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Can-Am New Jersey Jackals

Jackals sink Surf

June 18, 2008 - Canadian American League (Can-Am)
New Jersey Jackals News Release


Little Falls, NJ - In just his third game since returning to the lineup following a knee injury, Jackals first baseman Matt Lauderdale hit a walk-off home run to left field with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to cap a five-run comeback as New Jersey defeated the Atlantic City Surf 7-6 in a Can-Am League contest on Wednesday night at Yogi Berra Stadium.

Lauderdale, who was injured in a play-at-the-plate on May 27th in Quebec when he was behind the dish, unloaded on a 1-0 fastball from Atlantic City reliever Derek Duclos to give the Jackals their fourth win in five games. The Atlanta, GA native led the charge offensively for New Jersey, going 3-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored. Atlantic City led 6-2 entering the bottom of the eighth inning behind a stellar pitching performance by starter Brian Rodaway. Rodaway, the league's ERA leader entering the night, didn't factor in the decision after allowing two earned runs on eight hits while striking out four batters over 6 2/3 innings on the hill. In the bottom of the eighth, The Jackals strung together four straight hits to begin the inning. Third baseman Chris Kelly and Lauderdale hit back-to-back doubles to cut the Surf lead to 6-3. Right fielder Ramon Nivar then singled to put runners on the corners with no outs. The next batter, left fielder Andrew Larsen, hit a pop up in front of the mound which hit third baseman Billy Hogan's glove and caromed into foul ground on the first base side, allowing Lauderdale to scamper home to make it a 6-4 game. After Nivar scored on a sacrifice fly off the bat of catcher Craig Maddox, pinch hitter Luke Allen doubled off the left field wall in front of the scoreboard to plate Larsen and tie the game at six.

Jackals closer Rusty Tucker pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to keep the score tied and set up Lauderdale's majestic blast. Tucker (2-1) earned the win while Duclos (0-3) absorbed the loss in the bottom of the ninth.

For the second straight night, the Surf jumped out to an early lead when first baseman Eddie Kim connected on a three-run home run in the top of the first inning of Jackals starter Ryan Pacyna. After the next two batters reached via a single and an error, Pacyna settled down and retired the next seven batters he faced. Pacyna was pulled from the game with two outs in the fifth inning after allowing four runs on five hits while fanning four batters and walking just one.

The Surf extended their lead to 4-0 in the top of the fourth when catcher William Plaza, who had led off with a double, advanced to third on a sacrifice fly by Hogan before scoring on an RBI fly out by second baseman Brad Thoma. In the bottom of he fourth, the Jackals plated two runs to cut the Atlantic City lead in half at 4-2. An RBI double by Kelly followed a lead-off double by designated hitter Juan Tejeda to make it a 4-1 game. After a single by Lauderdale, an RBI fielders' choice off the bat of Ramon Nivar enabled Kelly to cross the plate.

Atlantic City scored a run in the seventh when left fielder Joe Burke doubled home center fielder Lucas Taylor to make it 5-2 Surf. The Surf struck for their final run in the top of the eighth inning as a Hogan double scored right fielder Josh Burrus, who had walked to begin the inning.

New Jersey's three-through-five hitters - Tejeda, Kelly, and Lauderdale - were a combined 8-15 at the plate in the victory. The rubber game of the three-game series between New Jersey and Atlantic City is Thursday night at Yogi Berra Stadium. Jackals manager Joe Calfapietra sends Michael Vicaro to the hill against J.C. Huguet for the Surf. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. If you can't make it out to the game, you can catch every inning of action via live webcast at www.jackals.com with the pregame show beginning ten minutes prior to the start of the game.

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