New Jersey Jackals Upend Sussex

The New Jersey Jackals needed late-game heroics, timely hitting at the top of their order, and with great middle relief pitching, to upend Sussex 7-6 on Monday night.    

Following yet another lost series – its sixth-straight occurrence – the Jackals desperately needed to start this homestand on the right note. As early as the first inning, it appeared New Jersey [17-25] was well on its way to easily doing so. Particularly after cleanup hitter Jacob Butler blasted a two-run homer to leftfield -- well past the 308' wall -- on the first pitch he saw. The leftfielder registered his seventh homer of the season and notched his 31st and 32nd RBI. 

The two runs seemed as if that would be all starting pitcher Dan Griffin would need, as he retired the first 10 Skyhawks he saw, but his early dominance failed to hold up. Griffin, who was an emergency starter, eventually needed to be bailed out by his bullpen, following a solid outing in his first four innings. Griffin didn't allow a hit until a laced double in the fourth and that's when control issues got the best of him. He walked two-straight Skyhawks and later a third, as he saw his lead dissipate when third baseman Nick Giarraputo roped an RBI-single to centerfield to knot it at 3-3.    

The hulking righty [6'7, 250 pounds] never regained his form and struggled the rest of the way. He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on six hits, while fanning four and walking four. Although Griffin didn't figure into the decision, he earned props from those in the Jackals locker room for the way battled.    

"It happens," said first baseman Jabe Bergeron. "He got touched a bit and it happens now and then but it's a blip on the radar. He's a good pitcher."    

If anyone knows about peaks and valleys it's Bergeron. The power-hitting righty was mired in a bit of a slump but thinks his night at the plate against the Skyhawks [22-20] may fix things. The veteran went 3-for-5 with two RBI, including a solo homer in the bottom of the fifth and a crucial RBI sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth. Bergeron's deep solo shot over the 368' power-alley wall in right-centerfield was his eighth – leading the Jackals in that department.   

Bergeron, whose eight homers have all been solo shots, thinks this might be the beginning of a streak.    

"I went through a rough patch early but I'm seeing it [the ball] better because I'm widening my stance," said Bergeron who credited his wife Kristen for the batting tips. "It feels great to get a win like this and have that night at the plate that I had. We're a good team and I think we can put it all together."  

When mired in a team slump such as New Jersey is, sometimes grinded-out wins like this is what a team needs. Scrapping back from a 6-4 deficit to start the eighth, the Jackals used timely hitting, deft base running, and the ability to capitalize off of Sussex's errors.  

Designated hitter Shawn Riggans will certainly take it.   

"It's typical the kind of game we just won," said Riggans who went 2-for-5 with a double, RBI, and the game-winning run. "Things haven't been breaking well for us lately but we continue to play the full nine innings. We've lost probably 10 one-run games and won just as many but we continue to play hard. This is definitely not a last-place team."     

Riggins's decisive run was made possible with a clutch-hitting ninth inning and great relief pitching. Edgar Estanga [1-3] checked into the game with two on and two outs in the top of the eighth and promptly fanned shortstop Chase Fontaine on three pitches. He then retired the Skyhawks in order in the ninth to set up the dramatic win.       

That left the heroics to the top of the order in an unlikely scenario, as the Jackals were to face Skyhawks closer Duaner Sanchez, who leads the league with 12 saves. Veteran second baseman Abraham Nunez got things started with a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a Riggans double. Jacob Butler was then intentionally walked, which was followed by Bergeron's sac-fly to centerfield. His 21st RBI of the season knotted the game at 6-6. Shortstop Mike DeJesus [1-for-3, walk, run, RBI] was then left to be the hero when his shallow popup into rightfield allowed Riggans to tag from third for the walk-off winning run.    

Such histrionics could certainly propel a once-struggling team to greater heights – and the Jackals certainly hope it does. It'll be all for naught, however, if New Jersey doesn't ride the momentum into tonight's matchup and once again send the partisan crowd home on a good note.       

RUNS HITS ERRORS: 

SUSSEX:      6          8         2 

JACKALS:   7        10        0