Fernandez homers twice, but Colts come up short against defending National Champs

VINELAND, NJ (March 20,2021) – Middlesex Baseball battled, but dropped a pair of Region XIX games against RCSJ-Cumberland.

Game 1 (7-6 Loss) – In game 1, Zachary Honimar (South Amboy, NJ/South Amboy) got his second start of the season on the mound. He threw 2.1 innings allowing 3 runs on 2 hits while striking out 1. Frank Shipman (Edison, NJ/Edison) came on in relief and escaped a bases loaded no out jam by striking out the side in the 3rd. Josh Hernandez (West Palm Beach, FL/Park Vista) took the loss in relief (0-1), throwing 3 innings while allowing 2 earned runs. In a back and forth battle, the offense broke open in the 2nd when Middlesex loaded the bases with 1 out. Three consecutive 3-2 counts turned into RBI base on balls by Vincent Powers (Colonia, NJ/John F. Kennedy), Christian Petrillo (North Brunswick, NJ/North Brunswick) and Chris Born (South Plainfield, NJ/South Plainfield). Heads up base running by Powers stealing home on a back pick throw to first, extended the Colts lead to 4-1. With the game tied at 4 in 5th, Bryan Fernandez (Sayreville, NJ/Sayreville) launched a 2-out HR into the left field trees to give Middlesex back a 5-4 lead. The Dukes would score a pair of runs in their half of the 5th to take a 6-5 lead. With 2 away in the 6th, Petrillo laced a triple into the left center gap and Born followed with a 2 strike, RBI base hit to left to tie the game at 6. Cumberland regained the lead with a 2-out double in the 6th and closed out the game in the 7th, for a 7-6 final.

Game 2 (15-5 Loss) – In game 2, Chris Sommer (Edison, NJ/Edison) would make his college debut on the mound. His outing would only last 1 inning as the Dukes struck early for 3 runs on 2 hits to force up the pitch count of Sommer. Isaiah Figueroa (Old Bridge, NJ/Old Bridge) showed some promise on the mound as he came on in relief to throw 1.2 scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts. Dante Duarte (Union City, NJ/Union City) also threw a strong inning in relief with two strikeouts of his own. Ryan Pozo (Woodbridge, NJ/Woodbridge), Thomas Gamba (Neptune, NJ/Neptune), and Jack Calabrese (Edison, NJ/Edison) all saw time on the mound in relief. The Colts would once again take an early 1-0 lead, as Bryan Fernandez hit his second HR of the day over the LF wall. After falling behind 7-1, Middlesex continued to battle back as Louie Folgore (Monroe, NJ/Monroe) would drive home David Razzano (East Brunswick, NJ/St. Joseph's), and Angel Cora (Bayonne, NJ/Bayonne) would drive in Hernandez to cut the lead to 7-3. The Colts final scoring rally would come in the 6th. Petrillo lined his second triple of the day and Born followed with a base hit to RF. A few batters later, Josh Hernandez would bring home Born on a ground out. The Colts could not put together enough of a late game rally as they would fall in the nightcap by a final of 15-5.