The New Jersey Jackals dropped their Opening Day contest to the Tri-City ValleyCats, 7-1, in a pitchers duel at Hinchliffe Stadium.

Jackals second year pitcher Sonny Fauci, a Rutgers University alum, took the mound and controlled the pace early on.

The scoring started in the bottom of the second when ValleyCats pitcher Stephen Still left a fastball over the middle of the plate, and third baseman Felix Stevens drove it more than 400 feet out of the stadium and into the Great Falls.

In the top of the fourth, Tri-City’s David Glancy stole second after drawing a walk on a sinker. Amani Larry followed, and on a curveball from Fauci, both runners stole bases, putting two in scoring position with no outs.

On a full count, Fauci delivered a pitch to third baseman Ian Walters, who launched a three run home run to deep right field, giving Tri-City a 3-1 lead and all the momentum.

After another full count walk to first baseman Brayden Jobert, the Jackals held a mound meeting, and Fauci remained in the game.

Fauci continued to struggle when Cooper Hext hit a ball to right field that scored Jobert, extending the ValleyCats lead to 4-1.

“I think I just pretty much did it to myself,” Fauci said. “I just tried to do too much, tried to start searching for strikeouts, and didn’t keep what I was doing in the first three.”

The inning ended on a diving grab by Jackals second baseman Daunte Stuart, after the fourth inning damage from Tri-City had concluded.

Still controlled the fourth inning with back to back strikeouts of first baseman Dariel Gomez and designated hitter Luis Encarnacion, bringing his total to five strikeouts through four innings.

Another walk by Fauci in the top of the fifth ended his day, and he was relieved by Dosie Drakeford.

After walking Glancy, Drakeford induced three straight groundouts to escape the inning unscathed, giving the Jackals a brief shift in momentum.

“Keep our heads moving the right direction,” Drakeford said. “Obviously, didn’t go the way we wanted, but you see their runs. It came from two beginnings. We erased that, and then we shrink some hits together.”

Still responded by striking out three consecutive batters, raising his total to eight.

Drakeford continued to pitch effectively in the sixth, while Still recorded his ninth strikeout against Martin Figueroa. Later in the inning, Daunte Stuart recorded a hit and stole second but was thrown out attempting to steal third.

Still struck out his 10th batter when Isaac Bellomy swung at a fastball.

Drakeford was relieved by Nyan Hernandez after two innings of work. Hernandez closed the top of the seventh with a strikeout of Walters.

Still’s outing ended after six innings, and Nate Nabholz entered in relief. Stevens nearly hit his second home run of the game, sending a deep fly ball to center field that fell just short of the fence.

Nabholz worked through the seventh inning, allowing a walk but retiring the side on a pop out by Connor Maryniak.

JoJo Rodriguez entered in relief for New Jersey in the eighth, and Tri-City added insurance. Pinch hitter Max Mandler singled to center and advanced to second on a passed ball. Josh Leslie followed with a double to shallow right field, moving Mandler to third.

Dylan Broderick then singled up the middle, scoring two runs and extending the ValleyCats lead. Broderick was later picked off by catcher Gustavo Sosa to end the inning.

In the bottom of the eighth, pinch hitter Jakobi Davis nearly homered, and the Jackals recorded their third hit when Martin Figueroa hit a two out double. Nabholz ended the inning with a strikeout of Stuart, marking the ValleyCats’ 12th strikeout of the game.

Rodriguez remained in the game for the ninth but was replaced by Ryan Steinhauer after Amani Larry singled.

Steinhauer allowed a double to Walters that scored a run, but a relay from Daunte Stuart to Gustavo Sosa at the plate cut down a runner and prevented further damage, making it 7-1.

In the bottom of the ninth, Isaac Bellomy led off against closer Arlo Marynczak. After a lengthy at bat, Marynczak struck out Stevens. Dariel Gomez then flew out to center, and Christian Hall struck out to end the game.

Despite the loss, Rodriguez remained optimistic about the team’s outlook.

“Honestly, you know, it’s the first game,” Rodriguez said. “We got a lot of good guys, got a good culture around here. One loss isn’t really going to pick the season for us. We’re just going to continue to keep stacking good days, and let that be it.”

Fauci took the loss for New Jersey, pitching four innings and allowing two hits, four runs, two strikeouts and five walks. Stevens provided the lone run with his solo home run.

Tri-City was anchored by starting pitcher Stephen Still, who threw six innings, allowed two hits and one run, and struck out 10 while walking three.

After the loss, the Jackals will look to even the series in Game Two of the three game set.

New Jersey returns to action Saturday, May 9 at 6:35 p.m. at Hinchliffe Stadium in Paterson, N.J.