Hagerstown

What are the chances that a city that's more like a town could produce two scholastic basketball players worthy of inclusion on any year's 25-man McDonald's All-American Team? This year, they were splendid. Rodney Monroe, a 6-3 guard headed for North Carolina State, was born in Hagerstown, Md., a city of 33,000 located 68 miles west-northwest of Baltimore, and continues to live there. Dennis Scott, a 6-6 forward bound for Georgia Tech, also was born in Hagerstown. He continues to spend a lot of time there.

Ron Lockett stroked a one-out home run over the left-field wall for the game's only run as the Reading Phillies defeated Hagerstown, 1-0, last night in an Eastern League game. Lockett's shot, off Erik Schullstrom, made a winner of Darrell Goedhart, who gave up only five hits - with no walks and five strikeouts - in eight innings of work. Since getting called up from single-A Clearwater two weeks ago, Goedhart has pitched 14 scoreless innings and has not walked a batter. Jeff Patterson picked up his third save of the season.

ALLENTOWN - Brian Duensing pitched seven scoreless innings to lead Rochester past the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 4-1, last night in the International League. Hagerstown 6, Lakewood 3 HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Sean Rooney went 3 for 4 with a triple and three RBIs to lead the Suns in the South Atlantic League.

DURHAM, N.C. - David Doster slammed a pair of home runs and Johnny Estrada also homered last night to lead the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons to a 7-6 win over the Durham Bulls in the International League. Doster hit his first homer of the season Sunday in a victory over Norfolk. Hagerstown 12, Lakewood 2 HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Gavin Floyd, the Phillies' first-round draft pick last June, took a beating as the Suns routed the BlueClaws in the South Atlantic League. The righthander lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs and seven hits while walking four and striking out two. Lakewood has lost five of its last six games.

Danny Cox, pitching on a rehabilitation assignment, threw six innings, scattering five hits while allowing two runs, as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons defeated the Louisville Redbirds, 11-3, in a Triple-A Alliance game last night. Sil Campusano drove in four runs with four hits, and Gary Alexander collected four RBIs with a homer. The Red Barons rallied from a 2-1 deficit by scoring four runs in the fifth inning and three runs in the sixth and eighth. Cox was making his first mound appearance since straining a groin muscle with the Phillies on May 18 and being placed on the 15-day disabled list.

Steve Scarsone hit three doubles, stole a base and drove in a run last night as Scranton/Wilkes-Barre beat Tidewater, 6-3, in the International League. The Red Barons pulled ahead early, with a four-run third inning that included a double by Scarsone and a single by Tom Marsh. The Barons' Doug Lindsey knocked in a run in the fifth and another in the seventh. Scranton's Mike Williams allowed five hits and two runs, striking out three in 5 2/3 innings in picking up the victory.

The Phillies got seven runs on nine hits in the first inning last night and defeated Hagerstown, 7-5, despite getting just one hit the rest of the way. The Phils opened the game with seven straight singles before anyone was retired. Left fielder Tony Trevino had a two-run single to highlight the inning. Leadoff man R. A. Neitzel had two singles in the inning. Mike Lieberthal, who continues to lead the Eastern League in hitting with a .311 average, got a single in the first and was 2 for 4 in the game.

Kyle Washington went 5 for 6 and scored three runs, and Brent Miller homered and knocked in three runs as Hagerstown routed the Reading Phillies, 15-8, yesterday in an Eastern League game. Hagerstown scored five runs in the first inning en route to snapping a four-game losing streak. For Reading, Pat Brady went 3 for 3 and drove in four runs, and Sean Ryan added three hits and two RBIs. The Phillies committed five errors in losing for only the second time in their last seven games.

Torey Lovullo hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning to help the Columbus Clippers defeat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, 4-1, last night in an International League game. The game drew 15,961 fans, the third-largest home crowd in Clippers history. Sam Militello won his fourth straight decision, going 7 2/3 innings and giving up four hits, one run and two walks while striking out seven. He leads the league with 103 strikeouts. Mike Draper finished for his league-leading 19th save.

The magical ride for the Devon Strafford all-stars ended last night, one win shy of the Little League World Series. Devon's 8-3 loss to an undefeated team from Hagerstown, Md., ended a tremendous season that included the squad's first state championship. A win would have sent Devon to take on the world's best in Williamsport, Pa., as the Mid-Atlantic Regional champion. Devon found itself in an uphill battle from the opening pitch, as a solo home run by Andrew Yacyk put Hagerstown on top. Devon pitcher Kyle Stefanic looked as though he was going to elude a second-inning jam unscathed, but he hung a curveball up in the strike zone and was touched for a grand slam by Zane Schreiber, giving Hagerstown a commanding 6-0 lead after two frames.

