ValleyCats take Cyclones on wild ride, making history in the process
TROY –-The Tri-City ValleyCats wasted no time getting down to business during Sunday’s game against the Brooklyn Cyclones, scoring 8 runs in the bottom half of the first inning. The ValleyCats would go on to win by a final score of 18-3.
Right from the start it was clear the ValleyCats came to play, as leadoff hitter Rodrigo Ayarza singled on a line drive to right. Fittingly, Ayarza would be the first to cross the plate for Tri-City, off a line drive single from clean-up man Brauly Mejia. When the time came to enter the second, the ValleyCats had put an astonishing 8 runs on the scoreboard.
Their incredible start was a far cry from the ‘Cats opening performance in yesterday’s game, taking nearly 6 innings for them to get a single hit.
By the second inning alone, the ValleyCats had tied their season high of 13 runs in a game, as they continued to dominate the Cyclones. Three innings later that season high was shattered when outfielder Spencer Johnson hit a 2 run homer that also scored Taylor Jones.
In the bottom of the seventh, Kevin Martin crossed home plate off a Ronnie Dawson single to center. This put the ValleyCats at 16 runs for the game, something they last did in 2014 against the Staten Island Yankees. But they weren’t done there, scoring two more runs, bringing their total to 18 before the inning was over, and setting a new club record for runs in a single game. For first year manager Lamar Rodgers the milestone was meaningful, ”Great group of kids, well deserving and it’s nice to be a part of history.”
The ValleyCats will now look to complete the sweep of the Cyclones in game 3 of the series at “The Joe”, first pitch scheduled for 7:00pm Monday.
