Somerset Beats Binghamton 6-5, Takes Series Lead at Mirabito

In a nail-biting game at Mirabito Stadium, Somerset edged out Binghamton 6-5 Friday night. The game was the third straight heart-stopper between these rivals this week.

Ben Hess owned the mound for five incredible innings. He retired 15 batters in a row until the home team mounted a late comeback that fell just short. With this victory, Somerset took a 2-1 series lead.

The scoring kicked off when Nick Morabito came home on Jacob Reimer's first-inning double. But George Lombard Jr. answered back with a homer in the third, igniting Somerset's offense.

The away team racked up runs to take a 4-1 lead after six. Tyler Hardman knocked in an RBI single while Lombard beat out an infield hit in the eighth, pushing the lead to 6-3.

Will Watson struggled in his Double-A debut. He gave up five hits and allowed one run over 4.1 innings, though he managed to strike out five.

A final rally started with JT Schwartz's RBI double. A.J. Ewing's sacrifice fly made it a one-run game, but Morabito's groundout killed the comeback.

This close game fits Somerset's trend - an amazing 32 of their last 37 games have been decided by three runs or less.

Several Binghamton players kept their hot streaks going. Chris Suero extended his on-base streak to 26 games, tops in the Eastern League. Kevin Parada stayed locked in, pushing his hit streak to nine while getting on base for the 15th straight game.

Brian Metoyer kept dealing from the bullpen with another perfect inning. The right-hander hasn't given up a run in six straight outings.

The teams go at it again Saturday at 6:07 p.m., with pre-game coverage beginning at 5:50 p.m.