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FL New England Knockouts

Knockouts Drop Close Finish to Sussex County in Series Opener

July 24, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
New England Knockouts News Release


AUGUSTA, NJ - Jason Agresti went 2 for 3 and delivered the go-ahead run for Sussex County in the sixth for a 4-3 victory over New England on Tuesday night at Skylands Stadium. The Miners improved to 23-38, while the Knockouts are now 20-40 in the season.

Prior to the game, New England skipper Jerod Edmondson spoke about what kind of response he is hoping from his team during the next three games against the Miners. "I mean I think our guys know what is at stake for us. If we want to go to the postseason, we have to start winning a lot of games. That's the only way. It doesn't matter if we swept them [earlier this season] - we've got to play really good tonight. We've got to play really good tomorrow, we've got to play really well for the rest of the year. We don't have a lot of room for error, and these guys are a good team. They have some good guys and they changed some things a little bit, so we just got to be ready to go."

Sussex County starting pitcher Charlie Neuweiler secured a victory, bringing his season record to 2-1. He delivered an impressive six-inning performance, allowing six hits and three earned runs, while also issuing three walks and striking out eight batters. New England's starting pitcher, Anderson Comas, suffered the loss and now stands at 0-2 for the season. Comas pitched 5.1 innings, conceding seven hits, four earned runs, and two walks, while striking out four batters. In the closing moments of the game, Robbie Hitt notched his eighth save of the season by pitching a flawless ninth inning, giving up only one hit and striking out all three batters he faced.

The Miners began the bottom of the first when Gabriel Maciel hit his fifth double of the season to left field. However, Comas settled in and retired the next three hitters, two via the strikeout. Sussex County also left a runner in scoring position stranded.

In the top of the third inning, after the first six New England batters were retired, Brady West led off the inning when he hit a double to right field, marking his 13th double of the season. Ramon Jimenez then reached base due to an error by the third baseman Evan Giordano. This set the stage for Luis Atiles, who brought home West on a sacrifice fly, giving New England a 1-0 lead. Austin White followed with a base hit and stole his 30th base of the season, putting two Knockouts runners in scoring position. Despite the pressure, Neuweiler composed himself and struck out both John Cristino and Tommy Kretzler to end the inning, leaving the bases loaded. Neuweiler struck out six batters through the first three innings.

In the bottom half of the inning, Sussex County was eager to counter after two consecutive hits. Maciel successfully executed a bunt, advancing two runners into scoring position. Hunter D'Amato then delivered a two-run single to center field, bringing both runners home.

With one out in the fourth Jake Boone made it to first base with an error. Then, West hit a double to left field, marking his second double of the night and his 14th of the season. This put two New England runners in scoring position. With two outs, Atiles walked to load the bases and then White walked, forcing home a run and tying the score at two apiece. However, for the second inning in a row, the Knockouts left the bases loaded when J.R. DiSarcina flied out to right fielder Alec Sayre to end the top of the fourth.

Boone started off the sixth inning with a double to center field, marking his 14th double of the season. After advancing to third base on a wild pitch, West stepped up to the plate with the infield in. He delivered a well-placed bloop single to center field, the Knockouts secured a 3-2 lead.

Comas found himself in a tough spot in the bottom of the sixth when Oraj Anu smashed a double to right field over Victor Castillo's head, marking his 16th double of the season. The tension ramped up as the first pitch thrown to Gavin Stupieski hit him, putting two miners on base with only one out. Then, Evan Giordano stepped up and smacked a base hit over DiSarcina at short, sending the ball to right field and tying the score at three runs each. Sussex County then seized the lead when Sam Linscott delivered an RBI base hit, and quickly followed it up by stealing his fifth base of the season. However, D'Amato grounded out to Atiles at third, who promptly stepped on the bag, bringing an end to the intense inning.

In the top of the eighth, Castillo hit a bloop single to the opposite side in left. Boone followed with a bunt, allowing Castillo to advance to scoring position with one out. West then hit a hard ball, but Sayre made an impressive sliding catch, depriving West of what would have been his third extra-base hit of the game. Finally, Jimenez grounded out to end the inning.

In the bottom half of the inning. Jimmenez dropped the ball in right field, popping out of his glove. As a result, Giordano advanced to second and Agresti safely reached first due to an error by the second baseman Boone. The Miners were hoping to secure an insurance run with runners in scoring position and only one out left. However, Linscott struck out swinging, and Maciel hit a line drive to Kretzler for the final out.

New England had the tying run at first base with only one out. DiSarcina was up next, but unfortunately, he struck out. White managed to steal second base, putting himself in a scoring position for Cristino. However, the game came to an end as Cristino struck out looking.

New England's Brady West delivered an impressive performance with three hits, while the duo of Boone and White also contributed with multiple hits. Castillo had one hit. For Sussex County, Agresti stood out with a multi-hit game, and six different Miners players recorded a hit.

New England continues their series in Sussex County tomorrow, playing in game two against the Miners. They return to Campanelli Stadium at the end of the month, hosting the Jackals in a weekend showdown. Tickets for the weekend can be found at https://tickets.knockoutsbaseball.com/.

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