Cyclones 9
State College 2
Aug. 11 at MCU Park
The Cyclones recorded a season-high 16 hits and nine runs to win the rubber match against the State College Spikes, returning to .500 just before the All-Star break.
Five different Cyclones had more than one hit in the blowout win. L.J. “Mini-Maz” Mazzilli, the Cyclone’s lone position player to make the All-Stars, went 4-for-5 with three runs and two RBIs on the night.
Alex Sanchez had three hits, including a two-run homer in the eighth that sailed well over the scoreboard on the left field wall. The home run, which scored Mazzilli, was Sanchez’s team-leading third of the year.
Matt “Bright Eyes” Oberste, breaking out of a week-long hitting slump, also connected with three hits on the day, while Eddie Rohan and Gavin Cecchini each had two hits.
Mazzilli said the confidence became contagious for everyone on the team.
“If you see someone ahead of you get a base hit, it just makes you feel you can do get a hit of your own and just increases the confidence of everyone behind you,” Mazzilli, who is batting .303, said.
With the Brooklyn win and Aberdeen’s loss, the Cyclones find themselves only one game out of first place in the McNamara Division heading into the All-Star break. They get today and tomorrow off and return Wednesday to play the reeling Hudson Valley Renegades, who have lost seven of the last eight games.
Brooklyn Cyclones at MCU Park (Surf Avenue and W. 16th Street in Coney Island, www.brooklyncyclones.com) on Aug. 14 at 7 pm.
Follow the Cyclones all season long at brooklynpaper.com/sections/sports/cyclones/
