Hill Yeah

Gades Take Series Opener From Yanks

STATEN ISLAND, NY—Rightfielder Hill Alexander continued his hot-hitting by going 4-5 with two RBI as the Hudson Valley Renegades defeated the Staten Island Yankees 7-6 Tuesday evening from Richmond County Bank Ballpark.  The Renegades have now won five of their last six games, while Alexander is 7-9 over the last two contests with four RBI. 

Staten Island drew first blood in the first.  With rightfielder Jacob Sanford at third and two away, second-baseman Ezequiel Duran grounded a single to right to give the Yankees a 1-0 lead.

Hudson Valley came roaring back with five runs in the second; and it all began with two outs and no one on base.  Singles by shortstop Nick Sogard and leftfielder Pedro Diaz, as well as a walk to third-baseman Luis Arcendo loaded the bases before designated hitter Greg Jones drew a walk of his own to put the Renegades on the board.  That set the stage for second-baseman Cristhian Pedroza who smacked a two-run single to center to put Hudson Valley in front 3-1.  Pedroza took second and Jones third on the throw to the plate, which allowed Alexander to stand in and rope another single to center to score both runners and up the Hudson Valley lead to 5-1.

The Baby Bombers got back into the game by adding two runs in the bottom-half of the second.  Third-baseman Andres Chaparro drew a leadoff walk.  Two batters later, first-baseman Mitchell Robinson cracked his first homerun of the year over the leftfield wall to pull the Yankees to within two.

Things stayed that way until the sixth when lightning speed from Hudson Valley, and poor defense by Staten Island allowed the Renegades to add another run.  Centerfielder K.V. Edwards started the inning by hitting a flyball to right that was dropped by Sanford.  The ball rolled to the wall and Edwards was able to race all the way around for a four-base fielding error as Hudson Valley upped their lead to 6-3.

From there, Staten Island would creep back and tie the game.  In the seventh, back-to-back singles put runners at first and second with two out when shortstop Oswald Peraza laced a groundball single to right to bring in the runner from second.  In the eighth, Sanford started the two-run inning with a triple to center, then scored on a centerfield single by Duran who promptly stole second.  After a passed ball moved him to third with one away, Arcendo booted a groundball by Chaparro, which allowed Duran to score and tied the game at six.

The Renegades, however, would not be denied as they came right back with the winning run in the ninth.  Again, the rally started with two out and nobody on base.  Alexander started the uprising with a single to right.  He was at first when first-baseman Jacson McGowan skied a double to center to score the speedy Alexander from first as Hudson Valley claimed a 7-6 lead.

That was enough for reliever Jose Roca (1-0) who pitched around a leadoff single in the ninth to garner the win.  The right-hander got the ‘W’ despite allowing two runs, one earned, on three hits with three strikeouts.  Suffering the loss for the Yankees was Wellington Diaz (0-1) who allowed the winning-run over five hits in four innings.  The right-hander struck out nine Renegades on the evening.  Reliever Daiveyon Whittle continued his good work for Hudson Valley as he allowed a run on four hits in 5.1 frames with eight strikeouts. 

All four of Alexander’s hits were singles.  In addition, McGowan went 2-5 with the game-winning double and RBI.  Pedroza also went 2-5 with two singles, a run scored, and two more RBI.  Hudson Valley registered a season-high 12 hits for the game.  On the other side, the Yankees had 11 hits including three from Duran who scored once and drove in two.  Sanford chipped in by going 2-4 with two runs scored and a triple.

Hudson Valley continues its series against the Staten Island Yankees tomorrow in game two of their three-game series.  First-pitch is scheduled for 7:00.  Righty Zack Trageton (2-0, 0.82 ERA) will pitch for the Renegades against fellow-righty Blakely Brown (0-2, 2.08 ERA) of the Yankees. 

The Renegades return home on Monday, July 1^st when they open a three-game series against the Brooklyn Cyclones.  Tickets are on sale and can be purchased online at hvrenegades.com, in person at the Dutchess Stadium ticket window, or by calling the ticket office at 845-838-0094.