Lexington 6 - Savannah 2

Mark Donato had three hits and two runs batted in, and Fred Ford hit his eighth home run of the year as the Lexington Legends took a 6-2 win over the Savannah Sand Gnats Friday night in front of 6,491 fans at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

                The Legends jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Terrance Gore bunted for a hit, went to second on a wild pitch and moved to third on Raul Mondesi's bunt single. Mark Threlkeld's single scored Gore, and after a walk to Donato loaded the bases, Bubba Starling's sacrifice fly to right field brought Mondesi home with the second run.

                Lexington added a run in the third on a double by Mondesi and a single by Donato. Ford's towering 420-foot home run over the center field wall in the fourth gave the Legends a 4-0 margin.

                Savannah cut the lead in half in the fifth when Nelfi Zapata walked with two outs and Phillip Evans followed with his second home run of the year.

                In the bottom of the seventh, Michael Antonio reached first on a third-strike wild pitch, moved to third on Ford's single to right field, and scored when Gore grounded into a force play at second.

                The Legends scored their final run in the eighth on Threlkeld's single and Donato's double.

                Legends starter Daniel Stumpf evened his record at 5-5. He worked five innings, allowed four hits and two runs, walked four batters and struck out six. Chas Byrne and Mark Peterson each pitched two innings of scoreless relief. Peterson picked up his sixth save of the year in six save opportunities.

                Former University of Louisville pitcher Matt Koch (5-3) was the starting and losing pitcher for Savannah.

                Each team has won one game in the series, which continues Saturday night. Game time is 7:05 p.m. A Ford Fireworks show will follow the game.  Press Release