Connecticut 10
Cyclones 3
July 3 at MCU
A couple of good at-bats were not enough to stop the Cyclones from getting pounced by the Tigers.
Clones third baseman Carl Stajduhar finally got his first hit of the season — a home run — but it was a lone highlight as the boys suffered another embarrassing loss to Connecticut.
The Cyclones got on the board early after Quinn Brodey hit a sacrifice fly that scored Leon Byrd Jr. in the bottom of the first, but the Tigers took the lead in the second when Hector Martinez hit a grounder to score Colby Bortles and Randel Alcantara scored off Joey Morgan’s sacrifice fly to make it 2–1.
The Tigers padded the lead in the third after Cyclones manager Edgardo “Fonzie” Alfonzo substituted starter Mike Gibbons with reliever Kurtis Horne, scoring three straight runs when Morgan singled to plate Bortles, Cole Peterson singled in Alcantara, and Luke Burch’s sacrifice fly scored Hector Martinez, making it 5–1.
The Cyclones regained ground later that inning when, with the bases loaded, a walk to Stajduhar scored Reed Gamache, but the Tigers added to their lead in the fourth when Bortles singled to score Dylan Rosa, making the score 6–2.
Connecticut moved even further ahead in the top of the seventh when Martinez singled to score Alcantara and Peterson hit a grounds-rule double to score Martinez, making it 8–2.
Cyclones third baseman Stajduhar — whose hits were a lousy 0 for 16 coming into the game — hit a solo homer in the eighth, bringing the score to 8–3, but it was not enough to break the Tigers momentum.
Connecticut started the ninth with Alcantara scoring on a wild pitch from Trent Morgan, then, with runners on first and third, Peterson hit a grounder that scored Martinez for the fourth time.
And the Clones failed to capitalize when they loaded the bases in the bottom of the inning, ending the game at a score of 10–3.
Clones starter Gibbons took the loss, having allowed seven hits and five runs, which made him 0–1 for the season, and Gamache had three hits and scored a run.
The Cyclones’s manager said he thought the boys showed promise despite their loss.
“I actually thought we played better tonight,” Alfonzo said. “The guys are starting to feel a little more relaxed, but they still feel so much pressure to perform in front of these fans.”
The loss puts the Cyclones at a bleak 3–10 for the season, in dead last in their McNamara Division, three games behind Hudson Valley.
Brooklyn’s Boys of Summer hope to start winning again when they take on the Tri-City ValleyCats in Tri-City tonight at 7 pm.
