In front of record crowd, Renegades earn third straight win

Wappingers Falls, N.Y. (May 15, 2024) — In front of a raucous sellout crowd of 5,619 on Education Day, the Hudson Valley Renegades continued their offensive explosion and received a stellar outing from starter Baron Stuart to win 9-3 on Wednesday afternoon over the Jersey Shore BlueClaws. The crowd represented was the largest announced game attendance in Heritage Financial Park history.

The Renegades struck in the bottom of the first, Jared Serna reached on a one-out walk issued by Sam Aldegheri. Jesus Rodriguez also reached on a walk, and Rafael Flores drove home Serna with a two-out RBI single to put the Renegades in front 1-0.

Three straight walks by Aldegheri in the bottom of the third loaded the bases with no outs, and a wild pitch scored Serna to extend the lead to 2-0. Flores then doubled into left-center to bring home Jace Avina and Rodriguez, extending the lead to 4-0. Flores had another excellent day at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. He has driven in six runs since returning from the injured list on May 10.

In the fifth, Avina led off with another walk. Rodriguez hit into a fielder’s choice, and Flores was walked. Josh Moylan lined a single to left to drive in Rodriguez. Nelson Medina doubled later in the frame to drive in Flores and Moylan, making it a 7-0 advantage.

While the Renegades flexed their muscles offensively, they received a quality start from Baron Stuart. He went six innings allowing just two runs on three hits and one walk while striking out four, setting a season-high for innings pitched. The right-hander did not allow a baserunner until an Otto Kemp single with two outs in the fourth inning.

The two runs against Stuart came in the sixth. A single by Zach Arnold was followed by a two-run home run by Bryan Rincon to make it a 7-2 game. The BlueClaws got closer in the seventh when Felix Reyes singled against Matt Keating, and Andrick Nava drove him in with a single and an error.

Hudson Valley added two more insurance runs in the eighth. Moylan then singled in Serna and Rodriguez to extend the lead to 9-3. Moylan finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs in the game.

The Renegades bullpen continued their success, getting the final nine outs while allowing just two hits and one unearned run. In their last three games, the bullpen has allowed just one earned run in 12.1 innings.

Hudson Valley and Jersey Shore will continue their series Thursday night at 6:35 p.m., with coverage on the Renegades Baseball Network beginning with the Heritage Financial Credit Union Pregame Show at 6:15. Jackson Fristoe (0-1, 5.79) will start for the Renegades, while Estibenzon Jimenez (2-4, 5.59) will begin for the BlueClaws.