Sussex County jumps out to early lead and holds off late New Jersey charge
The Sussex County Miners (9-14) defeated the New Jersey Jackals (13-11) 8-6 on Swiftie Night at Skylands Stadium. The Miners’ third straight win knocked their in-state rivals out of first place in the Atlantic East Division.
Newcomer Keenan Taylor gave the Miners an early lead that they would not relinquish. After Jackals starter Jorge Benitez (0-2) walked first baseman Sean Roby Jr. and hit catcher Sandro Gaston in the bottom of the first inning, Sussex County’s right fielder blasted his third home run of the season to put the Miners up 3-0.
The Miners stretched the lead to 5-0 in the second thanks to RBIs from left fielder Gabriel Maciel and second baseman Hunter D’Amato, chasing Benitez from the game.
Sussex County starter Jorden Sesar’s (1-0) lone blemish came in the top of the third. The right-hander surrendered a grand slam to New Jersey right fielder Isaac Bellony and allowed the Jackals to get within a run, 5-4.
Roby Jr. put the Miners back up by three, 7-4, with a two-run single off of New Jersey reliever Andrew Peters in the bottom of the fifth.
The Jackals clawed back in the top of the eighth with two RBI doubles, making it a one-run game again, 7-6.
Gaston provided an insurance run with his RBI single off of New Jersey pitcher/shortstop Connor Maryniak in the bottom of the eighth.
The Jackals made things interesting by loading the bases in the top of the ninth, but reliever John Perozzi pitched his way out of the jam for his first save of the season.
Sesar struck out seven for his first win of the season. D’Amato increased his team-leading batting average to .364 with a 2-for-5 performance.
The Miners remain in fourth place in the Atlantic East Division but are now within 4 1/2 games of first place.
The Miners play game two against the New Jersey Jackals on Saturday, June 6, at Skylands Stadium. First pitch is scheduled at 6:35 PM. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive a replica Miners jersey sponsored by Provident Bank. Fans can enjoy a spectacular postgame fireworks show ignited by the Trash Masters TNT Box. Buy tickets at tickets.sussexcountyminers.com, watch games live on HomeTeam Network, and listen to the live Miners Radio Network broadcast on Mixlr.
By Dennis Mark
Above: Keenan Taylor knocked in three RBI against the Jackals on Friday night (photo by Phil Hoops).