Troy — Since 2004 the Tri-City ValleyCats are 8 and 4 on Independence Day. 5,915 fans packed the Joe to see if they could extend that record to 9 and 4.
The ValleyCats entered Monday’s matchup off a huge 10-0 win on Sunday against the Hudson Valley Renegades, while also leading the New York-Penn League in runs, hits, home runs and runs batted in.
Right from the start, it was clear that this one was going to be a battle, as both teams combined for a total of 9 hits.
By the end of the second, the State College Spikes barely had the upper hand, leading 5 to 4. It would stay that way until the 5th inning, when Ryan McCarvel would go yard extending the State College lead by 2 (6-4).
In the top of 6th, the Spikes would again add to their lead, making the score now 7 to 4, a 3 run game. In that same inning, Ryan Brik would put the ValleyCats back in it with an RBI double, setting the State College lead back to just 1 run.
After stretch time and God Bless America, nothing had changed and the score was still within reach for the ‘Cats, down just 1.
In the 8th, State College piled on 2 more runs, now giving them a 3 run lead (9-6). In the bottom half of the inning the ‘Cats managed to put up 1 run, closing the gap ever so slightly.
After holding the Spikes in the top of the 9th, the ValleyCats had 3 more outs to close out a W in front of by far their biggest crowd of the season. Sadly, the ‘Cats would fall short falling to the Spiked 7 to 9.
Despite the tough loss, the ValleyCats played very well offensively, managing to put up a solid 15 hits. Stephen Wrenn, one of the top hitters on the team, remarked on the impact of his teammates performance at the plate, “it makes it so much easier,because pitchers are getting run down.. I’m just another guy in the lineup.”
The ValleyCats will look to take game two of this three game set with the Spikes tomorrow at 7:00pm.
Tri-City made several adjustments in its pitching alone. By the fourth inning, the ‘Cats had already used three pitchers.