‘Cats Take Game 1 of the Wild Card Round Thanks to Wilford’s Gem
TROY, NY - The Tri-City ValleyCats (1-0) defeated the Sussex County Miners (0-1) 5-1 on Wednesday at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Game 1 of the Wild Card Round.
Sussex County opened the scoring in the third. Connor Wilford walked Keenan O’Brien. Hunter D’Amato singled, and O’Brien moved to third on a fielding error from Javeyan Williams. Will Zimmerman singled in a run to pull the Miners ahead, 1-0.
Tri-City responded in the fifth. Josh Leslie reached on an error from Zimmerman. Afterward, Cam Jones walked. David Glancy singled in a run and Jones moved to third. Amani Larry lifted a sac fly to put the ValleyCats on top, 2-1.
Ian Walters greeted Parker Primeaux with a home run in the seventh. Leslie singled and advanced to second on a throwing error from Primeaux. Williams brought in Leslie with a triple. Jones followed with an RBI knock to provide Tri-City with a 5-1 advantage.
Wilford (1-0) earned the win. He hurled seven innings of one-run ball, allowing three hits, walking one, and striking out one. Jalon Long and Liu Fuenmayor combined for two shutout frames to seal the victory.
Hensey (0-1) received the loss. He worked six innings, yielding two unearned runs on four hits, walking one, and striking out four.
The ValleyCats head to Skylands Stadium for Game 2 of the Wild Card Round against the Miners on Friday, September 5th. First pitch is scheduled for a 7:05 PM start. A win from Tri-City would allow the club to move on to the Conference Finals Series, which begins on Tuesday, September 9th.
FINAL | TRI-CITY 5 | SUSSEX COUNTY 1
W: Connor Wilford (1-0)
L: Rob Hensey (0-1)
Time of Game: 2:15
Attendance: 2,402
The ValleyCats continue their 23rd season in the Capital Region. Watch the away broadcast stream as the ‘Cats look to sweep the Miners in the Wild Card Round on Friday, September 5th. The ValleyCats Baseball Network is presented by Transfinder and can be watched here on HomeTeam Network. Fans can type in code “FLPLAYOFFS20” for a 20% discount for a month of streaming. Tri-City also offers an audio only broadcast on Mixlr through this link.
Stay up to date on the ValleyCats playoff run through tcvalleycats.com and their social media platforms. For any additional questions, call the Joe Bruno Stadium Box Office at 518-629-CATS (2287).