Deja Vu All Over Again

WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY-For the second night in a row the Hudson Valley Renegades won in walk-off fashion over the Brooklyn Cyclones with a two-run ninth inning. And once again they did it by the final of 6-5, this time on a Monday night at Dutchess Stadium. Shortstop Ford Proctor provided the heroics with a two-run blast; it was his first dinger of the year.
Brooklyn got the ball rolling with three runs in the first inning off of five hits. Leftfielder Ross Adolph started the game with a lined triple to right-centerfield. The next hitter, second-baseman Carlos Cortes, singled him in on a liner to right but was thrown out at second trying to stretch the hit into a double. Back-to-back singles followed to put runners at the corners before centerfielder Anthony Dirocie doubled them in on a drive into left-centerfield to make it 3-0 Cyclones.
However, the Renegades would turn things around with one swing of the bat in the third. With two out and nobody on base, a walk and single put runners at first and second before catcher Chris Betts lifted a homerun over the rightfield wall to tie the game at three. It was Betts' eighth dinger of the year.
The Cyclones would retake the lead in the fourth as an infield single and two walks loaded the bases with one out before catcher Dan Meyer lifted a sacrifice fly to right to give Brooklyn a 4-3 lead.
Things stayed that way until the seventh when Hudson Valley retied the game and almost took the lead. With one out and a runner at first, shortstop Ford Proctor sent a sinking liner into rightfield, which fell in and skipped past a diving Jose Medina. The ball rolled all the way to the wall to tie the game. Proctor tried to score as well for an inside-the-park homerun but was gunned down at the plate to keep the game tied.
Brooklyn took the lead for good in the eighth as a two-out double to left-centerfield from Medina atoned for his mistake in the previous inning. Third-baseman Chandler Avant scored from first on the play to give the Cyclones a 5-4 advantage.
That was the score entering the bottom-of-the-ninth. Third-baseman Adrian Rondon led off with a walk before Proctor smoked a 1-0 pitch over the rightfield wall to give Hudson Valley the dramatic win.
Getting the win in relief for the Renegades was Nick Sprengel (2-0) who struck out three of the four men he faced in 1.1 innings. The loss went to Brooklyn closer Ryley Gilliam (0-1) who had a 0.00 ERA in eight appearances, and was 3-3 in save opportunities before tonight's outing.
The Renegades had six hits with Proctor finishing 3-4 with his game-winning homerun, two triples, three RBI and a run scored. The Cyclones were lead by Dirocie who finished 2-4 with a double, two RBI, a run scored, and a stolen base.
Hudson Valley takes on Brooklyn in game two of their series tomorrow night. First-pitch is slated for 7:05. Right-hander Michael Mercado (1-1, 5.20 ERA) will pitch for the Renegades against a to-be-determined pitcher for the Cyclones. Tickets can be purchased online at hvrenegades.com or by calling the ticket office at 845-838-0094.