LOBBAN STIFELS JACKALS BATS IN COMPLETE GAME VICTORY

Little Falls, NJ – Looking for their fifth consecutive win and a series sweep of the Worcester Tornadoes, the New Jersey Jackals found their bats stifled by a brilliant pitching performance from Tornadoes starter Ryan Lobban. With a slew of family and friends in attendance to the see the New Jersey resident on the mound, Lobban (10-5) pitched his first complete game of the season, earning his Can-Am League leading 10th win of the season and helping Worcester defeat the Jackals 6-2 at Yogi Berra Stadium on Thursday night.

Lobban held the Jackals in check for almost the entire night, allowing just two base runners and facing the minimum number of batters through his first five frames. It wasn’t until the sixth inning that New Jersey was able to string a pair of hits together when third baseman Mike Scanzano laced a single and designated hitter Chris Chiarappa followed that with a double. Still, it wasn’t until there were two outs in the bottom of the ninth that the Jackals were able to get on the board when first baseman Myron Leslie blasted a two-run home run, his third home run in two nights. Lobban would get left fielder Jerod Edmondson to strike out swinging moments later to end the game.

Worcester, for the second straight night, jumped all over a New Jersey starter in the early innings, scoring five runs against left-hander Sean Thompson in his first three innings on the mound. The first three batters of the ball game reached base for the Tornadoes and first baseman Chris Colabello opened the scoring by ripping an RBI-double off of Thompson (1-2) with two men on base. Designated hitter Nick Salotti followed with an RBI-groundout and right fielder Alex Pena deposited an RBI single to make it a 3-0 contest before the Jackals even came up to bat for the first time.

The Tornadoes would get two more runs in the third to put the game out of reach when second basemen Jeff LaHair, who had been just 1-for-8 in the series to that point, smacked a single down the line in left that scored a pair of runs. Worcester added their final run in the seventh when shortstop Omar Pena led off with a solo home run to left, his first of the season.

The win snapped a four-game winning streak for the Jackals, but New Jersey still took two-of-three from the visiting Tornadoes in a short home stand before hitting the road for the next week.

The Jackals will be back in action tomorrow night, starting a three-game road series against the Sussex Skyhawks. Right-hander Ted Serro will have the baseball for New Jersey while Sussex has yet to name a starter for the 7:05 p.m. contest. Joey Whelan will have the live call of the game at www.jackals.com 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. The Jackals have clinched the 2009 Can-Am League first-half title and an automatic berth in the playoffs, which begin on September 9. Playoff and regular season tickets, mini-plans and group outings are available by calling 973-746-7434. Visit the Jackals online at www.Jackals.com.