Can-Am Sussex County Miners

Pineda's Walk-Off Heroics Lift Miners

Published on July 3, 2015 under Canadian American League (Can-Am)
Sussex County Miners News Release


AUGUSTA, NJ - Ryan Pineda could not have picked a better time to step up. The Sussex County Miners trailed by one run with two outs and Cory Morales on second base in the bottom of the ninth when Pineda launched the first pitch he saw from Alex Kreis over the left field wall. The two-run home run delivered the Miners (12-21) a 6-5 win in front of a crowd of 3,298 at Skylands Stadium.

The Miners had trailed since the fourth inning and had squandered previous opportunities to come back, including a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the sixth. Pineda, however, made sure the Miners did not waste this chance.

Morales led off the inning with a single and Rey Otero sacrifice bunted him to second. After Carlos Hughes struck out, Pineda delivered his third home run of the season to send Sussex County home victorious.

Sussex County had to battle back twice in the see-saw ballgame. Trois-Rivieres (15-19) took the initial lead in the second inning when Eric Grabe hit a single that scored Kyle Lafrenz. The Miners answered in the bottom of the inning, however. Jayson Hernandez tied the game with a sacrifice fly and Ryan Mathews gave the Miners a 2-1 lead with a double that one-hopped the left field wall.

Kenny Bryant added two more runs the following inning on a single, but the Aigles came back with a booming fifth inning against Miners starter Josh Wood. With two men on and one out, Lafrenz came through with an RBI single before Will Walsh and Grabe delivered a pair of crushing blows. Walsh and Grabe hit back-to-back triples, Walsh's scored a pair to tie the game and Grabe's put the Aigles ahead, 5-4. 

Pineda's home run was the first run scored since Grabe's triple in the fifth and it helped Michael Suk earn the victory in relief. Suk (3-0) came up big in the top of the ninth. With runners on the corners and one out, the right-hander struck out Lafrenz and Walsh back-to- back to end the inning and send the Miners to the bottom of the ninth with just a one run deficit. Kreis (0-1) took the loss.

Pineda has played a big role in all three of the Miners' walk-off wins this season. He scored the winning run against the Gary SouthShore RailCats on June 9, then he scored the tying run against the Quebec Capitales on June 19.

Sussex County will hit the road to face the Quebec Capitales for a three-game series north of the border. The series opener is on Friday night at 7:05 PM.

For  more  information  on  the  Sussex  County  Miners,  call  (973)  383---7644  or  go  online  to   SussexCountyMiners.com.  

Check out the Sussex County Miners Statistics

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Canadian American League Stories from July 3, 2015


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