By Noah Bearstler | July 4, 2026
AUGUSTA, NEW JERSEY – After a rocky start that saw Sesar surrender three first-inning runs, the Sons of Liberty answered immediately. Roby Jr. blasted a two-run homer before Berkey doubled and Mateo delivered the game-tying RBI single to cap a three-run bottom of the first.
Following a lengthy rain delay, Sesar returned to post a scoreless inning before the Titans turned to the bullpen. The Sons of Liberty kept rolling as Gaston led off with a double, D’Amato and Maciel added consecutive singles to put the Sons of Liberty ahead, and Roby Jr. reached on an error that brought in another run to make it 5-3.
After being held scoreless in the bottom of the third, the Sons of Liberty extended their lead to 6-3 after four innings, courtesy of Keenan Taylor’s solo shot.
They picked up right where they left off in the bottom of the fifth as Zimmerman drew a walk before D’Amato doubled to extend the lead to 7-3 through five.
Sesar’s night ended in the top of the sixth after allowing two singles and a walk to load the bases with no outs. He finished with 5.0 innings pitched, seven hits, four earned runs, four walks, and five strikeouts before Widener came on in relief. The Titans added just one run, as the game moved to the bottom of the sixth with the Sons of Liberty leading 7-4.
The Sons of Liberty added to their lead in the bottom of the seventh. Gaston led off with a walk, Zimmerman followed with a single, and Gaston then stole third to put runners on the corners. D’Amato worked a walk to load the bases before Gaston scored on a wild pitch, with Zimmerman and D’Amato each moving up a base. Maciel then lifted a sacrifice fly to bring in Zimmerman, extending the lead to 9-4 through seven innings.
The Sons of Liberty shut the door from there to complete a 9-4 Independence Day victory, backed by an early offensive response and steady run support throughout the night.
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With this win, the Sussex County Miners move to 22-25, while the Ottawa Titans fall to 24-24. The Miners will look to win the series tomorrow at 1:35 PM at Skylands Stadium in Augusta, NJ. Tune in tomorrow afternoon on HomeTeam Network or listen to the live Miners Radio Network Broadcast on Mixlr.com/scminers.