It was a bit of an up-and-down week for the Cyclones, who met our publication deadline in first place in the McNamara Division, but were starting to show some cracks, especially on the road. Here’s how the second week of the season went:
Wednesday
The Cyclones stunk up the greater Hudson Valley, managing just three hits against the Renegades, and making two errors on the night, falling 5-2.
Starter Yohan Almonte was solid through six, giving up only one run and one hit. But the wheels came off the bus in the seventh, after he opened by hitting the leadoff hitter. A double, a walk, an error and two singles followed before Almonte hit the showers.
The Clones got their two runs in the sixth on William Cherry’s double.
Thursday
Back on home cooking, the Cyclones rapped out 18 hits, winning 16–5 with a relentless blitzkrieg attack on a steamy night in Coney against the Hudson Valley Renegades.
Hudson Valley pitcher Julius Dettrich looked shaky from the outset, giving up singles to Darrell Ceciliani and Corey Vaughn before issuing a balk to open the first inning. Jeff Flagg then crushed a bases-clearing triple, the first of two on the night, setting the tone for the rest of the game.
Cyclones skipper Wally Backman attributed the relentless barrage of hits to some stern words he had for the team on Wednesday after it could only muster three hits in last Wednesday’s loss to Aberdeen.
“They didn’t swing the bat well yesterday, so I called a meeting. They sure came out swinging today,” Backman said after the game.
On the night, Flagg had four RBIs and four hits. Shortstop Rylan Sandoval also jacked a three-run shot deep into left field.
Starting pitcher Chris Hilliard was solid through six innings, scattering six hits and striking out two, earning his second win and dropping his ERA to 1.50.
Friday
This is the kind of loss that is really going to make manager Wally Backman mad.
The Cyclones went into the bottom of the ninth winning 3–1, and left Hudson Valley with a 4–3 loss, as reliever Johan Figuereo had a complete and utter meltdown.
Figuereo (0-1, 7.36 ERA) gave up two singles and two doubles, blowing the save and then earning the loss.
And it all started so well for the Cyclones, scoring three in the third thanks to Taylor Freeman’s homer, a triple by hot hottie Darrell Ceciliani and a Jeff Flagg RBI single.
Starter Angel Cuan was effective in his five innings of work, giving up one run and three hits, but striking out four.
The loss dropped the Clones to 5–3, but still kept the team in first place over the Renegades.
Saturday
For the second night in a row, the Cyclones blew a game in the home team’s last at-bat of the night.
This time, the villain was reliever Ryan Fraser, who was called upon to preserve a 2–1 Cyclone lead after a leadoff hit in the eighth inning.
Fraser promptly walked the bases loaded, then gave up a SAC fly to tie the score and a single to get the loss.
That performance spoiled a Cyclone comeback. Down 1–0, the team exploded for two runs in the sixth with singles by Cody Holliday, hot hottie Darrell Ceciliani, Jeff Flagg and William Cherry.
Starter Wes Wrenn was solid, striking out four in his six innings of work.
The loss dropped the Cyclones into terra incognita: second place, one-half game behind the Hudson Valley Renegades.
Sunday
The Cyclones ended their losing streak at two games — and vaulted back into first place — with a convincing 13-hit, 6-3 win over the pesky Ironbirds.
The first six hitters in the Cyclone lineup all had hits, including a first-inning two-run blast by Cory Vaughn and a sixth-inning solo shot by William Cherry.
Fan favorite Darrell Ceciliani raised his team-leading average to .375 with two hits, including an eighth-inning triple — his third of the year — that led to a key insurance run.
Starter Mitchell Houck struck out eight in seven innings to get his second win.
Monday
Starter Yohan Almonte scattered six hits and struck out five, while the Cyclone offense battered Renegades pitching with a 13-hit barrage that earned the Brooks their second straight win, 5-2.
After the Renegades scored in the first, it was almost all Cyclones, with two runs scoring on Cory Vaughn’s third homer of the year. He later tripled, and added an RBI in the fifth on a groundout.
In that inning, the Cyclones scored two more times on Jeff Flagg’s two-run dinger to put the game out of reach.
The win increased the Cyclones’ first place lead to 1-1/2 games over the Renegades.