By Azarr Johnson
“I think on this last road trip we played about 14 games. When we played Bowling Green and Rome, we didn’t accomplish many wins, but we were playing pretty well. We lost three games in the ninth inning. We knew we were playing much better, and we could see the trend that we were going to start playing better. Now we’re seeing that trend continue.”
Those were the postgame comments from Brooklyn Cyclones manager Eduardo Núñez following his team’s 12-4 victory over the Jersey Shore BlueClaws when asked what had sparked the club’s recent winning streak.
Usually when the BlueClaws and Cyclones meet, regardless of records or where the teams sit in the standings, the games are highly competitive. Saturday was no different. What made the matchup even more important was that both teams were battling to stay out of last place. Brooklyn had already won three of the first four games of the series and was looking to continue its momentum.
For the first two innings, the game appeared to be a pitcher’s duel as both starters, Daviel Hurtado and Eiberson Drumski, retired opposing batters with ease. That changed in the top of the third inning.
Left fielder Trace Willhoite opened the inning with a double. Jamari Baylor followed by drawing a walk. It looked as though the BlueClaws might escape the inning unscathed, but shortstop Grae Kessinger delivered a fly ball into the gap between left and center field, driving in two runs and giving Brooklyn a 2-0 lead.
Catcher Ronald Hernandez followed with a double to right field, driving in another run and extending the Cyclones’ lead to 3-0 before the inning came to a close.
In the fourth inning, while Hurtado retired all three batters he faced, Brooklyn’s offense continued to roll. Baylor, who had walked in the previous inning, hit a fly ball to left field that drove in two runs. Mitch Voit followed with a two-run home run to right field, giving the Cyclones a commanding 7-0 advantage.
The BlueClaws responded by bringing in reliever Luis Avila to stop the damage. However, on Avila’s first pitch, a wild throw allowed another run to score, extending Brooklyn’s lead to 8-0. Avila settled down afterward, retiring the next two batters to end the inning.
While Drumski was removed from the game in the fourth, Hurtado continued to dominate for Brooklyn. He pitched into the sixth inning, allowing just one hit and one run before being relieved by Tanner Witt. Witt surrendered another run, but the Cyclones still held a comfortable 8-2 lead.
When play resumed in the seventh inning, Jersey Shore made another pitching change, bringing in reliever Giuseppe Velasquez. Velasquez was effective in his first inning of work, quickly retiring the side. However, the eighth inning proved to be a different story.
After recording a popout to begin the inning, Velasquez walked Grae Kessinger and Ronald Hernandez, putting two runners on base. Corey Collins then blasted a deep fly ball to center field, driving in two runs and extending Brooklyn’s lead to 10-2.
Despite the mounting trouble, BlueClaws manager Mycal Jones left Velasquez in the game. The decision backfired as Velasquez walked two of the next three batters. Moments later, Trace Willhoite launched a two-run home run over the center-field fence, increasing the Cyclones’ lead to 12-2.
That blast effectively put the game out of reach.
From there, Brooklyn never looked back. Relievers Christofer Gomez and Gregori Louis closed out the game, allowing only two late runs as the Cyclones secured a convincing 12-4 victory.
The win was significant for Brooklyn for more than one reason. Not only did the Cyclones win the series by taking five of six games, but they also moved out of last place in the standings.
Brooklyn now returns to Coney Island to host the league-leading Frederick Keys.
Stay tuned.
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