Yanks top Cyclones in decisive Game 3

Tyler Austin had a rough night in the field Saturday, but he made up for it with his performance at the plate.

The Yankees third base prospect atoned for a pair of errors by doubling twice and scoring the lone run as Staten Island beat the Brooklyn Cyclones, 1-0, to advance to the New York-Penn League Championship Series.

Austin has made three errors in three postseason games but is 5-for-12 with three RBIs in those contests.

"It feels great [to move on]," he said. "It's unbelievable, actually, but it's not over yet. We've just got a few more games to take care of."

With the game scoreless in the seventh, Austin laced a one-out double to right field. Reymond Nunez followed with a triple to deep center field.

"Originally, he hit it and I honestly thought it was going to be a home run," Austin said. "Once I saw the center fielder [Travis Taijeron] taking off to go get it, I realized it was going to be any easy run."

Having made the miscues -- a throwing error in the sixth and a fielding error in the seventh -- Austin said it was particularly meaningful to be the only one to cross the plate in the clincher.

"I'm just trying to help this team win, and hopefully we can go all the way," he said. "It meant a lot to score the only run of the game, considering the two errors I made in the field."

Both starting pitchers had strong outings, but neither factored into the decision. Brooklyn's Carlos Vazquez struck out six over six two-hit innings, while Staten Island's William Oliver fanned 10 in six two-hit frames of his own.

"Will's been throwing great all year," said Austin, the Yankees' 13th-round pick in the 2010 Draft. "Every one of us likes this team when he's on the mound. Every time he's out there, we feel like we have a chance to win. It was really big for him tonight."

Austin batted .354 with 26 extra-base hits across two levels this year. His season was highlighted by a 6-for-6 performance for Staten Island on Aug. 21.

By taking the decisive third game of the semifinals, Staten Island will face Auburn in the best-of-3 Championship Series, beginning Monday. The teams split two meetings during the regular season.

"Everybody's really confident, we're really excited to go out there and play," Austin said. "I'd say everybody is pumped up about this upcoming series."