TROY — When Garrett Whitley went to “The Joe” as a young boy, he never imagined that he would be coming back as a player against the very team he grew up rooting for. But tonight the unthinkable happened, as Whitley and his team, the Hudson Valley Renegades, actually beat the hometown team. The Tri-City ValleyCats, could have used a W to stay tied with the Connecticut Tigers for second in the NY-Penn League’s Stedler Division, but it wasn’t to be.
The ‘Cats came out strong in the first inning, delivering a 1-2-3 defensive showing at the top. In the bottom half, the ‘Cats took their first and only lead of the ball game, as Bradley Mejia scored off a Ronnie Dawson sacrifice line drive to left field.
In the second, the Renegades put up two runs, which gave them control of the game leading 2-1.
The board didn’t change until the fifth, when the Renegades would add to their lead by putting up another two runs for a 4-1 game. The ‘Cats came back with a good answer, though. Gabriel Bracamonte and Miguelangel Sierra both scored, bringing it back to a 1 run game (4-3).
From there the ‘Cats were able to contain the Renegades, but unable to get solid production from their bats. In the bottom of the 9th, still down 4-3, it looked like the ‘Cats were going to pull some black magic as Ronnie Dawson doubled to lead off the inning. Unfortunately, that’s as far as he would get, as his team fell 4-3.
Although the ‘Cats weren’t celebrating, there were plenty of smiles from Whitley who went 2 for 5 on the night. Despite playing on the other team, every time Whitley stepped up to the plate he drew quite a roar from the Tri-City faithful. “It’s cool to see that a lot of people around here have my back,” Whitley said.
Whitley and his Renegades will take on the ‘Cats again on Sunday, at 5:00pm.
