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FL New England Knockouts

Knockouts Split First Double Header in Franchise History

August 2, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
New England Knockouts News Release


TROY, N.Y. - Trevor Anibal and Ben Seiler combined for seven shutout innings to give New England a game one 7-0 victory over Tri-City. Alfredo Ruiz threw a complete game three hit shutout to give Tri-City a game two pitching duel 1-0 victory over New England on Thursday evening at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. The ValleyCats improved to 37-32 while the Knockouts dropped to 23-44.

GAME ONE

New England's starting pitcher, Anibal, secured his first win of the season, boosting his record to 1-0. He pitched four scoreless innings while allowing just five hits and striking out three batters. Seiler, in relief, earned his second save of the season by pitching three shutout innings. Despite allowing two hits and walking a batter, he managed to strike out four ValleyCats hitters. Tri-City's starting pitcher, Easton Klein, suffered his third loss of the season, bringing his record to 5-3. During his five innings on the mound, he allowed seven hits, five runs (three earned), two walks, and recorded two strikeouts.

New England got off to a strong start in the first. Keagan Calero drew a walk with one out, followed by Jack-Thomas Wold reaching base on a fielder's choice. John Cristino hit his 13th double of the season, sending the ball to center field and bringing in a run to give the Knockouts a 1-0 lead. Victor Castillo also drew a walk, but unfortunately, with two outs, Jake Boone struck out swinging, ending the threat.

Tommy Kretzler started off in the second inning hitting by his first triple of the season to center field. Following that, Luis Atiles made a ground out to shortstop Tyson Gingerich, allowing Kretzler to score and widen New England's lead. J.R DiSarcina then reached base due to an error by Gingerich, advancing to second base. The very next batter, Austin White sealed the moment with an RBI single, furthering their lead to 3-0.

The Knockouts extended their lead by scoring two more runs in the third. The highlight of the inning was Castillo's two-run home run to right field, securing his second home run of the season.

During the first three innings of the game, Tri-City made a total of four errors. Notably, two of these errors were highlighted by second baseman Elvis Peralta Jr.

In the bottom of the fourth, with one out, Ian Walters hit a double to right field, marking his 13th double of the season. This put the ValleyCats in scoring position. However, the team couldn't capitalize on this opportunity as Kyle Novak flew out to Calero and Chris Burgess struck out swinging. This left Walters stranded at second base.

The ValleyCats were looking to make it interesting in the sixth. It all started when Javeyan Williams drew a walk and Dylan Broderick hit a single to right field, putting two runners on base with nobody out. However, Seiler regained composure and managed to retire the next three batters, including striking out Walters and Novak. Despite the ValleyCats' efforts, they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity, leaving two runners stranded.

The Knockouts managed to add a few more runs to their tally in the sixth. Wold walked and Cristino hit a double to the left field, putting two New England runners in scoring position. Wold was able to score on a passed ball, and Cristino advanced to third. Castillo then walked, as the Knockouts had runners on the corner. A few batters later, Castillo advanced to second on a wild pitch, while Cristino remained at third. Kretzler struck out swinging on a 3-2 count, but Atiles walked to load the bases for DiSarcina, who drove home the seventh run of the game on an RBI base hit. New England re-loaded the bases once again for White, who unfortunately grounded out to end the rally.

Cristino stood out by leading New England with three hits, while six different Knockouts players also recorded a hit. Tri-City's offense was spread out, with seven different ValleyCats players each recording a hit.

GAME TWO

Tri-City starting pitcher Ruiz secured his third win of the season, boosting his record to 3-3. He delivered an impressive performance by pitching a complete game, conceding only three hits, walking a single batter, and striking out six opponents. New England's starting pitcher Liam O'Sullivan took a hard-fought loss as his record dropped to 3-9. O'Sullivan pitched six innings, allowing four hits and one run, with one run being earned and striking out three batters.

Tri-City took the lead in the first when Williams hammered a double to right field with just one out. It was his seventh double of the season and he then showcased his speed by stealing third base, marking his 25th stolen base of the season. Broderick then brought Williams home with a sacrifice fly to left fielder Castillo, allowing Tri-City to take an early 1-0 lead.

After Ruiz swiftly recorded the first two outs in the top of the season, Jake Boone delivered his second triple of the season with a double towards right field. However, the inning concluded when Noah Lucier was struck out looking on a 3-2 pitch.

The ValleyCats had two runners on base with only one out in the third when Williams was hit by a pitch. This loaded the bases for Tri-City with one out. However, the next batter, Broderick, hit a fly ball that was caught by Wold at first base, and then Oscar Campos grounded out. Despite the bases being loaded, O'Sullivan managed to escape the inning without allowing any runs.

Throughout the first five innings of the game, 15 of the first 17 New England batters were retired. The turning point came in the sixth inning where the Knockouts had a chance to get on the board. With one out, White walked, and with two outs in the inning, he then stole second base to be in scoring position. Wold stepped up to the plate and delivered a base hit, but a play at the plate resulted in White being thrown out by Javeyon Williams. This pivotal moment kept the score at 1-0 in favor of Tri-City.

New England's hits were limited to the trio of Wold, White, and Boone in the loss. Meanwhile, four different ValleyCats players each contributed with a hit during the win.

New England is back on the open road today, traveling to Trois-Rivieres for game one of their series against Les Aigles. They return to Campanelli Stadium on August 9th, hosting the Quebec Capitales in a weekend showdown. Tickets for the rest of the weekend can be found at https://tickets.knockoutsbaseball.com/.

Check out the New England Knockouts Statistics

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