Rumble Ponies Hold Off Patriots for First Win of 2023

BINGHAMTON, NY – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (1-4) exploded for a season-high nine runs and held on to defeat the Somerset Patriots 9-8 for their first win of the 2023 season on Wednesday night at Mirabito Stadium. The two teams have split the first two games of the series.

Binghamton scored all nine of its runs in the middle three innings, with three runs in each frame. The Rumble Ponies went into the fourth inning trailing 2-0.

Wyatt Young led off the fourth with a single and Tanner Murphy followed with a walk. JT Schwartz came up two batters later and delivered an RBI single to cut the deficit to 2-1. Brandon McIlwain then drove home Murphy with an RBI groundout and Dariel Gomez followed with a go-ahead RBI single to give Binghamton a 3-2 lead.

The Patriots (3-2) rallied back to tie the game in the top of the fifth. Rowdey Jordan and Branden Fryman both reached base to start the home half of the inning. Murphy came up two batters later and brought home Jordan with an RBI single to make it 4-3. Schwartz then came up to the plate with runners on base again and drilled a two-run double into the left field corner to give Binghamton a 6-3 lead.

The Rumble Ponies tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning, headlined by an RBI triple from Hayden Senger to put the Ponies up 9-3.

Up 9-4 in the ninth, after three-straight walks loaded the bases, Max Burt belted a grand slam to cut the Ponies’ lead to 9-8. Justin Courtney went on to strikeout two of the next three batters to earn his first save of the season and finish the victory for Binghamton.

Jose Chacin made his first Double-A start of the season and allowed just two hits, both solo home runs, over four innings with four strikeouts. David Griffin earned the win out of the bullpen. He went one inning and allowed one run on two hits, while striking out a pair. Dedniel Núñez added two perfect innings out of the bullpen with a pair of strikeouts for the Ponies.

The Rumble Ponies take the field again on Thursday night in the third game of the series against the Somerset Patriots. First pitch is at 6:05 PM with pregame coverage getting underway at 5:50 PM on the WNBF Rumble Ponies Radio Network.

Postgame Notes: Schwartz finished the night 2-for-4 with three RBIs and has four hits, three doubles, and six RBIs in the past three games…Gomez drove in the first run of his Double-A career…Jordan worked three walks in the game and upped his total to five on the season.