Baby Bombers Blown Out By Renegades, Suffer Third Consecutive Loss

STATEN ISLAND, NY- It was not a good day for the Baby Bombers (23-16), dropping their third straight in a 13-2 blow out loss to Hudson Valley (16-22) before 2,584 at Richmond County Ball Park Sunday.

"It was nice to come out on top like that," said DH Matt Spring. "We scored a lot of runs and gave our pitchers a little bit of run support."

Losing Staten Island starter Edgar Soto (1-3) was torched by the Renegades for seven runs in just 3.2 innings pitched. The 21 year-old Venezuelan southpaw was greeted rudely by the Renegades when they put up three runs in each of the first two frames. Maiko Loyola's RBI double got the scoring started right away. Leftfielder Matt Fields followed two batters later with a runscoring double and Eric Durante singled in the third run.

Leading by three entering the second, the Renegades continued to pound Soto by getting key two out hits from William Stewart and Fields to knock in three more. After Jairo De La Rosa and John Matulia started the inning with a double and drag bunt single to put runners on the corners, Soto nearly got out of it by fanning Joseph Callender and getting Loyola to ground out to first baseman Kyle Larsen. But Stewart came through by doubling off the left field wall to score two.

"I hit it well. I thought it was gone but the wind held it up," Stewart said of his big two out hit after finishing 2-for-2 with those two RBI's and two runs scored. "Luckily, I was able to get the two runs in and we just kept going."

Fields followed with a runscoring single to drive in his second run in two innings.

"Today I was just trying to be focused in every at bat and get the job done," the first baseman said after a three-hit day knocking in two. "Just try to put the ball in play when there's runners in scoring position. We have to try to get them in."

After tacking on a run in the fourth courtesy of a Callender RBI single, the Renegades continued the onslaught with two more the next inning off S.I. reliever Tyler Addison with two outs. They strung together three straight hits including a De La Rosa double which plated Thomas Lagreid and a Matulia base hit to center which scored De La Rosa to increase the margin to eight.

"It's been a while since we scored like that and we can do that every night," added Fields.

While they were in control on the scoreboard, Hudson Valley starter Ryan Reid dominated for the first five frames without allowing a hit to pickup his first win this season.

"I felt good today," Reid said after improving to 1-5 and striking out three. "I kept everything a lot more...slow. Before, I'd been jumping at the plate and the ball was going high and people were just hitting it. Now I'm keeping it glove side down like we've been working on."

Though the 21 year-old righthander had a no-hitter through five, he was pulled due to pitch count.

"Right now, we're on 60 to 70 and that's the plan. No matter what happens, whether a no-hitter is up there or not. They made some plays out there for me today that easily could've been a two hit outing but that's what baseball's about."

With Reid out of the game in the sixth, Seth Fortenberry's one out single to center off reliever Brian Baker was Staten Island's first hit of the day. He later came around to score on a wild pitch to make it 9-1.

The Renegades weren't done scoring four more times in the seventh to lead by 12, including a two-run Loyola double. The right fielder was 2-for-6 with three RBI's.

Staten Island's Kevin Smith rounded out the scoring in the eighth with a bloop double down the left field line which plated Wilmer Pino.

Notes: DH Francisco Cervelli was hit on the right elbow by Baker but stayed in the game, finishing 0-for-3. ... One bright spot was Pino, who had two of Staten Island's six hits to lift his average to .310. ... SS/3B Mitch Hilligoss sat out for the third straight game. ... The Renegades had 19 hits, which included six players with at least two hits. Seven of the 19 went for doubles. ... Baby Bombers go for a split at Hudson Valley Monday night and then travel to Vermont Lake for three before returning home to St. George Friday when they host Boston affiliate Lowell for a three-game set. It will mark the debut series in what promises to be a new and exciting rivalry.