Beltre’s game winner tops off marathon Patriots win

Bridgewater, New Jersey - A Michael Beltre 12th-inning RBI double helped the Somerset Patriots (66-45) earn a 6-5 win over the Hartford Yard Goats (37-72) in the team’s longest game (innings) of the season Friday night.

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The two teams were knotted in a 5-5 score heading to the 12th inning. Patriots’ relief pitcher Kevin Gadea (W, 2-1) worked a scoreless top of the 12th to set the stage where one run would win it for Somerset. Beltre came to the plate with two on and one away in the bottom of the inning, and sliced the walk-off double to left-center field, sending the Patriots players into a frenzy.

GAME 👏 WINNER 👏 MICHAEL 👏 BELTRE pic.twitter.com/Oev5m3Wp7H

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 11, 2021

Somerset had led 4-1 through the first seven innings of the game. Jesus Bastidas (2) opened the scoring with a solo home run in the third inning. The Patriots added a run in the fifth on a Yard Goats error before back-to-back RBI singles from Brandon Lockridge and Thomas Milone in the seventh increased the team’s lead.

Hartford tied the game with three runs in the eighth. The first scored on a throwing error from Somerset reliever Michael Gomez. Two more were plated later in the frame on a two-run single from Jose Gomez.

The game remained tied at four until the Yard Goats broke through in the 11th on a Jameson Hannah sacrifice fly. But the Patriots tied it in the next half inning when Bastidas was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Beltre would then win it the next inning.

Nick Kennedy (L, 1-3) yielded the one unearned run over one-third of an inning of relief to take the loss.

With the win, the Patriots remain 0.5 games up on the Bowie Baysox and 3.0 games up on the Portland Sea Dogs for the final playoff spot in the Double-A Northeast League with nine games to play in the regular season.

The Patriots and Yard Goats continue their six-game series with a single-admission doubleheader tomorrow. First pitch of game one is scheduled for 4:00 pm.

About the Somerset Patriots

The Somerset Patriots are the New York Yankees Double-A Affiliate and develop today’s top minor league talent into the pinstriped superstars of tomorrow for MLB’s winningest team. The Patriots compete in the Double-A Northeast League and play their home games at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ, where fans of all ages and levels of baseball fandom get to enjoy the unique experience that is minor league baseball.

To learn more, visit: _www.somersetpatriots.com_.