Can-Am New Jersey Jackals

Jackals down Skyhawks again

Published on August 9, 2006 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
New Jersey Jackals News Release


Little Falls, NJ It was another back-and-forth game tonight, going right down to the wire, but, in the end, the New Jersey Jackals edged the Sussex Skyhawks, 5-4, in the final at-bat of the contest.

What has been dubbed a cross-town rivalry all season long has not exactly amounted into much of a rivalry at all. In 13 games versus the "˜Hawks this season, the Jackals are now 10-3, having outscored the Sussex ballclub by nearly a 2:1 ratio, 82-43. Coming into this series, the Jackals bats were scorching hot, hitting a remarkable .313 as a team against the Skyhawks staff. Meanwhile, New Jersey pitchers have silenced the Sussex offense, shutting them out 5 times. Possibly even more impressive than that, the Jackals have not dropped a game against the Hawks at Yogi Berra Stadium, emerging as the victors in all 6 matchups at home.

Though the Jackals were unable to put a run on the board in the 1st inning for the first time in 5 games, they did open up the scoring, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the home half of the 4th inning. 3B Wilton Veras and 1B "Big" Bill Peavey led off the inning with back-to-back base hits into LF. DH Joey Gomes would hit into a 5-4-3 double play, but Veras was able to advance to 3rd on some crafty baserunning. C Clay Kuklick stepped up to the dish and beat out a slow-roller to 2B that allowed Veras to score, 1 of 2 infield singles on the night for Kuklick...although it was his 3rd hit of the game that would be the big difference-maker.

The Skyhawks immediately came back in the top of the 5th to tie the game at 1 run apiece, as SS Bobby LeNoir shot a laser down the 1B line that rolled all the way to the wall for a triple, scoring 2B Marcus Agramonte. Then, in their next at-bats in the 6th inning, it was another triple that did some major damage. This time, LF Scott Grimes clobbered the ball, just missing a homerun to dead CF, bouncing off the face of the wall and rolling away from Jackals CF Zack Smithlin. 1B Elvis Corporan and RF Magic Mears would come in to score, putting Sussex ahead 3-1. The next batter was C Abraham Ayala, who sent a sacrifice fly into RF that was just deep enough for Grimes to score, giving the Skyhawks a 3-run lead.

But the Jackals came back in the bottom of the 6th swinging away, looking to cut into that lead... exactly what they did when Gomes blasted a solo shot to LF to knock the deficit down to 2 for New Jersey, clearly putting them within reach. They wasted no time making up the rest of the difference, as they would tie the game at 4 in the 7th inning, thanks to RBIs from Veras and RF Alex Fernandez.

New Jersey momentarily regained the lead in the 8th, but they essentially traded runs with Sussex, as the Skyhawks would score in the top of the 9th to again even up this battle. For the Jackals, it was 2B "Mighty" Joe Mihalics who turned on the wheels and spun into 3rd with a triple to RF, allowing LF Jason Tuttle to knock him in on an infield single to the right-side. Tuttle went 3-for-5 with 3 infield singles on the night, adding a run, an RBI, and 2 stolen bases to the effort. But when the Jackals turned to RHP Jason Wylie (3-0) in the top of the 9th for the save, the "˜Hawks came up big, yet again off the bat of LeNoir. He lined a base hit into LF, and a very close play at the plate was ruled in favor of the Skyhawks, thanks to a great slide by CF James Cooper.

With the game knotted at 5 heading into the bottom half of the 9th inning, the Jackals had the heart of their order due up. Fernandez started things off with a single into right-CF. Veras hit a rocket that was played beautifully by Corporan...until he attempted a throw to 2nd to double-up on Fernandez. The throw ricocheted off the leg of a sliding Fernandez and dribbled into shallow LF, and Fernandez jumped up and took off for 3rd, cruising in safely, and now standing 90-feet away from putting this one in the win column for the Jackals. In an interesting managerial move, the Skyhawks proceeded to intentionally walk both Peavey AND Gomes, loading the bases with just 1 out. The move could have paid off, but the "˜Hawks wound up getting Kuk-licked. The Jackals catcher came up huge in the clutch, slapping a big chopper up the middle, just out of the reach of LeNoir. Fernandez stepped on home, and, when the dust settled, the Jackals emerged victorious once again, 6-5.

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Canadian American League Stories from August 9, 2006


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