Miners Fall to Rockland in 13-Inning Heartbreaker
Published on August 21, 2015 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Sussex County Miners News Release
POMONA, NY - The Sussex County Miners led five different times, but could not manage to defeat the Rockland Boulders on Thursday night at Provident Bank Park. Rockland (53-27) prevailed on a walk-off single by Junior Arrojo in the 13th inning, 10-9.
The Miners (30-48) led twice in extra innings. Kenny Bryant was almost the hero when he hit a high fly ball to right-centerfield in the 11th . The ball hit the top of the wall and was initially ruled in play. After the umpires conferred, however, they determined that the ball cleared the top of the wall and was ruled a two-run home run. Bryant's second two-run shot of the night gave the Miners an 8-6 lead.
Rockland broke the Miners' hearts in the bottom of the 11th . Miners reliever Brandon Shimo came within a strike of ending the ballgame and giving Sussex County the win. Rockland had two runners in scoring position with two outs and Shimo got ahead of Stephen Cardullo in the count, 0-2. Cardullo, however, served the 0-2 pitch into right field and both Giuseppe Papaccio and Byron Wiley scored to tie the game, 8-8.
Sussex County took the lead once again in the 12th . This time, Jon Talley roped an RBI single that scored Jamal Austin. The Boulders, though, shattered the Miners' dreams of victory again. In the bottom of the inning, with Shimo back on the hill for the Miners, Charlie Law sacrifice bunted Joe Maloney up to second base and Steve Nyisztor hit a fly ball to centerfield. Maloney tagged up from third and Austin came up throwing from center. Maloney slid in safely at home, just ahead of the tag from Jayson Hernandez and Rockland tied the score, 9-9.
The game remained tied going into the 13th , but the Boulders broke through to win the game.
Arrojo came up with the bases loaded and one out against Miners reliever Josh Mueller. With the Miners' infield playing in, Arrojo hit a ground ball off the mound and into centerfield.
DeBellis scored from third to give the Boulders their second walk-off win in three nights. Rockland swept the three-game series.
The Miners led five separate times during the game, including twice in extra innings. Arrojo's RBI single marked just the third time that the Boulders took a lead during the game.
As per Can-Am League tiebreaker rules, every inning after the 10th begins with a runner on second base, in an effort to speed up the conclusion of extra innings games. In Thursday's Miners loss, the runner who began the inning on second ended up scoring five out of six times. Rockland's tying run in the 12th , as well as the Boulders' winning run, were scored by that free runner. In addition Bryant's home run in the 11th led off the inning and was only a two-run shot because Ryan Mathews began the frame on second base.
The Miners used six pitchers in the loss. Mueller (0-2) gave up the winning run and took the loss. The right-hander recorded just one out in the 13th . Daniel Carela was the fifth pitcher used by Rockland and he picked up the win in relief. Carela (5-0) worked around runners on the corners with one out and pitched a scoreless top of the 13th .
Sussex County returns home to begin a stretch of eight games in six days at Skylands Stadium. The Miners host the Trois-Rivieres Aigles for three games and then the Ottawa Champions for five contests, including doubleheaders on Monday and Tuesday. The Miners are chasing both teams for the last playoff spot in the Can-Am League. The homestand begins on Friday night against the Aigles with a 7:05 PM first pitch.
Canadian American League Stories from August 21, 2015
- Jackals top Capitales with offensive surge - New Jersey Jackals
- Can-Am League Results - Can-Am
- Boulders Roll Past Grays into Victory - New York Boulders
- Rusch Shuts Down Miners with Three-Hit Shutout - Sussex County Miners
- Miners Fall to Rockland in 13-Inning Heartbreaker - Sussex County Miners
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