Patriots Stumble In Playoff Opener To Binghamton, “Must Win” Thursday

The Somerset Patriots backs are to the proverbial wall following a 9-2 loss to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies in Game One of the Double-A Eastern League Division Series. The defending Double-A Eastern League champs trail the best-of-three series 1-0 and must win on Thursday night to stave off elimination.

The series will shift to TD Bank Ballpark on Thursday night for Game 2 of the series when Richard Fitts gets the ball for the Yankees Double-A affiliate against Dominic Hamel.

Leading the way for the New York Mets double-A affiliate was Jett Williams, whose three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth inning blew the game wide open, giving Binghamton a 6-1 lead.

Jeremiah Jackson also homered in the fourth inning for Binghamton.

On the Somerset side of things; solo homers by Trey Sweeney and Elijah Dunham proved to be the only offense for Somerset, Tuesday evening.  Dunham's homer in the fifth cut the Binghamton lead down to four runs.

However, Binghamton's J.T. Schwartz answered with an RBI single in the seventh inning that staked the Rumble Ponies to a 7-2 lead. Schwartz would later triple in a run to cap off the scoring at 9-2.

Overall it was a rough night offensively for the powerful Patriots, who were 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. It didn't help matters that Ben Rice (1-for-3) and Spencer Jones (0-for-3) were both practically shut down by the Ponies' pitching staff.

Blane Abeyta took the loss for Somerset, allowing four runs on five hits over 3.1 innings of work. Christian Scott got the start for Binghamton, allowing a run on two hits over three innings, but got a no-decision. The victory went to Luis Moreno, who tossed five innings of one-run ball.

There was one scary moment in the game involving Mets prospect Luisangel Acuna was hit in the head by a pitch in the sixth inning. Word is Acuna was bleeding, although he left the field under his own power with the help of team staff. Acuna was 0-for-3 in the contest. He was acquired from the Texas Rangers in the Max Scherzer trade.