Middle of the Order Powers ValleyCats to 11-7 Victory
The middle of the order provided for most of the offense for the ValleyCats tonight. J.D. Martinez, Erik Castro, Nick Stanley, and Renzo Tello went a combined 11-17, with nine RBI's and seven runs scored.
The Renegades came swinging right out of the box. Burt Reynolds hit a one-out triple to get things started against Brandt Walker, and was batted in after a single by Tyler Bortnick. Bortnick stole second to give Hudson Valley a runner on second with only one out. Walker struck out Eli Sonoqui, giving the Renegades only one more out. Bortnick stole third base during Mark Thomas' at-bat. Brandt forced Thomas to hit a grounder to short, but Barry Butera misplayed it and allowed Bortnick to score. After a single to Brett Nommensen, Walker got Dustin Biell to pop out to center to end the inning.
The ValleyCats responded in the bottom of the inning. Jose Altuve, who landed in Albany at 12 p.m., got his first hit as a ValleyCat with a lead-off double to left field. Butera pushed him over to third on a fly ball to right. Russell Dixon walked to give Martinez two on with one out. Dixon stole second during J.D.'s at-bat. J.D. hit a fly ball to center that was more than deep enough to score the speedy Altuve. Castro singled on a ball up the middle which plated Dixon.
Then came Stanley. Stanley crushed a 0-1 offering to deep left field, hitting the top of the OTB sign for his fourth home run of the year. Stanley, Martinez, and Castro all lead the team with four homers.
Reynolds brought the Renegades within one with a solo shot that landed in the 'Cats bullpen in the top of the third.
Tri-City responded again. Martinez singled on a line drive to center, and Castro followed that with a single of his own. Stanley singled to right and J.D. tried to score all the way from second. The line drive was hit too hard and Martinez was gunned out at the plate by the right fielder Nommensen. Renzo Tello singled to score Castro and Pedro Gonzalez singled to load the bases with one out, chasing the starter Kevin Chavez from the game.
Aaron Dott came into the game in a tough spot. Brian Kemp, who was the only ValleyCat without a hit, hit a sac fly to right to give the ValleyCats a 6-3 lead. Altuve made it 7-3 on an infield single, but Butera ended the rally with a ground ball to third.
The Renegades tied the game at seven a piece when Biell hit a three-run homer to left, but it was the last the 3,615 fans would hear from Hudson Valley.
The 'Cats struck again the in the bottom of the eighth. Butera walked with one out to start the rally. Dixon hit a single to center to put Butera in scoring position for the dangerous J.D. Martinez. J.D. hit a double to right, scoring Butera and giving the ValleyCats a 8-7 lead. Castro hit his first triple, which cleared the bases, and later scored on a sac fly by Stanley.
Mike Schurz, who pitched the top of the eighth, struck out the side in the ninth on nine pitches. Schurz picked up his first victory with Tri-City.
Game two of the series starts at 7 p.m. The ValleyCats are hosting their "Bark in the Park" Night, so to all fans that are dog owners, bring them to "The Joe" for a fun night out. Tickets are still available and may be purchased at the Joe Bruno Stadium Box Office, by calling (518) 629-CATS or by logging onto www.tcvalleycats.com.