The New Jersey Jackals responded in a big way Wednesday night.
After a loss Tuesday to the Down East Bird Dawgs, the Jackals used a combination of early pitching dominance from Connor Maryniak and a late offensive surge to secure a 14-6 win at Hinchliffe Stadium.
Maryniak set the tone early on a humid summer night, striking out center fielder Stephen DiTomaso to open the game. After a quick second out, Down East briefly broke through when first baseman Christian Adams singled up the middle and right fielder Ali LaPread followed with an RBI double into the left-center gap to give the Bird Dawgs a 1-0 lead.
But Maryniak quickly settled in, striking out left fielder Jacob Corson to end the inning.
The Jackals answered immediately in the bottom half.
Right fielder Gustavo Sosa led off the inning with a deep drive to center for a double before being thrown out trying to stretch it into a triple. Shortstop Cesar Morillo worked a walk, and designated hitter Isaac Bellony followed with a hard-hit ball to center, but DiTomaso caught it, holding him to a flyout. A throwing error later in the inning allowed Morillo to score, tying the game at 1-1.
Maryniak took over from there.
The right-hander was dominant through the middle innings, racking up strikeouts while consistently working ahead in counts. Through the first two innings, all recorded Jackals outs came via strikeout as he carved through the Bird Dawgs lineup.
New Jersey added to the lead in the third when third baseman Alvaro Gonzalez doubled to center, scoring left fielder Martin Figueroa and giving the Jackals a 3-1 advantage.
The breakthrough inning came in the fourth.
After second baseman Isaac Nunez doubled and Sosa collected his third hit of the game, Bellony reached on an RBI single that was misplayed in right field, allowing another run to score. Catcher Aneudis Mordan added a sacrifice fly before a brief 10-minute delay for fireworks at Great Falls interrupted the momentum. Once play resumed, the Jackals closed the inning leading 6-1.
Maryniak returned after the delay and continued dealing, finishing five innings with nine strikeouts while allowing just one run on eight hits.
New Jersey’s offense broke the game open in the fifth, capitalizing on walks, wild pitches, and aggressive baserunning. A run-scoring wild pitch and a defensive miscue helped push the lead to 8-1 before the Bird Dawgs could escape further damage.
The bullpen kept control from there. Joe Joe Rodriguez and Jorge Benitez both pitched an inning limiting any further damage before the Bird Dawgs gained a spark in the top of the 8th inning.
They took advantage of Lisandro Almonte and Breyln Jones scoring five runs, cutting the lead to six, before Nyan Hernandez turned two in his very first batter faced to limit the bleeding.
The Jackals immediately answered back in the bottom half.
Center fielder Noah Furcht delivered the biggest swing of the night and arguably his biggest moment as a Jackal, crushing a three-run home run to center field to extend the lead to 14-6 and put the game out of reach.
Hernandez closed out the ninth, striking out Down East’s designated hitter Kenny Levari, catcher Juan Garcia and second baseman Trey Law to seal the victory.
Sosa led the way for the Jackals with three hits, while Nunez, Furcht, Bellony and Gonzalez turned in multi-hit days.
This win advances New Jersey to 24-21 on the season, three games back of the New York Boulders for first place in the Atlantic East Divison, and tied for the sixth best record in the league.
The Jackals will look to take the series on Thursday July 2 at Hinchliffe Stadium. First pitch is slated for 7:45 p.m.
