Quebec Explodes For Eighteen, Take Series Vs. Miners

The Sussex County Miners drop the three game series versus the Quebec Capitales at Skylands Stadium, falling 18-7.

Miners starting pitcher Kellen Brothers worked out of trouble early vs the Capitales, but was tagged for the game’s first run in the top of the second inning. After Capitales center fielder Eddie Hacopian hit a single, left fielder Jordan Smith was hit by a pitch from Brothers to put Hacopian in scoring position. Catcher Nicolas Deschamps laid down a bunt to advance the runners, and loaded the bases with no outs. 

Second baseman Antonio Valdez laid a sacrifice fly to center field to bring Hacopian home to give the Capitales the early 1-0 lead. Brothers was able to limit the damage by striking out third baseman TJ-Schofield Sam, but walked designated hitter Chavez Young to load the bases again with 2 outs. Shortstop Kyle Crowl stepped up to the box for an RBI opportunity, but Brothers shut that down as he struck out Crowl to retire the side. 

Quebec added another run in the top of the third inning after Brothers walked right fielder Ruben Castro. First baseman and Home Run Derby winner Torin Montgomery hits a single to advance Castro to third. After Brothers threw the first pitch to Hacopian, Montgomery stole second. Later in the at bat, Hacopian hit a ground ball to give the Miners their first out, but Castro scored. Brothers was able to work out another jam after Smith hit into a groundout and struck out Deschamps to end the inning. 

The Miners answered in the bottom of the third. Designated hitter Dean Ferrara sparked the inning by ripping a first pitch double to center field and moved to third from center fielder Edwin Mateo’s groundout after catcher Sandro Gaston struck out. Second baseman Hunter D’Amato laid down a beautiful bunt to bring Ferrara home to cut the Capitales lead to 2-1. 

Quebec extended their lead in the fourth inning after Brothers walked Valdez for his third walk of the game. Schofield-Sam reached first off an error as Brothers attempted to throw to first, but lost the ball. With two runners aboard, Crowl lined a two-run double into left field, bringing home Valdez and Schofield-Sam. 

Following Crowl’s two-double run, Brother hit Montgomery with a pitch, before Hacopian lined an RBI single to right, scoring Crowl and moving Montgomery to second. Smith then reached on a throwing error by third baseman Haiden Walters, allowing Montgomery to score. Quebec kept the scoring coming as Deschamps recorded his second hit of this contest with a RBI single to right field, scoring Hacopian while Smith advanced to third. The hit capped a five-run fourth inning for the Capitales, stretching their lead to 7-1. 

The Miners respond with a few runs of their own in the bottom of the fourth. Relief pitcher Kendall Lyons walked Maciel to leadoff the inning. Right fielder Keenan Taylor was able to hit a bloop single to record his first hit of the series and to advance Maciel to third. Shortstop Evan Berkey followed with an RBI single down the third-base line to bring Maciel home. After Lyons walked first baseman Kiko Romero to load the bases, Ferrara reached on a fielder’s choice that brought Taylor home. Romero was forced out at second, but the Miners were able to cut the deficit to 7-3.  

Relief pitcher Keenan O’Brien stepped in for the Miners, flying out Hacopian and forcing Smith out, but the Capitales added more runs in the top of the sixth inning. Deschamps was able to record his second hit of the game as he drove a ball toward right field for a triple, and O’Brien walked Valdez shortly after. Valdez then stole second from first, and Deschamps was able to score on a throwing error from Gaston. Schofield-Sam followed up with his first hit of the game with an RBI single to right field, bringing home Valdez. Shortly after, Crowl was able to line a RBI single to left field for his third RBI of the day and his second hit. Schofield-Sam came home to extend the score to 10-3.

The Capitales tacked on two more runs in the top of the seventh inning. Montgomery was able to register his second hit of the game with a leadoff single. Hacopian followed Montgomery on base with a walk from relief pitcher Micah Earwood. Earwood was able to retire Smith with a fly out and Deschamps, but both Hacopian and Montgomery advanced. Valdez was able to get his first hit of the game with a two-run single to center, allowing the Capitales to continue to add to the lead, making it 12-3.

The Capitales continue to stretch the margin against the Miners in the top of the eighth inning. Young led off with a single and advanced to second after Castro was also able to hit a single to right. Following a passed ball and a walk to Montgomery, Hacopian ripped a two-run double to right with the bases loaded to bring home Montgomery and Castro.

Smith and pinch hitter Hugh Pinkney each drew walks to load the bases from right fielder Will Zimmerman. Following the two walks, Valdez lined an RBI single to bring home Hacopian. Pinch hitter David Mendham followed with an RBI single to center to score Smith, and pinch hitter Emile Boiles capped the inning with a sacrifice fly to left that sent Pinkey home to put the icing on the cake on this game, giving the Capitales the 18-3 lead.

The Miners were able to get their offense going late in the bottom of the eighth. Maciel worked a leadoff walk from relief pitcher Yuto Nakata. Berkey stepped up and hit a single, allowing Romero’s RBI ground-rule double that brought home Maciel and moved Berkey to third. Ferrera followed with a sacrifice fly to right field to score Berkey, and Gaston hit an RBI single to center, bringing home Romero.

The Miners continued to add pressure to the Capitales defense, as Mateo ripped a double to left field, moving Gaston to third. D’Amato was able to advance off a walk from Nakata to load the bases. Walters got hit by a pitch, advancing Gaston home to cut the lead to 18-7. 

The Miners weren’t able to come back in this contest, as Quebec handled business against the Miners, with an 18-7 win. The Capitales improve to 42-20, sitting as one of the top teams in the Frontier League. The Miners drop this series and move to 29-32, and will now set their sights on the New York Boulders as they continue their homestand. 

First pitch versus the Boulders in Skylands Stadium is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Fans can watch live on the Frontier League Network powered by HTN or listen on Mixlr. Streaming links are available at scminers.com.

Written by Justin Shepard

The post Quebec Explodes For Eighteen, Take Series Vs. Miners appeared first on Sussex County Miners.

The Sussex County Miners drop the three game series versus the Quebec Capitales at Skylands Stadium, falling 18-7. Miners starting pitcher Kellen Brothers worked out of trouble early vs the Capitales, but was tagged for the game’s first run in the top of the second inning. After Capitales center fielder Eddie Hacopian hit a single,…
The post Quebec Explodes For Eighteen, Take Series Vs. Miners appeared first on Sussex County Miners. Read More Sussex County Miners

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