Valleycats comeback falls short in series finale
TROY, NY >> The Valleycats were going for the sweep of the Sussex County Miners on Sunday evening at The Joe, but as they found out, it’s difficult to win any ballgame when you give up seven runs in an inning.
“We won the series and that’s what you strive to do, take two out of three. Once again, we gave up seven runs in one inning and got down early. If we can just stay away from those big innings, we’ll have some success,” said manager Pete Incaviglia. “It wouldn’t have surprised me if we came back in the ninth. It really wouldn’t, but you’re not going to win all those games when you’re down by eight runs. It’s a tall task for anybody.”
The Miners were able to salvage the final game of the series with a 11-9 victory.
Tri-City got on the board first, in the bottom of the first, on a solo home run by Denis Phipps. The
blast, which had an exitvelocity of 111 MPH, was Phipps’ 16th of the season, a new franchise record for homers in a single season, as well as all-time.
“What’s great is that Silverio broke the hits record the other day, which is really cool,” Incaviglia said. “Denis breaking the home run record, it’s awesome. It just goes to show you that we have the right people here. We have the guys that, not only are they good players, but that understand that winning is important and they do a really good job in the clubhouse.”
“You’re not looking for it, but when you do it, it’s a pleasure to be a part of the organization, the Valleycats. The organization has been around a long time, to be the home run leader, it’s a pleasure,” Phipps added.
The Miners got that run back in the top of the second on a RBI double from Cito Culver.
The top of the third was the bad inning for the Valleycats, where Sussex put a seven spot on the scoreboard. The inning was highlighted by Audy Ciriaco, who hit the first of his two home runs on the night, a two-run shot.
The Valleycats scored one run in each the third, fourth and fifth innings, while the Miners picked up one in each the fifth, sixth and seventh innings, making the score 11-4.
Ciriaco’s second home run of the game came in the top of the fifth inning, this time a solo shot.
Josh Hiatt started for Tri-City and went 2.2 innings. He allowed eight runs, all earned, on seven hits and three walks, taking the loss. Jake Dexter, who went 3.0 innings in relief, was responsible for the other three Miner runs.
In the bottom of the seventh, Nelson Molina hit a RBI double to make it 115, but was called out after missing first base. Since there was only one out, the run still counted.
The ‘Cats comeback really started to take shape in the bottom of the eighth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Phipps cranked his second home run of the game, a grand slam well over the left field wall, making it a two-run game at 11-9.
“These guys play to the last out. They play hard, they compete, they thrive off each other,” Incaviglia said.
After that, the Miners handed the ball to Jalen Miller Sr., who was able to hold the Valleycats down and get the final four outs without any more damage.
Overall, Phipps was 3-for-5 with three runs and five RBI. Luis Roman was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI. Jhon Nunez was 2-for-4 with a double and Zach Biermann was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
After chasing down a double in the right field gap, Willy Garcia — a former Chicago White Sox outfielder — was carted off the field with a leg injury. He heard two popping sounds during the play, although after further evaluation, Incaviglia believes it may not be as serious an injury as initially anticipated.
“The doctor will see him tomorrow and we’ll get a better idea, but told me that it may not be as bad as we think,” he said. “I thought it was his knee, because he’s had some knee issues in the past, but when I finally got out there it was his quad. He said he heard it pop once and then he heard it pop again. I don’t know what that means, but the swelling is not bad and there’s no discoloration. He seems to be in good spirits and he’s feeling better about it too. He’s a guy that we would sorely miss. We gotta have Willy in the lineup.”
Brad Zunica was also removed from the game due to a nerve issue in his thumb, while swinging the bat.
Both players are considered day-to-day.
On Sunday, the Frontier League announced that Chris Kwitzer would be suspended 12 games for his role in the benches clearing shoving match that took place on Saturday. The length of the suspension took into account that Kwitzer had already had a three-game suspension earlier in the season for an altercation on the field.
“I don’t think that was a good handled situation,” Phipps said in defense of his teammate. “This is independent ball. I don’t think you suspend a guy that many games, just for that. Even in the big leagues, it’s just two or three days. I don’t think that was the right idea.”
During a league suspension, a player must remain on the team’s active roster. The Valleycats did not want to lose that spot for the remaining two weeks of the season, so they added Kwitzer to the team’s suspended list and activated Jake Barbee to take his place.
While Kwitzer can be activated from that list at any time, he would then have to begin serving the league’s suspension, meaning that he is going to be out for the remainder of the 2021 season.
Tri-City (42-40) goes into the league off day on Monday trailing Quebec (43-40) by a half game in the Atlantic Division. There are 14 games remaining on the schedule, none of which are against Quebec.