The Sussex County Miners defeated the Tri-Valley Wildcats 8-2 in the first of a three game set.
Going into the final series of the season, Sussex County looked to go out with a bang. They did so tonight when John Rizzo Jr. went up against Austin Dill.
The Miners opened scoring in the bottom of the third when back to back singles from Edwin Mateo and Gabriel Maciel brought in two runs. They put a cushion between them and their opponents and it was 2-0.
In the top of the fourth the Valley Cats responded when Ian Walters hit a line drive single to center field. It was still early and it was a 2-1 game.
While the pressure applied, the Miners responded with scoring. After letting up one, they answered instantly with a run of their own thanks to a Kiko Romero sac-fly.
Thought it may have been a 3-1 game, the Valley Cats were showing they have a pulse when a Nick Monile sac-fly brought in one run. While their opener was in the lead, they were able to add an insurance run.
Any sort of Momentum Tri-City had was eliminated. Right away, the Miners added three runs as a counter. Dean Ferrara hit a double that brought in three runs to make it a 6-2 ball game.
In the very next inning, they added two more when Kiko Romero scored on a fielders choice and Hunter D’Aamto scored on a single to center field. In total control, the Miners were up 8-2.
The ValleyCats were unable to bounce back and lost the first game of the series. It was a moral victory for Sussex County as they inch closer to the off-season.
Dean Ferrara made history tonight when he became the all time leader to hit doubles in a season. His 29th and 30th doubles on Friday surpassed Miners all time great Mikey Reynolds.
While there may be no playoffs in the near future for the Miners, their main focus at this point is breaking records they could.