Skeeters swept in title series

LANCASTER, Pa - The Sugar Land Skeeters' season came to a stunning end Friday night.

Unable to hold three leads, the Skeeters finally fell to the Lancaster Barnstormers 8-7 when Gabe Jacobo delivered a walkoff home run in the 13th inning at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

It completed a three-game, Atlantic League Championship Series sweep for the Barnstormers and ended an epic game that featured 15 pitchers, 30 hits and a heavy rain, lasting four hours and 40 minutes.

"We didn't necessarily lose the game; they just won," Sugar Land manager Gary Gaetti said. "The shame of the whole thing is somebody has to lose. All four teams in the playoffs had outstanding seasons. I would have liked to put on a better showing at home for our fans, and this is a tough place to come in and play."

Jacobo's second homer last of the night, a bomb to right-center, came with one out and on Cory VanAllen's first pitch.

The Skeeters led 4-0, 5-4 and 7-5 but could not hold off Lancaster's numerous charges.

"You think you have it one minute, and you don't the next, then you think you have it again and you don't," Gaetti said. "The game was outstanding. They deserved to win; we deserved to win. Everybody was going for it. I thought we had a real good shot."

Denny Almonte hit a two-run homer in the 12th inning to put Sugar Land ahead 7-5. Almonte, hitless in his first four at bats, delivered a 2-2 offering from Lancaster reliever Jason Urquidez over the short porch in right, plating Travis Denker, who walked to lead off the inning.

In the bottom of the 12th, Lancaster's Greg Golson hit a game-tying, two-run double high off the fence in right field.

Delwyn Young had four hits, including a pair of homers for the Skeeters. Young's second blast, his fourth of the postseason, came in the eighth and broke a 4-4 tie. Young hit .344 (11-for-32) in eight playoff games.

Lancaster had runners on first and second in each of the last four innings, but Skeeters relievers were able to wiggle out of trouble the first three times.

The Skeeters, meanwhile, had the same situation in the 10th and 11th, but also could not push the go-ahead run across until the 12th when Almonte went deep.

Skeeters starter Sean Gallagher went 51⁄3 innings, surrendering three runs on seven hits and two walks.

The righthander was unscathed through the first five frames until Jacobo ended his night with a booming three-run homer.

Several hours later, Jacobo topped that feat by ending the Skeeters' season.

"We didn't win the championship, but all my guys are winners," Gaetti said. "Every day they amazed me with the effort they put in."

Joel Schreiner is a freelance writer.