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Yanks remain in 1st with 8-7 win

September 4, 2015

After splitting the first two games of the series with the Tri-City ValleyCats (40-32), the Staten Island Yankees (38-34) claimed the series with a thrilling 8-7 victory on Friday night, leaving the team in first place in the McNamara Division.

Staten Island got off to a hot start in the second inning. Kevin Cornelius singled to center then came across to score on a Thairo Estrada triple. Estrada followed Cornelius, scoring on a single from Jhalan Jackson for a 2-0 lead.

Tri-City answered in the third. Keach Ballard singled to left field then scored later in the inning on a sacrifice fly by Hector Roa to cut the Yankees' lead to 2-1.

The ValleyCats continued scoring, putting a crooked number on the board in the fifth. Anthony Hermelyn and Hector Carrasco collected back-to-back singles then Hermelyn scored on a throwing error by pitcher Luis Cedeno (W, 5-3). Aaron Mizell doubled to right field, bringing home two runs to cap off the inning, giving Tri-City a 4-2 lead.

Staten Island stormed right back in the bottom half of the inning. The Yankees collected five consecutive singles courtesy of Ryan Krill, Eduardo de Oleo, Zack Zehner, Danienger Perez and Trey Amburgey, bringing home three runs in response to Tri-City's top half of the inning, giving the Yankees a 5-4 lead.

The Yankees went in for the kill in the eighth inning. Cornelius singled to center then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Thairo Estrada. In response, Tri-City intentionally walked Junior Valera, bringing up Jackson who smashed a triple off the left field wall, plating two more runs. Krill capped off the inning with an RBI single for an 8-4 advantage.

The ValleyCats posed a threat in the ninth inning, scoring three runs to make it a one-run game, but Travis Hissong (SV, 1) shut the door on Tri-City with the go-ahead run at the plate.

With the division still up for grabs, Staten Island travels to Brooklyn for the final series of the 2015 regular season. Stay tuned over the next few days as the Baby Bombers try to punch their ticket to the postseason.