The Sussex County Miners (16-20) lost to their Atlantic Division East foes, the Down East Bird Dawgs (17-21), 13-5, on Saturday night at Skylands Stadium.
For the second time this season, the Miners suited up as the Sons of Liberty to honor the United States’ 250th anniversary. Patriotic duds did not help Sussex County starting pitcher Billy Parsons (2-3) in the first inning. Down East first baseman Christian Adams smashed a home run to put the visitors up 3-0. Like Parsons, Bird Dawgs starter Drew Henderson (2-3) did not get off on the right foot. The Miners got two runs back in the bottom first thanks to a sacrifice fly by third baseman Keenan Taylor and a double by right fielder Mahki Backstrom.
The Bird Dawgs repeated their offensive excellence in the third inning. A two-run homer from right fielder Ali LaPread and an RBI single from third baseman Kenny Levari gave Down East a 6-2 lead.
Parsons’ day ended after a pair of scoreless innings, and the Bird Dawgs welcomed the Australian’s departure. Designated hitter Yeniel Laboy’s bases-clearing triple in the sixth made it 9-2. The Miners reduced the deficit to 9-4 in the same frame on a pair of sacrifice flies by shortstop Evan Berkey and first baseman Kiko Romero.
In the seventh, left fielder Colby Backus drove in a run with a single, Adams added two more on a double, and LaPread singled to knock in Adams to balloon Down East’s lead to 13-4. One of the newest Miners, reliever Micah Earwood, entered the game in the eighth and tossed two scoreless frames. Left fielder Gabriel Maciel singled in Sussex County’s final run of the night in the bottom of the ninth before the contest ended 13-5.
The Miners fell short when it came to scoring runs, but still racked up thirteen hits. Second baseman Hunter D’Amato and Maciel collected three hits apiece. Center fielder Edwin Mateo and Backstrom both had two-hit games. Earwood’s two-inning relief appearance gave Sussex County a strong finish on the mound. The 6’3” righty only allowed one hit and one walk during his shift.
The starters got the decisions, meaning Henderson picked up his second win of the season and Parsons took his third loss of the year.
This result leaves the Miners at third place in the Atlantic Division East, tied with the Bird Dawgs. The pair are two and a half games behind the second-place Jackals.
Click for Box Score (https://pro.iscorecentral.com/FL/games/8a443108-e9bf-4ae8-818d-acf76afe5aa4)
The season series finale between Sussex County and Down East takes place on Sunday, June 21st, at 1:35 PM. Watch all Miners games live on HomeTeam Network and listen to the Miners Radio Network broadcast on Mixlr.
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