Tri-City 3
Cyclones 1
Sept. 2 at Tri-City
It is over.
The Cyclones playoff chances died last night in a place called “Tri-City,” where a team of Valley Cats pounced on our beloved Boys of Summer, breaking a 1–1 tie with two runs in the eighth, sending the Clones to the team’s fourth straight loss, and making tonight’s and tomorrow night’s games literally meaningless.
Tyler White and Ronnie Mitchell drove in a run apiece in the eighth inning for Tri-City to break a tie, and the Valley Cats’ pitchers combined to retire the final 18 Brooklyn batters.
Earlier in the game, though, things were looking up.
The Clones took a 1–0 lead in the second inning when Jared King singled and advanced to third on another single by Alex Sanchez. Juan Gamboa then hit an RBI single to allow King to put the first run on the scoreboard.
But Tri-City scored the next three runs, tying it in the fourth on an RBI sacrifice fly by Mitchell that scored White. The game remained tied for the next four innings, but White and Mitchell combined to knock the Clones out of playoff contention with the two RBIs in the eighth.
The Cyclones’ batters didn’t help themselves at the plate as Gamboa’s RBI single in the second inning was the last meaningful hit the team recorded this season. Starting in the fourth inning, the Clones went down in order each inning to never threaten the score.
With playoff hopes dashed, the Cyclones now hope to remain above .500 with the final two games against Tri-City. Right now, the Cyclones sit at 37–36, and need to win at least one of the two game to finish with a winning record. The first game is tonight at 6 pm.
