Brooklyn Cyclones Down League’s Top Team In Game Two Of Possible Playoff Preview

The Hudson Valley Renegades keep winning; this time, 11-0 over the Connecticut Tigers. And the Batavia Muckdogs keep winning; this time, 3-2 over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Therefore the Brooklyn Cyclones must keep winning as well. So in the second game of their current home stand, they saw to it. After losing Tuesday night in game one to the Tri City Valley Cats, the Surf Avenue Sluggers tied the series Wednesday evening against the League’s top team, thanks in large part to a strong performance by starting hurler Luis Cessa.
The Brooklyn hurler pitched seven full innings, surrendering six hits, but only one earned run. He walked no batters and struck out three before giving way to the bullpen. This was Luis’ longest outing of the season. He was credited with his fourth win against four losses this season, and lowered his ERA to a 2.50 mark, which ranks tenth in the league. Of the league’s pitchers with eleven or more starts, only three pitchers have issued fewer walks than Luis Cessa. He’s sporting a slightly better than three to one strikeout to walk ratio.
Next in, Matthew Bowman pitched the last two innings for Brooklyn, allowed two hits, walked none, and struck out four batters. The Brooklyn reliever notched his third save. In five games and 10.1 innings pitched, Matthew Bowman is yet to surrender a single run in the month of August.
A double and a single off Luis Cessa gave the Valley Cats an early 1-0 lead in the second. In the bottom half of the inning however, the Cyclones started chipping away at Tri City pitching, getting one run for a tie. An E-6 and a hit-by-pitch put Cyclones on first and second with one out. Then a single by Phillip Evans plated Brandon Nimmo from second base.
Brooklyn scored a second time in the third. Phillip Evans again delivered Brandon Nimmo, this time for a 2-1 lead. In the fourth inning, the Brooks picked up their third run on a wild pitch by Valley Cat starting pitcher, Lance Day, which allowed Jeffrey Glenn to score. Then in the sixth inning, Brooklyn picked up their fourth and final run. Stefan Sabol led off the inning with a triple. An out later, Jeffrey Glenn singled Sabol home to give the Brooks a 4-1 lead, and eventual final score.
At the conclusion of Wednesday night’s action, things remain as they were before the evening’s games started. The Cyclones remain four games behind the Hudson Valley Renegades in the McNamara Division standings. And they still maintain a four game lead over the Batavia Muckdogs for the Wild Card. Fourteen games now remain in the regular season.
The rubber game of this potential first round post-season preview is scheduled for Thursday evening in Coney Island. If the Cyclones hold on to the Wild Card instead of securing the division title, Tri City and Brooklyn would most likely face each other in the first round of playoffs.