ValleyCats ousted from New York-Penn League playoffs

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A season of accomplishments and growth ended in a slippery, one-sided defeat.

Although the Tri-City ValleyCats were bounced from the New York-Penn League semifinals Thursday night before a tiny crowd of 1,507 hiding under umbrellas, the Stedler Division champions had many achievements to ponder in the long offseason.

The Staten Island Yankees took control early, grabbing a 4-0 lead in the first inning and stretching it to 7-0 after three en route to a 10-5 win at rain-soaked Joseph L. Bruno Stadium. The Yankees ousted the ValleyCats two games to none in the best-of-three playoff series.

But before the ValleyCats dried off and made plans to get out of town, they talked about how special this season was.

Tri-City went 42-33 during the regular season before losing the opening game of the semifinals 3-2 in 11 innings Wednesday night in Staten Island. Thursday’s game was a rout for all intents and purposes, but the ValleyCats realized that a short playoff series couldn’t take away the luster of their solid campaign.

“It was a great experience,” Tri-City manager Ed Romero said. “These guys blended well. They matured a lot during the season, and they just got better. I’m very happy with the entire situation of this team. They battled and battled all season. Even tonight, they didn’t give up.”

Third baseman Bobby Wernes, in his first season of pro baseball, won the NY-P batting title with a .346 average.

“This game is not how I’ll remember this season,” Wernes said. “I’m going to remember the great fans, who embraced this entire team. This was an awesome first year of pro baseball for me. It was a short season, but it was a very good one for me. This was a great bunch of guys and a great group of coaches. I enjoyed it.”

Hector Roa belted a two-run homer after coming on late as a pinch-hitter.

“It was tough getting down so early in a game like this,” Roa said. “But this team battled back, just like we did all year. I had a little slump there, but I was starting to come out of it. You’ve got to give those guys [Staten Island] a lot of credit. Their pitcher was tough.”

First baseman Dexture McCall hit .295 with four homers this year for the ValleyCats. He said he enjoyed the experience immensely.

“It was an amazing brotherhood,” he said. “I made a lot of friendships on this team, and I’ll never forget these guys.”

Along with Wernes’ batting title, center fielder Johnny Sewald broke the team record for stolen bases with 31. Romero, who guided the ValleyCats to the 2013 NY-P championship, as well as the Stedler Division crown the last two years, proved to have the winning touch once again and said he had no complaints with the way his team played all year.

Staten Island took control behind the pitching of Domingo Acevedo, who allowed only four hits and one earned run through the first six innings. Thairo Estrada and Jeff Hendrix ripped back-to-back doubles, Junior Valero added an RBI single and Brandon Wagner hit a two-run homer in the big first inning.

Drew Bridges added a two-run single in the third. Edwardo de Oleo knocked in two runs with a grounder and a home run, while Estrada and Kyle Holder also had RBIs.

For the ValleyCats, Keach Ballard had a two-run double to go along with Roa’s two-run blast and McCall’s RBI single.

STATEN ISLAND TRI-CITY

ab r h bi ab r h bi

Estrada 2b 6 1 3 1 Sewald cf 5 1 1 0

Hendrix cf 5 1 2 1 Hermelyn c 4 0 0 0

Amburgey lf 4 1 1 0 Gonzalez c 0 0 0 0

Krill 1b 5 1 1 0 McCall 1b 4 0 2 1

J.Valera rf 5 2 2 1 Wernes 3b 4 0 1 0

Wagner dh 2 3 1 2 Mizell lf 4 0 0 0

Bridges 3b 5 0 1 2 Marlow 2b 3 0 0 0

deOleo c 5 1 3 2 Carrasco ph 1 0 0 0

Holder ss 5 0 1 1 Carpenter dh 4 2 2 0

Porter rf 2 0 0 0

Roa ph-rf 2 2 2 2

Ballard ss 3 0 1 2

Totals 42 10 15 10 Totals 36 5 9 5

Staten Island 403 001 200—10

Tri-City 000 001 202— 5

LOB—Staten Island 9, Tri-City 5. 2B—Estrada (1), Hendrix (2), Sewald (1), Ballard (1). HR—Wagner (1), de Oleo (1), Roa (1). PB—Hermelyn (1).

IP H R ER BB SO

Staten Island

Acevedo W,1-0 6 4 1 1 1 4

Reeves 2-3 3 2 2 0 2

Borens 1 1-3 0 0 0 0 1

Y.Espinal 1 2 2 2 0 2

Tri-City

Garza L,0-1 2 1-3 8 7 7 3 1

McCanna 3 2-3 3 1 1 2 1

Bower 1 4 2 2 0 0

Ju.Santos 2 0 0 0 1 0

WP—Acevedo, Reeves, Garza 3.

Umpires—Home, Greg Roemer; First, Ryan Wilhelms; Second, David Martinez; Third, Vince Jackson.

T—3:03. A—1,507.

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