Renegades Rout Tigers 8-3
Starter Jesse Hahn (1-2) earned his first professional win with five shutout innings for the Renegades (37-19) in front of many friends and family from nearby Groton, CT, who came to see him take on the Tigers (24-31). Third baseman Richie Shaffer and catcher Luke Maile pounded back-to-back homers for the 'Gades in the eighth inning to put an exclamation point on the victory.
Hudson Valley opened the scoring in the top of the second inning. Designated hitter Justin O'Conner led off with a triple to right off starter Edgar De La Rosa (4-3). First baseman Michael Williams hit a soft hopper to first that Edgar Corcino fired home in an attempt to get O'Conner out, but the tag from catcher Bennett Pickar was too slow to retire O'Conner. Williams reached first on the run-scoring fielder's choice. Right fielder Charles Epperson grounded into a force out to retire Williams at second, but reached first on the play. With one out, left fielder Marty Gantt hit a grounder to third that third baseman Tyler Hanover threw away, allowing Epperson to score and Gantt to reach third. Center fielder Joey Rickard singled through the middle to plate Gantt and give the 'Gades an early 3-0 lead.
The Renegades would pad their lead in the top of the sixth. Rickard notched a one-out single to left off reliever Ryan Longstreth, and moved up to second on a ground out from second baseman Tommy Coyle. Shaffer lined a single to center that gave Rickard enough time to score from second, making it 4-0 Renegades.
Connecticut got on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Jared Reaves hit a one-out single off reliever Brandon Henderson to reach base. With two away, Danry Vasquez dropped a single in front of Epperson in right that moved Reaves toward third base. Epperson's throw to third was errant, allowing Reaves to score; Vasquez moved up to third on a throwing error on the play by Henderson, but didn't score. The 'Gades left the inning with their lead 4-1.
In the seventh inning, the two teams traded offensive punches. Leadoff man O'Conner reached second on an error by Hanover at third (one of three he'd commit in the game), and moved up to third on a line-drive single from Williams. Pinch hitter and eventual right fielder Joel Caminero grounded into a 4-6 force out, reaching first base safely and scoring O'Conner from third to make the score 5-1. The Tigers answered in the bottom of the inning with a one-out homer from Edgar Corcino off Henderson to trim the lead to 5-2.
Connecticut reliever Ramon Lebron got two outs in the top of the eighth before running into trouble. Shaffer rocked a fastball over the left-field fence for his third homer of 2012, and Maile followed up with his own homer to left off a Lebron fastball to run the advantage to 7-2.
The 'Gades tacked on their final run in the top of the ninth. Gantt laced a two-out single to left, and moved to second on a balk from Lebron. Rickard pounded a double off the left-field fence to score Gantt and put the Renegades up by six runs at 8-2.
The Tigers threatened in the bottom of the ninth against reliever Jose Molina. Corcino led off with a single through the middle, and Pickar drew a one-out walk to put runners on first and second. Luis Cortez singled to left, scoring Corcino and cutting the margin to 8-3. Reaves lined a single to center to load the bases, but Jake Stewart bounced into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Hahn picked up the win with five innings of one-hit ball; he struck out six, and only two runners reached against him in total (one the result of a Williams error). Henderson allowed two runs (one earned) in two innings on four hits, fanning five. Rob Finneran pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout; two runners reached on errors, but neither scored. Molina allowed a run on three hits and a walk in his only inning of action, whiffing one. The 'Gades matched season-highs with thirteen strikeouts on the mound and five errors committed in the field.
De La Rosa allowed three runs (two earned) on five hits and four walks in three innings against two strikeouts. Longstreth gave up a run on three hits and a walk over three innings, whiffing one. Lebron gave up four runs (three earned) over his three innings of action, allowing five hits and striking out two.
The Renegades will go for the sweep Friday, with lefty Matt Spann getting the ball for Hudson Valley against Connecticut righty Endrys Briceno. First pitch is at 7:05, with Ben Gellman's pregame show starting at 6:50 p.m. on 1450 and 1370 AM WKIP, as well as online at HVRenegades.com.
Great seats are still available for all of the remaining Renegades regular season games, and playoff tickets are also now on sale. Call the ticket office 845-838-0094 for information or go to www.hvrenegades.com!