Morales, Moylan and Jackson Power Homers in Somerset’s 8-6 Win

The Somerset Patriots held off the Erie SeaWolves for an 8-6 win at UPMC Park in Erie, PA on Wednesday evening.

Somerset stayed 2.5 games back of first-place Reading in the Northeast Division with 10 games remaining in the second half.

The Patriots improved to a second half-best tying five games over .500 (32-27) and season-best tying 10 games over .500 (69-59).

Somerset’s offense totaled 11 hits – marking double-digit hits in back-to-back games for the first time since July 31 and August 1 vs. Richmond. The Patriots have won six straight games when registering double-digit hits.

Somerset pounced for four first inning runs, highlighted by homers from Core Jackson and Josh Moylan. Somerset’s four first inning runs padded its first inning run total to an Eastern League leading 89 runs this season. Somerset’s two-HR first inning gave the Patriots their 16th multi-HR inning of the season and fourth in their last six games.

With Coby Morales’ homer in the ninth inning, the Patriots notched their 23rd three-HR game (16-7) and 55th multi-HR game (39-16) this season. Somerset’s 55 multi-HR games tie a franchise record from 2023. Somerset has homered in five of its last six games. Somerset’s 183 home runs this season lead Double-A and are tied for sixth in MiLB at the time of the game’s conclusion.

Combining for 6.1 innings allowing just one run, Somerset’s bullpen has allowed two or fewer runs in 21 of its last 25 games dating back to August 5. In that span, Patriot relievers have recorded a 13-3 record, 2.88 ERA and 1.01 WHIP with 135 K to 40 BB in 106.1 IP.

Somerset pitching combined for double-digit strikeouts for the seventh time in the last eight games. Dating back to August 25 vs. Akron, Somerset pitching has notched a .310 K% - the highest in Double-A at the time of the game’s conclusion.

Chase Hampton (@Yankees No. 22 Prospect) with a NASTY sweeper for his first strikeout of the night! 💪 pic.twitter.com/uJlZRAgcOo

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 2, 2026

RHP Chase Hampton (2.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 3 K) struck out one batter in each of the first three innings of his 11th start with Somerset this season.

RHP Kelly Austin (1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) struck out two across 1.1 scoreless innings to earn his fifth win of the year. Austin posted his 10th scoreless outing in his last 12 appearances. In that span, he’s recorded a 1.47 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and .098 BAA with 19 K in 18.1 IP. Dating back to June 7 at Harrisburg, Austin has worked a 2.48 ERA, 3-1 record, 0.86 WHIP and .147 BAA with 35 K to 11 BB in 32.2 IP.

RHP Trent Sellers (3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K) tied a season-high with six strikeouts in relief for the first time since June 21 at Portland. Across his last two outings, Sellers has punched out 10 batters across five scoreless innings.

Core Jackson (@Yankees No. 12 Prospect) SMASHES his FIRST homer at Double-A! 🎉

It's his 13th home run across all levels this season! pic.twitter.com/0hwAVynkm5

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 2, 2026

SS Core Jackson (1-for-4, HR, RBI, BB, R, SB) belted his first Double-A home run on the first pitch of the game. Jackson’s homer was his 13th across all levels this season and first since July 19 at Brooklyn. In the sixth inning, Jackson stole second base to pick up his 39th SB across all levels this season.

Coby Morales (@Yankees No. 30 Prospect) DRILLS his 21st home run of the season the opposite way! pic.twitter.com/GV4WBRVZd2

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 3, 2026

3B, 1B Coby Morales (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI, BB, 2 R) ripped an opposite field two-run home run in the ninth inning. Morales extended his career-high total to 21 HR, which is tied for sixth in the Eastern League this season. Morales has reached base safely in 25 of his last 26 games. In that span, he’s slashing .311/.442/.467 with 3 HR, 9 RBI, 6 XBH and six multi-hit games.

Josh Moylan PULVERIZED this baseball for his @Yankees farm system leading 26th HR of the year! 🤯 pic.twitter.com/9hKjXHRzp5

— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) September 2, 2026

1B Josh Moylan (1-for-1, HR, 3 RBI, R) crushed a first inning three-run homer for his 13th homer at Double-A this season, before exiting the game in the second inning. With five homers in his last 11 games and eight homers in his last 23 games, Moylan’s 26 home runs across all levels lead the Yankees minor league system. Moylan’s career-high 26 homers in 112 games across all levels this season surpass his 17 home runs in his first 239 career games from 2023 to 2025.

RF DJ Gladney (2-for-5, 2B, 2 R) smacked a 109 mph double to lead off the fifth inning, before coming around to score. Gladney secured his 29th multi-hit game with Somerset this season, which ranks second among all Patriots.

LF Jackson Castillo (2-for-3, 2 BB) recorded singles in each of his first two plate appearances to earn his 21st multi-hit game this season. Castillo reached base four times for the third time this season and first time since May 20 at Chesapeake. Castillo’s active three-game hit streak is his longest since hitting safely in six straight games from June 27 – July 3.

C Manny Palencia (1-for-5, 2 RBI) ripped an RBI single to center field in the third inning and recorded another RBI on a groundout in the fifth inning. Across his last 21 games dating back to July 31, Palencia’s 21 RBI are tied for second among Somerset hitters and are tied for sixth in the Eastern League.

Palencia has reached safely in 19 of his last 21 games. During that stretch, he’s slashing .342/.369/.658 with 7 HR, 21 RBI and 11 XBH. Since the beginning of July, Palencia has 12 multi-hit games and is slashing .350/.377/.577 with 7 HR, 24 RBI and 14 XBH in 33 games. That comes after slashing .208/.288/.215 with 0 HR, 7 RBI and 1 XBH in the season’s first 46 games.

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Box Score

Postgame Notes

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