Barnstormin’

	D.J. Mattox 1-4, 6.26 ERA		Tony Peguero 2-0, 4.15 ERA

The cynical part of the Barnstormers probably expected something to go wrong. They’ve won seven of their last nine games, are benefiting from great pitching and seem to have found the right lineup mix. So, naturally, someone had to get injured. That’s the M.O. for 2008.

Juan Francia’s hamstring strain comes when the team was finally clicking. The bad news is hamstring injuries tend to linger and Francia relies heavily on his speed. Although the fastest timetable for his return is 10 days, it could certainly be longer. If you rush back from a hamstring strain, there’s a high risk of re-aggravation.

A big part of the recent offensive surge was moving Francia into the leadoff spot. The infielder was hitting .321 with a .376 on-base percentage in June. With Francia hitting first and Mike Woods second, the table setters were doing an excellent job. Those two have scored 33 runs in 22 games this month.

The good news is second base is the one position where the Barnstormers have a little depth. Manager Von Hayes has two options. He can use Lloyd Turner at 2B, put Ivanon Coffie at 3B and have Lance Burkhart or Dave Adamchick play 1B. Or he could put Woods at 2B and play Greg Blosser in the OF. My guess is we’ll see the first option more often than the second.

The Barnstormers will likely make a roster addition – if they can find someone. The team only has 10 available position players until Matt LeCroy and Ian Bladergroen come back. The hope is both of those guys will return to the field before the second half begins on July 8. On Monday, LeCroy took his first swings since leaving the lineup on May 29 and reported no pain in his shoulder.

The injury bug has bitten the Barnstormers more than any other club. Francia could become their sixth player on the disabled list. That doesn’t include LeCroy – who is technically active – or P Paul Thorp, who hasn’t thrown since June 11.

Return of Nichols:

Kyle Nichols’ thunderous return to Clipper Magazine Stadium had to irk the Barnstormers. The first baseman – who only smashed one home run in the previous six weeks – went 4-for-4 with a pair of solo shots Monday night. Even worse, one of his homers landed on the picnic tent in right field.

“Good for him,” Hayes said. “I’ve seen him hit. He played for me before. He just didn’t get it done when he was with us. It looks like he made an adjustment tonight. It would have been nice to see him hit the ball to the opposite field when he was with us. But it didn’t happen.”

Lineups …

(33-23)	(25-32)
Gary Cates, SS	Lloyd Turner, 2B
Nic Jackson, CF	Michael Woods, LF
Jason Phillips, C	Danny Gonzalez, SS
L.J. Biernbaum, RF	Manny Mejia, C
Kyle Nichols, 1B	Greg Blosser, DH
Ron Davenport, LF	Lance Burkhart, 1B
Richard Lewis, 2B	Jutt Hileman, CF
Rob Gandolfo, 3B	Ivanon Coffie, 3B
Gabe Suarez, DH	Jarred Ball, RF

Scoring summary …

WP: Tony Peguero (3-0)
LP: D.J. Mattox (1-5)

FINAL: Riversharks 19, Barnstormers 4

Sharks 1st: Phillips’ double scores Cates. Biernbaum’s single scores Jackson. Nichols’ home run scores Phillips and Biernbaum. Davenport scores on Mattox’s throwing error. Suarez’s single scores Lewis. Phillips’ double scores Gandolfo, Suarez and Cates.
Camden leads 10-0.

Stormers 1st: Gonzalez’s single scores Turner.
Camden leads 10-1.

Sharks 3rd: Phillips’ single scores Suarez. Biernbaum’s sacrifice fly scores Jackson. Camden leads 12-1.

Stormers 3rd: Gonzalez’s single scores Ball. Mejia’s sacrifice fly scores Turner.
Camden leads 12-3.

Sharks 4th: Cates’ double scores Gandolfo and Suarez. Jackson’s double scores Cates. Camden leads 15-3.

Sharks 5th: Gandolfo’s single scores Biernbaum and Lewis.
Camden leads 17-3.

Sharks 7th: Lewis’ double scores Nichols.
Camden leads 18-3.

Sharks 8th: Jackson hits solo home run.
Camden leads 19-3.

Stormers 8th: Blosser hits solo home run.
Camden leads 19-4.

RECORD: 25-33

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Jason Phillips

Camden’s catcher was 3-for-3 with five RBIs … after three innings. The Riversharks had 17 runs on 18 hits … after five innings. Almost everyone in gray could stake a claim to POG honors.

For their part, the Barnstormers set a few unwanted records. The 10 runs in the first inning were the most they’ve ever allowed in one inning. The 19 runs and 22 hits were the most ever allowed in a game.

The pitchers:

*D.J. Mattox … what can you say?

This was the first time in team history a starting pitcher failed to record an out. The defense didn’t help. The two errors turned what could have been a bad inning into an unmitigated disaster. Mattox has been erratic. He has two excellent starts, but he has also been knocked around at times. This time the bottom fell out.

*Ricardo Gomez took one for the team. After throwing four innings against Southern Maryland on Saturday, the righthander went four again Tuesday night.

*Pat Cassa has allowed only one earned run in his last 12 1/3 innings. The lefty has quietly lowered his ERA to 3.81.

*Paul Thorp made his first appearance since June 11. He was bothered by a sore shoulder after his spot start in Newark.

The hitters:

*Lance Burkhart will become the seventh player to land on the disabled list. 2B Juan Francia was officially put on the DL Tuesday. The team is down to nine healthy position players. If you’ve lost track: P Tim McClaskey, P Jeff Muessig, P Ross Peeples, P Scott Tyler and 1B Ian Bladergroen are also out with injuries.

*Lloyd Turner was put in the leadoff spot in Francia’s place. He responded with two more hits as his on-base percentage continued to inch toward .400.

*Kyle Nichols struck again. He has three homers in this series.

The bottom line:

Momentum is a fickle thing in baseball. One minute everything can seem to be going a team’s way. The next minute it’s taking 32 minutes to retire the side in the first inning. This is one of those games you try to forget about 10 seconds after it’s over.