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9/10/20

One Year Ago Today - Brooklyn wins NY Penn League Championship!


Brooklyn Cyclones 4 Lowell Spinners 3  (box).

They did it!  For the first time in Cyclones history, they are sole champions of the NY Penn League.

Truly an amazing job by Manager Edgardo Alfonzo and staff. 

They did not have the best pitching (5th out of 14 teams), they did not score the most runs (6th most in the league), they didn’t even steal the most bases (rank 5th) though they were aggressive on the bases all year. 

What did they excel in?  For one, fielding.  They were ranked first in the NY Penn league in fielding percentage.  Another thing, manufacturing runs.  Not only did they take extra bases to get themselves in scoring position, they scored runs on outs time and time again.

They also had the knack to get tremendous pitching when they needed it. 

Tonight, Brooklyn turned to the same pitching tandem that helped them to a 1-0 win in game two of the first playoff series, 2019 5th round pick Nathan Jones, and 3rd round pick Matthew Allen.

Brooklyn jumped on top 2-0 in the bottom of the second.  After Brett Baty walked to lead off, Ranfy Adon, one of Brooklyn’s hottest hitters this playoff season, doubled to left field, putting runners at second and third.  Jake Ortega grounded to first base for the first out but then Jake Mangum singled driving in Baty.  Antoine Duplantis grounded out to second scoring Adon.

In the top of the third, Nathan Jones started by recording the first two outs.  Then after a walk and a single, Lowell’s hottest hitter, Joe Davis came up and singled to right field.  One run scored on the hit and another on a wild throw and we were all tied 2-2.

Matthew Allen was up next to pitch for the Cyclones and he lived up to his draft hype with three perfect innings and two strikeouts.

Meantime, once again Lowell was getting tremendous pitching on their end, especially relief pitching.  In the third, Yusniel Padron-Artilles came on the pitch for the Spinners.  As Keith Raad told us on the Brooklyn broadcast, in his last time out, a playoff game against Batavia, Yusniel struck out 14 batters, including 12 in a row.

And so, the game went 2-2 until the top of the seventh.  On to pitch the seventh for Brooklyn was 2019 NY Penn League all-star Mitch Ragan.  Lowell DH Marino Campana started off the inning with a homerun and it was Lowell 3 – Brooklyn 2.

The way Yusniel Padron-Artilles was pitching, it did not look good for the home team. 

Then in the bottom of the seventh and one out, Jake Mangum singled giving Brooklyn hope.  Antoine Duplantis then tripled Mangum in and we were all tied 3-3.  Yoel Romero followed with a single to drive Duplantis in and Brooklyn had a 4-3 lead.  These were the only hits that Yusniel Padron-Artilles gave up in 5 innings of relief and it was all that Brooklyn needed.

Lefty Andrew Edwards came in to pitch the eighth working around a hit batter.  He stayed on to pitch the ninth. 

It was not without tension.  Edwards gave up a lead-off single, then struck out Marino Campana who had homered earlier.  A one-out-walk pushed the tying run to second but that was as far as he’d get.

Another hot Lowell hitter, lefty Stephen Scott then struck out and it was up to Lowell pinch hitter Alex Erro.  He did not have a chance.  With the crowd on its feet, Andrew Edwards threw three straight swing and miss strikes and it was all over.

The Brooklyn are your 2019 NY Penn League Champions.






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