Hudson Valley Renegades 2
Cyclones 0
Sept. 10 at Dutchess Stadium
Two runs surrendered in the first inning ended the Cyclones’ 2012 season on Monday as the Hudson Valley Renegades shutout Brooklyn’s boys of summer in a playoff clincher to determine who would go on to the New York-Penn League championships.
The Renegades got on the board in the first inning when third baseman Richie Shaffer’s line-drive triple off Cyclones starter Luis Cessa brought in center fielder Joey Rickard. A wild pitch thrown by the six-foot-three-inch Mets prospect moments later allowed Shaffer to score, giving Hudson Valley the lead they’d hold onto for the rest of the game.
Cessa regained his composure in the next frame, limiting the Renegades to just two more hits, zero walks, and zero runs during his next five innings on the mound before reliever Matthew Bowman came on in the seventh and held the Renegades scoreless for an additional two innings without giving up a single hit, but by then the Clones ineffective offense all but secured a Renegades victory.
Coney’s batters managed to scrape up just one hit the entire night — a line drive single to center off the bat of shortstop Phillip Evans in the third inning. Designated hitter Kevin Plawecki drew a walk with two outs to allow Evans to advance to second, but left fielder Stefan Sabol ended the frame when he grounded into a force out, marking the last time the Cyclones had a runner in scoring position.
The Mini-Mets sluggers, including top prospects Brandon Nimmo and Jayce Boyd, went down in order in the last five innings, putting the top-ranked Renegades on a collision course with the Tri-City Valleycats.
