PONIES GAIN THE VICTORY

Eleventh-Inning Onslaught Seals Ponies’ Victory

ERIE, PA – Levi Michael, Peter Alonso and Kevin Taylor all drove in runs in Binghamton’s five-run eleventh inning to send the Rumble Ponies to a 7-3 victory over the Erie SeaWolves on Wednesday night at UPMC Park. Thrust into duty on short notice, Mickey Jannis tossed seven strong innings while three Ponies relievers combined for four innings of near-spotless relief to seal Binghamton’s sixth win in seven tries.

With the game knotted at two in the final inning, Binghamton filled the bases against Trent Szkutnik. Michael floated an RBI single into shallow right. His third hit of the night gave Binghamton their first lead. Alonso scorched a two-run single into left to cap his own three-hit game. Taylor salted the game away by poking a two-run single up the middle.

Binghamton’s eruption in the eleventh washed away a ten-inning stretch of offensive frustration. Prior to Michael’s hit, the Rumble Ponies were 2-for-18 with runners in scoring positon, including a stretch of nine hitless at-bats to start the game. The Ponies’ lone timely hit before extras came from Patrick Mazeika who delivered a two-run double to tie the game in the seventh.

Binghamton starter Jannis was tapped to take the mound a day earlier than expected after scheduled starter Scott Copeland was summoned to the New York Mets. On short notice, the knuckleball kept the SeaWolves in check over seven strong innings. He cruised through four scoreless frames before allowing single tallies in the fifth and sixth. The righty capped his day by striking out three of the final six SeaWolves he faced. Jannis finished with eight strikeouts.

David Roseboom entered in the eighth and stranded two before handing off to Joshua Torres for the final out of the ninth. Erie pushed the potential winning run to third with one out in the tenth, but Torres notched the final two outs to send the game deeper into extras. Following Binghamton’s five-run frame, Ryder Ryan fanned three in the bottom of the inning, his Double-A debut.

Torres (4-0) scooped up the win with 1-1/3 innings of spotless relief. Szkutnik (0-1) took the loss.

The Rumble Ponies (28-23) conclude their series in Erie with a morning tilt at 11:05 AM on Thursday. RHP Joseph Shaw takes the mound against RHP Kyle Funkhouser. The Horizons Federal Credit Union pregame show starts at 10:50 AM on CBS Sports Radio 1360 AM WYOS and the Binghamton Rumble Ponies channel on TuneIn.

POSTGAME NOTES: Binghamton is a season-best five games over .500…Binghamton improved to 3-1 in games decided in extra innings…the Rumble Ponies have won eight straight games at UPMC Park, dating back to last season