Sussex County evens series on Education Day
The Sussex County Miners defeated the Trois-Rivières Aigles 9-1 in the second game of a three-game set at Skylands Stadium.
After getting blown out by the Aigles 9-2 last night, the Miners return the favor, winning in dominating fashion.
They got rolling right away in the bottom of the first when Sean Roby Jr. hit one over the left-field wall for his 10th home run of the season, giving the Miners a 1-0 lead.
It continued in the bottom of the second after Edwin Mateo smacked it out of the park. Bringing Kiko Romero with him, the two-run blast was Mateo’s second of the season.
After three innings, Sussex County scored at least one run in every inning. Haiden Walters hit a triple with Sean Roby Jr. sending him home on a groundout. It was now 4-0.
Five innings in, Trois-Rivières finally got on the board in the top of the sixth when Lizandro Rodriguez scored on a Sam Franco groundout. There was plenty of game left, and the Aigles were down by three.
The Miners responded instantly, scoring multiple runs to add to their lead. Kiko Romero reached home on a fielder’s choice, and Mahki Backstrom brought in two on a single to make it a six-run lead.
Finishing touches were added in the next inning when Sussex County added two more runs. A sacrifice fly from Walters that brought Gabriel Macial in and a Keenan Taylor ground rule double that sent Roby Jr. home helped add to their lead. They’d hold on the rest of the way for the 9-1 victory.
This was a victory for the Miners, who practically had it at ease. While they scored runs, they couldn’t have sustained the lead they had the whole game without their pitchers. The starter, Jordan Sesar, let up one earned run and six strikeouts in 5.2 innings, and the duo of Jacob Widener and Micah Earwood, making his debut, handled things the rest of the way with two shutout innings.
Sussex County is now 15-18 on the season and is only two and a half games behind the Atlantic East Division-leading New York Boulders. They play the rubber match against Trois-Rivières tomorrow night and look to take the series.
Above: Edwin Mateo is congratulated by teammates after his second-inning two-run home run (photo by Phil Hoops).