WAPPINGERS FALLS, N.Y. – Powered by dominant pitching and clutch late-game hitting, the Hudson Valley Renegades took down the Greensboro Grasshoppers 6-0 in the first of a best-of-three playoff series.
In their second consecutive trip to the South Atlantic League (SAL) North Division Championship Series, the Renegades (New York Yankees High-A Affiliate) kicked off postseason play against the Grasshoppers (Pittsburgh Pirates High-A Affiliate). The Renegades broke open the pitcher’s duel in the late innings, highlighted by a three-run home run off the bat of third baseman Dylan Jasso and a bases-clearing double from shortstop George Lombard Jr.
Renegades starting pitcher Trent Sellers set the tone early by tossing four scoreless frames before handing it over to the bullpen. From there, relievers Indigo Diaz, Kelly Austin and Blake Abeyta preserved the shutout.
Sellers struck out the side in the first inning, but it did not come easy. Grasshoppers leadoff hitter, designated hitter Mitchell Jebb, worked a 10-pitch at-bat after falling in an early 0-2 hole. Sellers ultimately retired the Jebb, who waved at a high and outside fastball.
As for Grasshoppers starting pitcher Carlson Reed, he entered the game on a roll. In six starts with Greensboro after being called up from Low-A, Reed pitched to the tune of a 0.87 ERA, recording 34 strikeouts in the process.
Yankees 2023 first-round pick George Lombard Jr. got the Renegades started on offense in the bottom of the first inning, ripping a hard hit line drive into left field that sent Patrick Hilson turning over both shoulders as he failed to get a good read on the ball. It sailed over his head and all the way to the wall, allowing Lombard Jr. to cruise into second with a double.
Back-to-back walks loaded the bases with two outs for left fielder Jackson Castillo, who hit a routine grounder. Castillo did not run, thinking the ball had hit his foot, but the umpire disagreed. Renegades manager Nick Ortiz argued before being escorted back to the dugout by first base coach Derek Woodley.
Though controversially, Reed thwarted danger in the bottom of the first, escaping from a bases-loaded, one-out jam. He settled in after the shaky first, only allowing one hit in the following two innings. He once again stranded the bases loaded after getting Renegades leadoff hitter Roc Riggio to weakly fly out to shallow left field, the last out he recorded before being replaced by Alessandro Ercolani in the following inning.
Sellers dominated the Grasshoppers’ lineup in his four innings on the mound, hurling nine strikeouts while just allowing one walk and one hit. Long at-bats caught up to Sellers, who threw 76 pitches and was pulled after just four innings.
Ercolani retired the first two Renegades he faced, then walked the next three to load the bases. There, he bounced back, striking out Jasso looking. Through five innings, the Renegades loaded the bases on three separate occasions but failed to scratch across a run each time.
The Renegades finally broke through in the sixth inning, where an error and a single once again put the pressure on Grasshoppers pitcher Elijah Birdsong. With runners on the corner and one out, Lombard grounded to third, where Jack Brannigan fielded and tossed to second base to start the double play. Second basemen Ethan Gourson fired to first, but Lombard just barely beat the throw, finally getting a run on the board.
Kelly Austin tossed a quick three up, three down inning in his second frame of work, pushing the Renegades to just six outs away from a crucial game one victory. Looking to pad the lead, Jasso added some insurance. With runners on the corners with one out, Jasso launched a deep fly ball to right center field, clearing the wall to give Hudson Valley a 4-0 lead.
Lombard Jr. then added to the lead, ripping his third double of the night to score two more runners, pushing the lead to a comfortable six runs.
Abeyta shut the door, twirling a scoreless eighth and ninth inning to clinch the shutout, and more importantly a decisive game one victory.
Now, the Renegades will travel to Greensboro to play game two on Thursday at 6:30. A win advances Hudson Valley to the SAL Championship Series, and a loss will force a winner-take-all game three on Friday night.
Edited by Luke Sassa
Photos from Kira Crutcher
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