Mills, Peterson Throw Gems in 3-2 Win Over Lakewood

HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Suns pitchers McKenzie Mills and Tommy Peterson held the Lakewood BlueClaws to two runs on four hits and three Hagerstown runs in the third inning were enough to win the series finale, 3-2, on Monday afternoon at Municipal Stadium.
The Suns (37-26) took three of four games from Lakewood, pushing their South Atlantic League Northern Division lead to two games over the Greensboro Grasshoppers with just seven games left to play before a first-half division champion is decided at the All-Star break.
Hagerstown rallied against All-Star lefty Ranger Suárez (Loss, 4-2) in the second inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Anderson Franco lined a double to center, scoring Jake Noll and Nick Banks while Jakson Reetz advanced to third. The next batter, Angelo LaBruna, laid down a sacrifice bunt on the first pitch and scored Reetz to make it 3-1 Suns.
Mills (Win, 6-2) allowed a solo homer to Lakewood cleanup hitter Darick Hall in the top of the second before setting down the next 12 batters in order. Raul Rivas tallied an RBI groundout against him in the sixth, but Mills left with the lead after six complete innings and four strikeouts with three hits allowed.
Peterson (Save, 3) took over in the seventh and tossed his best relief outing since rejoining the Suns on May 10. He struck out four of the first six batters he faced and despite a high flyball from Henri Lartigue that just hooked foul with two outs in the top of the ninth, Peterson bounced back to induce the game-ending groundout, finishing with just one hit allowed in three scoreless innings.
Following Monday's victory in their final home game of the first half, the Suns will try to clinch their fifth division title in the last six years during a seven-game road trip. Hagerstown opens a four-game series in Kannapolis, North Carolina on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. with right-handed starter Sterling Sharp (3-3, 3.62) facing fellow righty Jimmy Lambert (6-2, 2.39) for the Intimidators, who currently sit third in the Northern Division race, two-and-a-half games behind Hagerstown.
The Suns open the second half of the SAL season at home on June 22 against the Greensboro Grasshoppers at 7:05 p.m. on a Thirsty Thursday at Municipal Stadium. For tickets, call 301-791-6266 or visit hagerstownsuns.com.