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FL New England Knockouts

Offense Shines Once Again; Knockouts Sweep Tri-City

July 11, 2024 - Frontier League (FL)
New England Knockouts News Release


BROCKTON, MA - Four different New England players recorded a 3-RBI game as the Knockouts complete the 16-7 victory and the three game sweep over Tri-City on Thursday night at Campanelli Stadium. The Knockouts improved to 18-35 while the ValleyCats dropped to 28-26.

Prior to the game, New England skipper Jerod Edmondson spoke about the importance of the first three batters to get on base to set the momentum throughout the game. "Anytime when you come out the gate where the top of the order sends a message to the pitcher right away that we are going to be ready for them. It gets them into their heels a little bit. I mean a lot of things with these starters is like - you got your shot to get them in the first couple of innings, and if you don't, you're probably not getting another shot until they get tired because once they're settled in it's going to be tough. Having good at-bats and putting good swings early changes everything."

Jake Boone spoke about how this group is working together as a whole, as they combined for 36 runs in their previous three games ahead. "Just sticking to our approach and being aggressive and swinging on stuff that we should hit and lay off the pitchers' pitches and do our thing."

New England's Neil Uskali secured the win, improving his record to 2-1 for the season. He pitched five innings, allowing eight hits and six earned runs, while walking three batters and striking out three. Alfredo Ruiz of Tri-City suffered his first loss of the season, bringing his record to 1-2. He pitched five innings, allowing 12 hits and nine earned runs, walking two batters, and striking out five.

In the first inning, the ValleyCats took an early lead when Uskali quickly got two outs, but then Ryan Cash walked and managed to steal second base. Following that, Kyle Novak singled to center field, bringing Ryan Cash home and putting the ValleyCats ahead 1-0.

New England quickly responded with four runs on four hits. Luis Atiles and John Cristino delivered back-to-back base hits, setting the stage with runners on the corners. Moments later, Cristino's steal of second put him in prime position to advance to third on a wild pitch, allowing Atiles to cross the plate and tie the game at one run apiece. Brady West drew a walk, as the Knockouts had runners on the corners once again. Jake Boone powered a single to right field, bringing home an RBI. Boone then showcased his speed with a stolen base, and Victor Castillo capitalized on the opportunity by hitting a base hit to center field, propelling two more runs across the plate.

Demias Jimerson hit a double to right center field and then stole third base. Jeff Nicol walked, putting Tri-City in a promising position with runners on the corners. Nicol then advanced to scoring position due to a wild pitch. Bradley Roberto grounded out to Danny Crossen at first, allowing Jimerson to score from third base which cut the Knockouts lead at half.

New England secured three runs by capitalizing on four hits in the third inning. The action began with Jalen Garcia hitting a single to center field, followed by West's double towards right center field. This set the stage for a promising opportunity with runners on second and third. Boone subsequently singled to left field, earning an RBI, and Castillo swiftly swung at the first pitch, altering the game to a score of 6-2. The momentum continued as New England executed a successful double steal, resulting in Crossen hitting a sacrifice fly to left field for another RBI.

The ValleyCats managed to score two runs during the top of the fourth thanks to an opposite field two-run homer with two outs by Elvis Peralta Jr. This marked his third home run of the season, as the ball landed 332 feet into the Knockouts bullpen, narrowing the lead to 7-4.

In the bottom of the fifth inning with one out, Boone and Castillo both hit a base hit as the Knockouts had runners on the corners. Castillo then stole second, putting two New England runners in scoring position. J.R. DiSarcina then came through with a two-run base hit to center field, increasing New England's lead to 9-4. DiSarcina also advanced to second base on the throw.

Nicol hit a leadoff triple to right field, in the sixth marking his first hit in the Frontier League. Following that, Bradley Roberto stepped up and hit an RBI double towards right field, bringing the score to 9-5. After a passed ball, Roberto advanced to third base. Jaxon Hallmark then singled to right field, scoring an RBI. Subsequently, Cash walked, and Novak also singled to right field, narrowing New England's lead to 9-7. Eventually, the inning came to an end as Walters grounded out to Boone.

The Knockouts had a big insurance run in the bottom of the sixth putting up six runs on six hits. Atiles and Cristino both managed to get on base with solid hits, and then Garcia hit a three-run home run that traveled 346 feet, extending New England's lead to 12-7. This home run was Garcia's eighth of the season. Following this, West hit a single to left field, Boone received a walk, and then Castillo made a base to center field, loading the bases for the Knockouts. New England wasn't done yet as Crossen drew a walk, forcing home a run. They eventually added two more in the inning when DiSarcina singled to left field for a sacrifice fly and White sacrifice fly. The Knockouts were up 15-7 after six innings of baseball.

After the game, Coach Edmondson spoke about the six-run sixth inning. "Jalen has been swinging the ball pretty well - he is starting to get hot. Anytime when the other team scores and we're able to put any kind of runs to get the momentum like that is great. But, when you go out there and put a six spot that changes everything. Like I said, credit to the guys and their approach. No panic, just play the game and take what they give us and see what happens."

New England added one more on the seventh when Crossen flew out for a sacrifice fly for a 16-7 final.

After the game Coach Edmondson spoke about the team's resilience. "It's one of these things where everybody clicking at the right time and we faced some good pitchers and I give the guys a lot of credit just being discipled and like I keep saying just sticking to the plan, executing and if they don't just turned it over to the next guy and trusting that someone is going to pick him up."

New England's Castillo achieved an impressive five hits, Boone had a four-hit game, and Atiles finished with three hits. Additionally, four different Knockouts players had a two-hit game.

After the game Castillo talked about his five-hit game and his approach. "I think it just starts with preparation. I got to give it all to. These guys allowed me to come out here and be myself. From the coaching staff and to the players to push me who I am and not changing anything and I got to give it all to them. Working hard this afternoon one or two hours before the game was really good stuff. I got to give it to them."

For Tri-City, Kyle Novak and Nicol both contributed with a two-hit game, and five different ValleyCats players managed to record a hit.

The Knockouts return to Campanelli Stadium tomorrow, beginning their weekend showdown against Les Aigles de Trois-Riviéres.Tickets for the weekend can be found at https://tickets.knockoutsbaseball.com/.

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