Monday, June 20th, 2011
Newark 4, Worcester 3
Sitting at 0-for-3 on the night, Newark DH Kyle LaMotta’s evening had nowhere
to go but up. So when he stepped to the plate with two outs and a tie score in
the ninth, the 25-year-old from St. Thomas (USVI) really had nothing to lose.
Quite the opposite, he had everything to gain. And that’s just what he did,
getting his first base knock of the evening and scoring teammate Burt Reynolds
from third to give the Bears a 4-3 win. It was the second run of the game for
Reynolds, the only player to cross home plate more than once. Neither starting
pitcher factored in the decision, with Bears reliever Andrew Pluta — who tossed
just 0.2 innings — leaving the park with his second win of the year.
New York 3, New Jersey 2 (Game 1 – 7 innings)
The Federals jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first an held on for a close,
3-2 victory in Game 1 Monday night. The Jackals had the bases loaded with only
one out in the seventh. But New York reliever Kent Worthington got Argenis Reyes
to pop out to third and struck out Mike DeJesus to seal the one-run Federals
victory. It was Worthington’s first save of the season. Federals starting
pitcher Will Hassett picked up the win, throwing six innings and allowing two
runs and striking out three. Federals 3B Robert Dyer got the scoring started in
the first with an error-assisted two-run single. Dyer went 2-for-3 in Game 1
with the lone Federals RBI.
New Jersey 6, New York 4 (Game 2 – 7 innings)
They don’t call them insurance runs for nothing. With his club already
leading 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth, Jackals 3B Nick Giarraputo belted a
two-run homer to stretch the lead to four runs. And it’s a good thing for New
Jersey he did. The Federals got their own late-inning homer from 1B Eddie
Lantigua, also a two-run shot. But New York couldn’t muster any more runs and
fell in Game 2, 6-4. Giarraputo went 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI while
Lantigua’s seventh-inning home run was his only hit of the night.
Rockland 8, Brockton 6
With just four outs left and trailing 6-3, Rockland had an uphill battle at
the end of Monday night’s contest with Brockton, to say the least. But when
Cristobal Santana doubled in Jermel Lomack from third with two outs in the
eighth, the dominos began to fall for the Boulders. Two walks and two singles
later, Rockland was on top by two and had momentum on their side. Boulders
reliever Adrian Martin’s 1-2-3 ninth sealed the deal, giving Rockland its eighth
win of the season. Lomack scored two of Rockland’s eight runs and walked once on
a 2-for-4 night. For Brockton, leadoff CF Chris Valencia got the scoring started
in the third with an RBI double, one of his two RBI to highlight his 3-for-5
performance.
Pittsfield 7, Quebec 4
Through five innings, the Colonials had been held in check by starting Quebec
pitcher Matthew Rusch, managing just four hits without a run. That all changed
in the sixth. In the frame, Pittsfield scored three runs on four hits to spur on
a three-inning run-fest that resulted in the Colonials’ 7-4 win over the
Capitales. Two of Pittsfield CF Jerod Edmondson’s three hits and both of his
runs and RBI — including a two-run seventh-inning homer — came in the Colonials’
final three innings at the plate. Edmondson finished the game 3-for-4, as did
Pittsfield 3B Johnny Weich. Quebec DH Pete LaForest (2-for-4, run, two RBI)
attempted to sway momentum with a two-run homer in the ninth. But Colonials
reliever Matt Lyons struck out three of the next four Quebec batters to end the
Capitales’ threat.
