Cyclones 3
Staten Island 2
Aug. 27 at MCU Park (11 innings)
Ouch! I mean, hooray!
Amed Rosario was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the 11, sealing the win against the hated Staten Island Yankees.
And it wasn’t the first time a wayward pitch led to a run.
In the first, Cyclones starter Scarlyn Reyes uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Devyn Bolasky to advance to third before a sacrifice fly brought him home.
The Cyclones answered in the third when Michael Conforto, who went 4–5 on the night, led off with a double and later scored on a single from Jhoan Urena. In the sixth, the Cyclones took the lead when Tucker Tharp crossed the plate on a double play.
But the Yanks tied it up in the seventh when Reyes threw three more wild pitches, allowing Connor Spencer to score.
In the 11th, Tucker Tharp singled to open the frame and advanced to second on a bunt single by Anthony Chavez. After a sacrifice bunt advance both runners, Adrian Abreu was intentionally walked, setting the stage for Rosario’s “heroics.”
The win moved the Cyclones to nine games over .500 for the first time this season, and kept them two games up on the Connecticut Tigers for the wild card berth. The Clones now five games behind the slumping Hudson Valley Renegades, in second place in the McNamara Division with five to play.
The Yankees, meanwhile, are mired in third place with a horrible .500 record, and practically no hope for the playoffs, as far as we are concerned.
The Cyclones go on the road to face Tri-City before coming home one last time in the regular season on Sunday. The final two games of the season will be a home-and-home against the Yanks. The last game of the season in Labor Day on the Rock.
Ups and downs
Berning up: Outfielder Michael Bernal has a seven-game hitting streak, his longest streak of the season. The All-Star right fielder is batting .429. Bernal, an all or nothing kind of guy when it comes to swinging, is also third in the New York Penn League with 88 strikeouts.
90ss night: On Wednesday, the Cyclones hosted the “90s Are All That” night at MCU park.. Kel Mitchell from the 90s shows “All That” and Keenan and Kel, threw out the first pitch, characters from the “Rugrats” were on hand to greet fans and a pre-game version of the show “Double Dare” was held on the concourse. The Cyclones wore Nickelodeon-inspired jerseys, complete with slime. Keenan wasn’t there.
New and improved Meisner: Right-handed pitcher Casey Meisner, who struggled early in the season, has found his footing and had his best outing of the season during Tuesday night’s game against the Yankees. The 6-foot-7 pitcher struck out 11 and now ranks second in the New York-Penn League with sixty-four strikeouts.
