Yanks take Game One in walk-off fashion
The Staten Island Yankees gave fans postseason baseball and then some on Wednesday night, taking down the Tri-City ValleyCats in 11 innings by a score of 3-2.
The Baby Bombers were first to strike in the bottom of the first inning. Jeff Hendrix singled to center field then Trey Amburgey drove home the first run of the game with a booming double to left field.
Tri-City answered in the next frame. Dexture McCall singled to left field then later scored on an Anthony Hermelyn single to right field to tie the ball game.
Pitching held strong for both sides all game long, led by 2015 first rounder James Kaprielian. In the longest performance of his pro career, the former UCLA Bruin tossed six innings, allowing only one run on four hits and four strikeouts.
With the decision still on Kaprielian's shoulders, Staten Island reclaimed the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Kevin Cornelius reached on an error, followed by a Thairo Estrada single to right field that put runners at the corners. Eduardo de Oleo brought home Cornelius with an infield single, putting the Baby Bombers ahead, 2-1.
Jeff Degano came on in relief in the seventh inning for Staten Island, allowing the second run of the game. Kolbey Carpenter singled to right field then scored on a Hermelyn double to center field, tying the game, 2-2.
The Yankees squandered two opportunities to push across the go-ahead run with the bases loaded and no outs. The second instance saw pitching coach Butch Henry get ejected for arguing a 3-0 called strike that would have brought home the winning run in the bottom of the tenth inning.
Missed opportunities would not be the case in the 11th inning. With one out in the inning, Ryan Krill singled off ValleyCat reliever Pat Porter followed by another single from Amburgey. Staten Island went to the bench for pinch runner Danienger Perez in place of Krill, and the decision paid off. With two runners on base, Junior Valera laced a double to right field bringing home the winning run, giving Staten Island a 3-2 victory in Game One of the New York-Penn League semifinals.
Jonny Drozd earned the win for Staten Island, tossing three shutout innings in relief allowing only one hit.
Staten Island will now travel to Tri-City for Game Two of the semifinals with red hot Domingo Acevedo taking the mound in a potential series-clinching game.