Downed: Renegades fall 6-0 to BlueClaws on Wednesday

Lakewood, N.J. (Aug. 28, 2024) — The Hudson Valley Renegades fell to the Jersey Shore BlueClaws 6-0 on Wednesday night at ShoreTown Ballpark.

The BlueClaws took the lead in the bottom of the second inning after singles by Jordan Viars and Aidan Miller put runners on first and second with one out. Keaton Anthony drove in Viars with an RBI double down the left field line, and Hendry Mendez brought in Aidan Miller with a groundout to give Jersey Shore a 2-0 advantage.

Josh Grosz (3-2) took the hard-luck loss for Hudson Valley despite throwing his third quality start in his last four starts. He threw 6.0 innings allowing two runs on seven hits while walking three and striking out five.

Unfortunately the Renegades offense couldn’t get going against Casey Steward (4-2), who allowed just two runs and struck out eight in 5.0 shutout innings. George Lombard Jr. was a bright spot at the plate, finishing the night 2-for-4 with a double, his second straight multi-hit game.

The BlueClaws broke the game open with four runs in the bottom of the eighth against Thomas Balboni, Jr. Miller hit a leadoff triple and scored on a passed ball, and two bases-loaded walks and a sacrifice fly brought in the remaining tallies in the inning to extend their lead to 6-0.

In the top of the ninth, Josh Moylan led off with a single, but Paxton Thompson was able to work around that to complete the shutout.

The shutout loss was the first time the Renegades were held without a run in a game since July 3. The loss drops Hudson Valley’s lead over Jersey Shore in the SAL North to 1.0 game with 10 games to play.

The Renegades and BlueClaws continue their series on Thursday night at ShoreTown Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. with coverage beginning on the Renegades Baseball Network at 6:45. Hudson Valley sends RHP Trent Sellers (6-3, 2.28) to the mound, while Jersey Shore answers with RHP Mitch Neunborn (5-4, 2.03).