EARLY OFFENSE BY WORCESTER SINKS JACKALS IN SERIES FINALE

Worcester, MA – With rain threatening the entire afternoon, the New Jersey Jackals could do little more than threaten as well, falling to the Worcester Tornadoes 7-4 at Hanover Insurance Park at Fitton Field on Sunday. The win secured the series for Worcester two games to one, as they have now won five of their last seven contests with New Jersey.

The Jackals found themselves in an early hole after the Tornadoes touched up starter Ted Serro for five runs in the bottom of the first inning. After the Brooklyn native issued a leadoff walk to Worcester center fielder Lucas Taylor, left fielder Vinny Pennell lined a single to put runners at the corners. That set the stage for right fielder Carlos Sosa who blasted a three-run home run to dead center field, his ninth blast of the season, giving the Tornadoes a 3-0 lead. First baseman Chris Colabello followed that with a single of his own, before catcher Alex Trezza flied out to right and designated hitter Nick Salotti ripped a double. With runners at second and third and two outs, second baseman Jeff LaHair deposited his second hit of the series, a two-run single to make it 5-0. Serro would settle down, allowing just two base runners over the next four innings before being lifted for right-hander Seth Overbey.

New Jersey put the pressure on in the latter half of the game, scoring a run in the fifth – courtesy of a one out triple by right fielder Billy Kovatch followed by a sac fly center fielder Zack Smithlin – before setting the stage for a big sixth inning. With Worcester starter Zach Zuercher having been removed after allowing one run on three hits in five innings, the Tornadoes turned to right-hander Nick Conway who would struggle. Left fielder Ryan Rogowski led off with a single, his second hit of the ball game, before promptly stealing second, his Can-Am League-best twenty-fifth stolen base of the season. After a ground out by designated hitter Quinn Stewart and a fly out by first baseman Myron Leslie, the Jackals put together a two-out rally.

Shortstop Mike DeJesus singled, moving Rogowski to third, before a Conway wild pitch allowed him to score and for DeJesus to advance to second. Catcher Matt Lauderdale followed by smacking an RBI-double; he would score moments later when third baseman Mike Scanzano recorded his first hit of the series, a run scoring single. All told, New Jersey scored three runs on four hits in the inning to close the gap to a single run at 5-4 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

After Overbey pitched a perfect sixth, Worcester would reassert itself in the bottom of the seventh inning. After shortstop Omar Pena reached second on a two-base throwing era by Overbey and Taylor sacrificed him to third, the Jackals once again went to the bullpen, this time calling on left-hander Mark Suchowiecki. The first batter the southpaw faced, Pennell, laced an RBI-triple to score Pena. A wild pitch moments later to Carlos Sosa would allow Pennell to score the seventh run of the ballgame for the Tornadoes, setting the final score.

Former Washington National Santiago Ramirez fired a perfect ninth inning for Worcester, striking out two batters and recording his ninth save of the season. For New Jersey, Serro (5-5) suffered the loss while the left-hander Zuercher (5-4) picked up his second win of the season against the Jackals.

Rogowski was the only New Jersey batter to register a multi-hit game, while Sanders, Lauderdale and Kovatch all had extra-base hits. The big bats for Worcester were Sosa with his three-run blast and LaHair who drove in a pair of runs with a single.

Up next, the Jackals travel to nearby Brockton for a four-game series with the Rox. The series kicks off tomorrow night with right-hander Stuart Pomeranz taking the ball for the Jackals against Brockton right-hander Freddy Flores. Joey Whelan will have the live call of the game at www.jackals.com. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m. with the pre game show starting 10 minutes prior.

The New Jersey Jackals, proud members of the Canadian-American Association of Professional Baseball, play their home games at Yogi Berra Stadium located on the campus of Montclair State University in Little Falls, NJ. 2009 season tickets, mini-plans and group outings are available by calling 973-746-7434. Visit the Jackals online at www.jackals.com.