The Sussex County Miners and Ottawa Titans faced off yesterday in the final match of this three-game season series. This contest was filled with twists and turns, leaving fans of both clubs wondering whether their team would come out on top.
Ottawa would be first to get a point on the board. On the first pitch of the game, Titans third baseman AJ Wright demolished a pitch from Sussex County’s starting pitcher Kellen Brothers.
Wright would hit it to left field, but no Miners outfielder was able to recover the ball and stop AJ from recording a solo home run. Ottawa took an early 1-0 lead and set the tone early for this match.
Once the fifth inning came around, the Titans would get on the board again via the hands of Wright. AJ delivered another solo home run to left field, giving Ottawa a 2-0 lead.
With the Miners not responding, and Ottawa having all the momentum, they needed to respond fast before this game got completely out of hand. Sussex County didn’t just respond; they flipped this game on its head.
This flip came in the form of back-to-back RBIs. The first one came after Titans pitcher Eric Pardinho missed for ball four, allowing Edwin Mateo to walk to first base.
Dean Ferrara would step up to the bat, and after three pitches, he laced a triple to center field. Creating the opportunity not only for him to get to third base but also for Mateo to score and make it a 2-1 game.
The Miners would tie the game immediately after Mateo’s score, with Jose Medrano hitting a sacrifice fly on a fly ball to center field. Forming the runway for Ferrara to score and tying the game up at 2-2.
In the sixth inning, neither team was able to break the tie. But in the following inning, the decisive moment of this match would arise.
Keenan Taylor would be the first to get on base for Sussex County by hitting a ground-rule double. Evan Berkey reached first base via fielder’s choice on a ground ball to short, but Taylor got tagged out trying to stretch it out to third base.
Mateo went on to blow the game wide open for the Miners, producing a two-run home run to right field off a Pardinho pitch, putting Sussex County up 4-2 near the end of the seventh inning.
After a mound visit, Yohanse Morel entered in relief for Pardinho, but by then it was too little too late. The bullpen combination of Jacob Widener and Ted Stuka for the Miners went on to hold the Titans scoreless the rest of the game.
AJ Wright was the offensive engine for Ottawa and gave the club a seemingly good head start. But after Wright’s second solo home run, Sussex County flipped a switch and delivered a counterpunch Ottawa couldn’t answer. The Miners won the series 2-1 with a 4-2 victory on their home turf.
