PRESS RELEASES - Syracuse and Binghamton Games Last Night

 

ERIE, PA – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies, down 9-0 after five innings, brought the potential go-ahead run to the plate in the ninth, but the comeback fell just short as the Ponies lost to the Erie Seawolves 9-7 on Saturday night at UPMC Park. Erie has taken four of the first five games in the series. 

In the sixth, Zach Ashford hit an RBI double to make it a 9-1 game. Brett Baty then hit a three-run homer to left in the seventh to pull the Ponies to within 9-4. It was Baty’s 13th homer of the year, second long ball of the series, and now has 34 RBI. Baty finished 2-2 with three walks, three runs scored, and three RBI. 

After adding a run in the eighth on an RBI groundout from Matt Winaker, the Ponies (4-13, 32-54) came into the ninth down 9-5. With two on and one out, Jeremy Vasquez singled to drive home Baty and make it a 9-6 game. Two batters later Ashford hit an RBI single to center to bring home Ronny Mauricio to make it 9-7. That put runners on first and second with two out and brought Cody Bohanek to the plate as the potential go-ahead run, before he struck out swinging to end the game. 

Erie (11-5, 50-35) raced off to a quick start for a second straight game, scoring six runs in the first inning, with all the runs coming with two out. Wenceel Perez started off the scoring with a two-run triple, with Dane Myers and Andrew Navigato hitting RBI singles that made it 4-0 and ended Jose Chacin’s (0-7) outing after two thirds of an inning. Gage Workman would add an RBI double and Eduardo Valencia would drive home a run on a single to cap off the inning. Erie would add three more runs in the bottom of the fifth. 

Erie starter Austin Bergner allowed just one run over four scoreless frames with three walks and six strikeouts. RHP Bubba Derby (2-0) picked up the win in relief. 

The two teams play the final game before the all-star break on Sunday afternoon with first pitch at 1:35 PM and pregame coverage beginning at 1:20 PM on the WNBF Rumble Ponies Radio Network. 

Postgame Notes: Ashford finished 3-5 with a run scored…Baty has at least one hit in each game of the series, including his third multi-hit game in five games…the two teams combined for 25 hits. 

 

Syracuse, NY  –  The Syracuse Mets rallied valiantly but fell just short on Saturday night, dropping an 8-7 decision to the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (Triple-A affiliate, Miami Marlins) on a sunny and warm evening at NBT Bank Stadium. The Jumbo Shrimp have now won three out of the first five games in the six-game series.   

Early on, it looked like this one wouldn’t be much of a contest, as Jacksonville plated five runs on seven hits in the top of the first inning. Syracuse’s starter, Connor Grey, did not last past the first inning, recording just one out before being pulled from the game. JJ Bleday’s two-run home run highlighted the early offensive barrage for the Jumbo Shrimp. The former fourth-overall pick has three home runs so far in this week’s series.   

Syracuse would not take the early deficit lightly, plating the game’s next three runs to slim the deficit to 5-3 and crawl back in the ballgame. The Mets scored their trio of runs a bit unconventionally – Nick Plummer and Travis Blankenhorn drew a pair of bases-loaded walks in the second inning, followed by a Deven Marrero groundout in the third inning. 

 Jacksonville promptly boosted their lead back up to five runs in the next couple of innings, scoring once in the fourth and twice in the fifth to jump back to an 8-3 advantage. Luis Aviles, Jr. brought home both the runs in the fifth via a two-run single. The infielder finished the game with three hits in five plate appearances.    

For the second different time in the game, Syracuse now trailed by five runs. Once again, the home team was determined to make it interesting. First, in the bottom of the seventh, Marrero plated two runs with a two-out, two-run single. By the end of the night, Marrero would have two hits and three runs driven in.    

It remained an 8-5 game into the bottom of the ninth, when the Mets seemed poised to rally all the way back. First, Khalil Lee hit a mammoth solo home run to dead centerfield leading off the inning to make it an 8-6 game. Then, Nick Dini walked and moved to second on a wild pitch, putting a runner in scoring position with nobody out. Successive groundouts by Gosuke Katoh and Kramer Robertson plated Dini, making it 8-7 with two outs in the ninth. Marrero then strode to the plate as a hot hitter and with the chance to be the hero. However, it was not to be. Tommy Nance struck him out looking to end the game and hand Jacksonville its second straight victory.    

While Syracuse did fall just short in an 8-7 defeat, the effort from its bullpen is still to be commended. After Connor Grey did not last past the first inning in his start, five pitchers (Joe Zanghi, Eric Orze, Stephen Nogosek, R.J. Alvarez, and Locke St. John) pitched the remaining 8.2 of the game, allowing three earned runs with six strikeouts and keeping the Mets in the game. Nogosek put together another brilliant relief outing, striking out three in two scoreless innings of work. The former Oregon Duck now owns a miniscule 1.16 ERA in 15 outings with 34 strikeouts.