A furious comeback by the Brooklyn Cyclones was rebuffed by the Jamestown Jammers, who scored in the bottom of the eighth to take Game 1 of the first round of the New York–Penn League playoffs on Tuesday night in quiet upstate New York.
As we went to press, the disappointed Brooks were headed back home to MCU Park for the second (and hopefully third) game of the best-of-three series on Wednesday night. Game 3 would be Thursday.
The game started off optimistically enough, with the Cyclones scoring in their first at-bat, thanks to Jeff Flagg’s triple, which plated Darrell Ceciliani.
But after that, it was all Jamestown, with the Jammers scoring five unanswered runs off usually reliable starter Yohan Almonte, who gave up six runs on five hits in his four innings of play.
But back came the Cyclones, first plating two in the fifth on a Flagg single and a double by Joe Bonfe, his second of the game.
The Cyclones mounted a huge rally in the seventh, starting with a Cory Vaughn triple and back-to-back singles by Flagg and Bonfe. But as the rains descended on Jamestown, the Jammers got three straight outs.
After an hour-and-a-half rain delay, the Cyclones tied the score in the eighth inning in heart-stopping fashion. Wilfredo Tovar led off with a walk and Ceciliani singled him to second. After a sacrifice, Cory Vaughn worked out a full-count walk to load the bases. Flagg popped up to the outfield, but not deep enough to score Tovar. But Bonfe hit a two-out single that scored him and Ceciliani to tie the game.
But closer Jordan Conley shut the door by striking out Will Cherry.
The Jammers won the game in the eighth with a leadoff walk, a fielder’s choice and a single.
The loss wasted a 13-hit performance by the Cyclones’ awesome lineup, including three hits by Flagg and two hits by Bonfe. Both sluggers had three RBIs.
To find out how the rest of the series went, visit www.brooklynpaper.com.
