Miners (20-25) defeated the New York Boulders (28-19), 9-8, on Thursday night at Skylands Stadium.
Both squads got off to hot starts on offense, with Boulders catcher Jason Agresti’s RBI single kicking things off in the top of the first inning. New York went up 3-0 before another out could be recorded when designated hitter Aaron Simmons crushed a two-run home run. Sussex County gave starting pitcher Billy Parsons (2-3) plenty of support in the home half, first with a double from left fielder Gabriel Maciel that cut the deficit to 3-1. First baseman Dean Ferrara fired the Miners ahead, 5-3, when he tripled with loaded bases and scored on a throwing error. New York pulled starter Caiden Johnson (0-0) after a first inning that saw him concede four earned runs.
In the second inning, the Boulders took a run back on a sacrifice fly by center fielder Julian Boyd. With a 5-4 lead, the Miners took out Parsons and gave the ball to Keenan O’Brien in the third. New York tied the game at five on a single from Simmons, then surged back ahead, 8-5, on a three-run homer from first baseman Kyle Hess. Sussex County right fielder Keenan Taylor made it 8-6 with a solo shot in the bottom of the inning.
Relief pitcher Hayden Givens-Craig checked in for the Miners in the fourth and delivered his first of two perfect innings. Sussex County pulled closer in the bottom of the fourth on a groundout from third baseman Haiden Walters that drove in center fielder Edwin Mateo. More Givens-Craig perfection in the fifth inning kept the score at 8-7.
Jacob Widener took over for Givens-Craig in the sixth and picked up where his predecessor left off; the lefty tossed two perfect innings with four strikeouts. Miners designated hitter Sean Roby Jr. evened the score at eight in the bottom of the seventh with an RBI single. With two outs, Taylor put the Miners up 9-8 with a single of his own.
John Perozzi relieved Widener in the eighth and provided Sussex County with another scoreless inning. Perozzi could not provide a fifth consecutive perfect frame in the eighth because he walked a batter, but corrected that in the ninth by striking out the first three batters he saw to end the game.
The Miners got back into the game thanks to the reliever trio of Givens-Craig, Widener, and Perozzi. Givens-Craig struck out three batters in two perfect innings, Widener struck out four in two perfect innings, and Perozzi K’d four in two no-hit innings. On offense, second baseman Hunter D’Amato showed out with a 3-3 night, while Mateo went 3-4. Roby Jr., Maciel, and Taylor also had multi-hit games.
Widener was credited with the win, while Boulders reliever Emmett Bice took the loss. Perozzi earned a save.
The 20-25 Miners sit in third place in the Atlantic East Division. Sussex County is now 2-4 versus New York in 2026 with six games still to play in the season series.
Click for Box Score (https://pro.iscorecentral.com/FL/games/8610474c-4e41-4623-8e28-e3f8618049b4)
The Miners will remain at Skylands Stadium for a Friday-Sunday series against the Titans. Sussex County will sport its Sons of Liberty Jerseys for the first two games of the series, in honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States. Game one is on Friday, July 3rd, at 6:35 PM. Watch all Miners games live on HomeTeam Network and listen to the Miners Radio Network broadcast on Mixlr.
