Miners Face Elimination with Game 1 Loss
TROY, NY – The Sussex County Miners’ late-season struggles followed them into the postseason, as they dropped Game 1 of the Wild Card series to the Tri-City ValleyCats, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium.
The loss marked their sixth-straight defeat, putting them on the brink of elimination.
Left-hander Rob Hensey (0-1, 0.00 ERA) was brilliant. Hensey, who set the new lefty strikeouts mark in a season with 116, kept the ValleyCats at bay with six strong innings while striking out four. The ValleyCats squeaked out two runs in the fifth inning, which ended up being enough, and then poured on another three runs in the seventh inning to put the game out of reach. Will Silva threw two perfect innings out of the pen.
Despite keeping Tri-City in check, defensive miscues and missed opportunities at the plate proved costly.
The ValleyCats countered with Connor Wilford (1-0, 1.28 ERA), who threw seven innings of one-run ball. He allowed three hits and only walked one. Wilford set the tone early, keeping the Miners’ bats quiet all night.
Shortstop Will Zimmerman drove in the lone Sussex County run with an RBI single in the third inning, scoring catcher Keenan O’Brien. Second baseman Hunter D’Amato collected two of the team’s six hits. Center fielder Dom Johnson, third baseman Sean Roby Jr., and designated hitter Scott Seeker each had singles. Meanwhile, the Miners stranded seven runners on base, a troubling trend that has haunted them throughout the final weeks of the season.
David Glancy had himself a day for the ValleyCats, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and leading the offense to a balanced attack.
With the 5-1 loss, Sussex County now faces elimination in Game 2. The Miners have not advanced past the Wild Card Round since 2023, and after missing the postseason in 2024, they will need a bounce-back performance at home to keep their season alive.
The series shifts to Skylands Stadium for Game 2 on Friday, September 5, with a decisive Game 3 (if necessary) set for Saturday. Sussex County’s Billy Parsons is scheduled to pitch against Tri-City’s Easton Kline. Tickets can be purchased at tickets.sussexcountyminers.com.
Fans can catch the action live on the Frontier League Network at frontierleaguetv.com or on the Miners Radio Network at scminers.mixlr.com.
Written by Ethan Hu
Photo by Phil Hoops
The post Hensey Brilliant But Miners Drop Game 1 appeared first on Sussex County Miners.
Miners Face Elimination with Game 1 Loss TROY, NY – The Sussex County Miners’ late-season struggles followed them into the postseason, as they dropped Game 1 of the Wild Card series to the Tri-City ValleyCats, 5-1, on Wednesday night at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. The loss marked their sixth-straight defeat, putting them on the brink…
The post Hensey Brilliant But Miners Drop Game 1 appeared first on Sussex County Miners. Read More Sussex County Miners
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