Stewart blasts Erie to doubleheader sweep

A sour taste in his mouth after Saturday's loss, all Double-A Erie's Christin Stewart wanted was to win at least one game in Sunday's doubleheader against Trenton. With a few swings of the bat, Detroit's No. 2 prospect ensured way more than that.
Stewart belted three homers and plated four runs as the SeaWolves swept the twinbill with 10-9 and 5-4 victories over the Thunder at UMPC Park.

Game 1 box score
Game 2 box score
The 2015 first-round pick's big day enabled Erie to outlast 10th-ranked Yankees prospectMiguel Andújar, who finished 6-for-9 with two homers, a triple and six RBIs for Trenton.
"It was just staying within myself and keeping the same approach," Stewart said. "I wasn't looking to hit it out, but I stayed patient and got good pitches to hit and drove the ball when I got the chance. I was lucky that I got into hitters' counts and it helped make things happen."

In the first game of the day, Stewart collected his first career multi-homer game with a two-run shot to right field off right-hander Yefry Ramirez in the third and a solo blast to right against southpaw Caleb Smith in the fifth. Having 24 Double-A games under his belt made the start to this season a little easier for the Atlanta native.
"I had the experience here last year, so it is nice to have that time at this level because it is a little bit of a jump," Stewart said. "But my approach is still the same and so far it's been working out."
The 23-year-old went yard off his third pitcher of the day in the sixth inning of the nightcap. Stewart drilled a 2-1 offering from righty Matt Wotherspoon high over the left-field wall, putting the SeaWolves ahead for good.
"I got ahead of the pitcher but wasn't looking to for anything really specific," Stewart said. "It was more about just looking for something to hit hard somewhere, and that's what happened in that at-bat."

The University of Tennessee product finished 2016 with a career-high 30 homers between Class A Advanced and Double-A. But that number only serves as a benchmark that Stewart wants to clear.
"Last year was a good year, for sure," he said. "But there's nothing really specific that I have for this year ... I just want to do better than what I did from last year. If I can do better than what I did last year, then it'll be a good year and that's what I want to accomplish."
Andujar kept pace with Stewart in the opener, delivering his third career multi-homer game. The third baseman raced for a triple to center in the first, led off the third with a long ball to left and lined one out of the park in left in the fifth.

For the afternoon, Jason Krizan went 4-for-9 with a homer and two runs scored and Jeff McVaney roped four hits for Erie. Gabriel Quintana lofted a three-run shot and plated four in the opener, while Argenis Diaz and A.J. Simcox hit solo shots in the finale.
"It was a good feeling, especially after the way [Saturday] went when we lost and we had all those games canceled from earlier," Stewart said. "It was a pretty long day and it was great to get back in the win column for both games."
Top-ranked Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres had two hits, drew two walks and scored once in the doubleheader. Billy McKinney belted a three-run homer in Game 1 and Zack Zehner added a two-run shot in Game 2.