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FL New England Knockouts

Knockouts Hang Tight For Win Against Sussex County

June 7, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
New England Knockouts News Release


BROCKTON, MA.- Jalen Garcia and Jake Boone combined 4 for 8 with 4 RBIs to give New England a 7-6 victory over Sussex County on Friday night at Campanelli Stadium. The Knockouts boosted their record to 8-16 while the Miners dropped to 10-14.

Prior to the game Austin White spoke about his preparation, studying pitchers before the series. "You have to do a fair amount of preparation. It is a lot of work watching the relievers during films. Just being comfortable and being confident. As long as I know I got a bunch of guys behind me picking me up whether I get on base or not, that's the most important part. As long as we are playing together and not playing individually I think we got a good shot to win a series."

Coach Edmondson talked about what we should expect this weekend from their opponent. "It looks like they've been playing alright. Like I said, it's competitive. Every night you got to show up or you are going to get beat. I think they've been pitching pretty well. We just got to go out there and play our game and we will be good to go."

New England's starting pitcher, Matt Cronin, secured the victory after pitching a solid seven innings. During that time, he allowed four hits and three walks and struck out three batters while conceding two runs. Kellens Brothers of Sussex County faced the loss after pitching five innings. He allowed eight hits, four runs, and two walks and struck out eight batters. Reeves Martin was tagged with the save pitching in the ninth giving up three hits and two earned runs.

In the bottom half of the first inning, Garcia kicked off the action by knocking a 433-foot double to the deepest part of the ballpark, landing by the left center field wall. The Knockouts had the bases loaded with just one out, and Brady West came through with an RBI hit to restock the bases. However, the Miners stepped up, retiring Noah Lucier on a pop out to the catcher, and then striking out Boone to end the inning.

Tony Gomez, in the third, hit a 389-foot home run to left field, marking his first home run of the season and tying the game at one with just one out. The inning ended for Sussex County with a strike-out, throw-out double play, as Willie Escala struck out and West successfully threw out Gabriel Maciel caught stealing.

JR DiSarcina hit a 428-foot double deep into left-center field in the fourth with two outs. Garcia followed with a base hit, lining a single to the third base side on a 2-2 count, scoring DiSarcina and giving the Knockouts a 2-1 lead.

In the fifth inning, the Knockouts had two runners on base with only one out. Boone came up to bat and hit an 431 foot-two run double to left center field, nearly clearing the yard. To expand the Knockouts' lead to three, with the score now standing at 4-1. Boone advanced to third base due to an error made by the centerfielder, who fumbled the ball before making the throw to the cutoff man.

After the game Boone talked about his approach during the at-bat. "My approach there was just the same as most of the time. Looking for something good to hit and get a fast ball right over the plate that did damage."

Garcia in the sixth inning hit a towering 374-foot home run over the left field wall, increasing the Knockouts' lead to four runs, making the score 5-1. As the inning continued, the Knockouts had runners positioned at the corners with just one out, but unfortunately, West's fly ball ended the inning.

Sussex County had runners on the corners in the seventh when Jason Agresti grounded out into a double play cutting the Knockouts deficit to three. In the top of the eighth inning, the Miners got off to a strong start with the first two runners reaching base. A passed ball allowed both runners to advance in scoring position, and then Cory Acton hit a single up the middle to bring home two runs. Despite this, Dan Goggin managed to regain his composure and retired three of the next four batters, leaving the Miners with two runners stranded on base.

Garcia walked and quickly stole second and third base. Jimenez then scored Garcia with an RBI single. Jimenez further showcased his speed by stealing second base and advancing to third due to an error by catcher Justin Agresti. White then brought Ramon Jimenez home with a sacrifice fly to left field, securing a 7-4 lead for the Knockouts.

Martin got himself in trouble on the basepaths in the ninth. The Miners had the bases loaded with one out when Willie Escala drove home a run with a fielder's choice to cut the Knockouts lead to two. Acton followed with a double on the right field side bringing home a run. However, with the tying run 90 feet away, Oraj Anu struck out to end the ballgame.

After the game Coach Edmondson talked about the decision batting Garcia leadoff for the first time this season. "We just wanted to shake up the lineup a little bit. We got a lot of guys having good at bats and doing what they are supposed to do and just not being in the right situation. [We were] just trying to shake it up a little bit..."

For New England John Cristino led the Knockouts with his four hits performance, while Garcia had three hits and West had two. For Sussex County five different Miners recorded a hit while Acton and Tony Gomez each recorded a multi-hit game.

New England returns to Campanelli Stadium tomorrow night at 6:30PM for game two of their three-game series with the Sussex County Miners. Tickets for the contest can be found at https://tickets.knockoutsbaseball.com/.

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