh, when Daniel Johnson blasted a two-run home run to right off to put the Senators ahead 5-3. The home run was Johnson's third of the past three games. 
"It's hard anytime you have a hamate injury like he had and have been off for six or seven weeks. I just think he's getting his timing back and his hand speed back," Senators manager Matt LeCroy said. "He's showing that when he's healthy the ability to hit the ball. I don't want to label him as a home run guy because to me he has a chance to really hit. That was a big hit and a big home run late."
"He's probably been one of the most improved players that I've had that hasn't had that much experience in baseball." 
The Senators bullpen shutout Erie over the final five and two-thirds innings. Derek Self pitched two and two-third scoreless, James Bourque pitched a scoreless seventh, and Roman Mendez pitched a perfect eighth and ninth to seal the 5-3 win and notch his 10th save.
"(The bullpen) was really good. It was a team effort. We picked each other up," LeCroy said. "I'm really proud that the team keeps going and they keep playing. That's what the group is all about."
Bourque earned the win while Erie starter Sandy Baez (1-9) took the loss after allowing the home run to Johnson. 
The Senators and SeaWolves play game three of their series Wednesday night. Logan Darnell starts for the Senators against Erie starter Matt Manning. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at FNB Field. The game can be heard on CBS Sports Harrisburg 96.5 & 95.3 FM and 1400 AM or at www.cbssportsharrisburg.com beginning at 6:20 p.m.