Jammers sweep to earn playoff berth
Published on September 6, 2008 under New York-Penn League (NYPL)
Jamestown Jammers News Release
The Jamestown Jammers are playoff bound following a doubleheader sweep of Williamsport and a loss by the Brooklyn Cyclones Friday night.
Jamestown entered the day's play 1/2 game behind Brooklyn in the wild card with three games to play. Lefty Brad Hand (1-2) picked up his first victory in a Jamestown uniform by pitching six shutout innings en route to a 7-0 victory in game one over Williamsport. First baseman Ernie Banks hit a three-run home run to left in the bottom of the first to give him RBIs 48, 49 and 50 to set a brand new Jammers franchise record, breaking the mark of 49 set by Chris Wakeland in 1996.
Game two was a little testier. The Crosscutters scored two quick runs in the first off starter Skyler Crawford. Jamestown rallied for two runs to tie in the bottom of the inning, however. The game would quickly turn into a slugfest from there with Jamestown taking an 8-4 lead. Williamsport could not be kept off the board, however, scoring in each of the first six innings to take a 9-8 lead. Justin Bass homered to left to tie the game at 9 in the fifth. Jeremy Synan singled home Miguel Fermin later in the inning to give the Jammers a lead they wouldn't relinquish. Jared Yecker worked two innings of one run ball to pick up his ninth save.
Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, the Cyclones went to extra innings with Aberdeen before falling 5-3 in 11 innings to the Ironbirds. The Jammers moved to 46-29 while Brooklyn slumped to 45-29 and can only tie Jamestown with one game left to play in the regular season. Should the two teams finish the season tied for the wildcard lead, the Jammers own the head-to-head tiebreaker, defeating Brooklyn 3-0 in the season series with a trio of July victories over the Cyclones at Diethrick Park.
Jamestown remains alive in the Pinckney Division at 1/2 game behind Batavia following Batavia's victory over State College Friday. The Jammers must win and have Batavia lose Saturday to win the division.
Whether the Jammers finish as the wild card or Pinckney Division Champions will determine where and when the Jammers begin playoff action. By New York-Penn League playoff rule, lower seeds host game one of the three-game playoff series. Game two and, if necessary, game three is hosted by the higher seed. The NYPL playoffs kick off Monday.
The accomplishment marks the first time the Jammers will hit the NYPL playoffs since losing two games to one in the semifinals to Williamsport in 2001. The franchise has made the playoffs twice in its 15-year history, 1994 and 2001.
Jammers playoff tickets will go on sale Saturday morning and can be ordered by phone by calling (716) 664-0915 or by visiting the Jammers offices at Diethrick Park.
New York-Penn League Stories from September 6, 2008
- Muckdogs clinch division title - Batavia Muckdogs
- Spikes fall short in season finale, 4-1 - State College Spikes
- Lake Monsters' season comes to an end with 2-0 loss on Saturday - Vermont Lake Monsters
- Scrappers shut out Doubledays 3-0 to end season - Mahoning Valley Scrappers
- Saturday's Game Cancelled - Brooklyn Cyclones
- State College Spikes Game Notes - State College Spikes
- Jammers sweep to earn playoff berth - Jamestown Jammers
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