ALLENTOWN - Juan Francisco homered and drove in four runs to lead the Louisville Bats past the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 8-7, in the International League on Monday. Lehigh Valley's Vance Worley struck out seven in six innings and gave up only three runs but did not figure in the decision. IronPigs catcher Erik Kratz, who grew up in Telford, was 3 for 3 with two doubles and three RBIs. Elsewhere: Ervis Manzanillo struck out six in 52/3 innings to lead Lakewood past Hagerstown, 3-1, in the South Atlantic League.

Nick Weglarz drove in the winning run with a single in the botton of the 11th inning to give the Columbus Clippers a 3-2 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in the International League on Thursday. Andy Tracy was 3 for 5 with an RBI for Lehigh Valley and Brian Bocock hit a solo homer in the fifth. Jordan Brown was 3 for 5 for the Clippers. Lehigh Valley10001000000-2100 Columbus00002000001-391 WP: Jess Todd (2-2). LP: Brian Gordon (0-1). HR: L- Brian Bocock (1)

Six Hagerstown Suns were totally eclipsed. Joe Blanton overpowered them all in a 13-pitch, 11-strike, no-run, no-hit, two-inning rehab start last night for the Class A Lakewood Blue Claws in a dazzling display that indicated he may be back with the Phillies a lot sooner than later. "I don't know where [Phillies management] will take it from here," said Blanton, his right arm and shoulder swathed in ice after he emerged from a 1-hour workout following his brief but perfect mound performance.

The magical ride for the Devon Strafford all-stars ended last night, one win shy of the Little League World Series. Devon's 8-3 loss to an undefeated team from Hagerstown, Md., ended a tremendous season that included the squad's first state championship. A win would have sent Devon to take on the world's best in Williamsport, Pa., as the Mid-Atlantic Regional champion. Devon found itself in an uphill battle from the opening pitch, as a solo home run by Andrew Yacyk put Hagerstown on top. Devon pitcher Kyle Stefanic looked as though he was going to elude a second-inning jam unscathed, but he hung a curveball up in the strike zone and was touched for a grand slam by Zane Schreiber, giving Hagerstown a commanding 6-0 lead after two frames.

ALLENTOWN - Brian Duensing pitched seven scoreless innings to lead Rochester past the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 4-1, last night in the International League. Hagerstown 6, Lakewood 3 HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Sean Rooney went 3 for 4 with a triple and three RBIs to lead the Suns in the South Atlantic League.

Denny Abreu's run-scoring single in the bottom of the 12th inning last night sent the Camden Riversharks past the Road Warriors, 4-3, in an Atlantic League game at Campbell's Field. Shaun Skrehot reached base on an error and moved to second when Alejandro Freire, who had homered in the eighth, was given an intentional pass. Abreu, who was 4 for 6 last night, drove in Skrehot on a single to left to end the game. Damian Myers earned the win for the Riversharks, entering in the 11th inning and holding the Warriors scoreless while allowing one hit. Trenton 10, Portland 4 PORTLAND, Maine - Home runs by Eric Duncan, Justin Christian and Vince Faison led the Thunder to an Eastern League victory over the Sea Dogs.

TOLEDO, Ohio - Luis Taveras ripped a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth inning yesterday to lead the Toledo Mud Hens past the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, 3-2, in the International League. Akron 7, Reading 3 READING - Jeff Inglin's two-run homer in the eighth wasn't enough as the Phillies dropped the Eastern League game. Altoona 3, Trenton 1 ALTOONA - Brian Myrow's RBI double was the only offense the Thunder could muster in the Eastern League rain-shortened loss.

Jeremy Isenhower's double to left-center field scored Karl Nonemaker for the only run of the game in the 11th inning as the Lakewood BlueClaws edged the Hagerstown Suns, 1-0, last night in the South Atlantic League. Isenhower went 3 for 4 with two doubles and a triple, while Nonemaker pushed his hit streak to seven games with a double. Hagerstown00000000000 -060 Lakewood00000000001 -181 WP: Beau Richardson (5-3). LP: Josh Habel (3-4). A: 6,388. Bowie 7, Reading 1 BOWIE, Md. - Rodrigo Lopez struck out 13 in a rehabilitation start as the Baysox beat the Phillies in the Eastern League.

DURHAM, N.C. - David Doster slammed a pair of home runs and Johnny Estrada also homered last night to lead the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons to a 7-6 win over the Durham Bulls in the International League. Doster hit his first homer of the season Sunday in a victory over Norfolk. Hagerstown 12, Lakewood 2 HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Gavin Floyd, the Phillies' first-round draft pick last June, took a beating as the Suns routed the BlueClaws in the South Atlantic League. The righthander lasted only 3 1/3 innings, giving up eight runs and seven hits while walking four and striking out two. Lakewood has lost five of its last six games.