Press Release - Binghamton vs. Akron - 4-9

BINGHAMTON RUMBLE PONIES (3-0), 2nd Eastern Division, 0.5 GB (New York Mets)		Akron RubberDucks (1-3), 6th Eastern Division, 2.0 GB (Cleveland Indians)
	Monday, April 9, 2018 • 6:35 PM NYSEG Stadium • Binghamton, NY RHP Marcos Molina (0-0, ---) vs. RHP Shao-Ching Chiang (0-0, ---) Broadcast: NewsRadio 1290 AM WNBF, MiLB.TV

BINGHAMTON BREAKS OUT BROOMS EARLY: The Rumble Ponies completed an opening-series sweep of the Portland Sea Dogs, edging their Eastern Division foe 4-3 on Sunday afternoon at NYSEG Stadium. Binghamton jumped out to a 4-0 lead, scoring one run in four different innings. Portland would rally for three runs in the eighth inning, but come up one run short.

BINGHAMTON STARTER: RHP Marcos Molina readies for his first start of 2018. The 23-year-old spent more than half of his 2017 campaign with Binghamton after being promoted from St. Lucie (High-A). Despite dropping his first five Eastern League decisions, Molina responded with seven consecutive quality starts.

STILL PERFECT: The Rumble Ponies are (3-0) for the first time since 2013. That season, the B-Mets finished 86-55, the best mark in the Eastern League.

ALONZO GOES GONZO: Rumble Ponies 1B Peter Alonso launched his second home run of the season on Sunday afternoon. His solo shot proved to be the winning run in a 4-3 victory. Alonso is 5-for-11 with four extra-base hits to start the season.

CRISMATT CANCELS BATS: In his first start as a Rumble Pony and second in Binghamton, Nabil Crismatt tossed six innings of one-hit baseball for his first Double-A win. After allowing a lead off double in the first inning, Crismatt set down 18 of the final 19 Sea Dogs he faced.

GIMME MORA: OF John Mora  hit his first Double-A home run on Sunday afternoon, a solo shot the snuck inside the  right-field foul pole. The long ball was Mora’s second Eastern League hit, his first was a triple.

SMITH SMOTHERS THE FLAME: After a three-run eighth inning rally, Portland was set down in order in Sunday’s ninth inning by Drew Smith. It was Smith’s first save of the season and first of his Double-A career.

SIZZLING STARTERS: Binghamton’s starting pitchers have posted a 2-0 mark with a 1.10 ERA through the season’s first three games. Both earned runs came off of Andrew Church, while Drew Gagnon and Nabil Crismatt  held the Sea Dogs scoreless.

SCOUTING THE RUBBERDUCKS: Akron dropped three of their first four games against Altoona to begin the season 1-3. On Sunday, they were blanked 4-0 by the Curve and managed just three hits. Akron is 2-for-21 with runners in scoring position over the last three games.

UP NEXT: The Rumble Ponies and RubberDucks play the middle game of their three-game set on Tuesday evening. RHP Joseph Shaw is set to make his Binghamton debut against Akron RHP Shane Bieber. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 at NYSEG Stadium.