Pilots split doubleheader with Staten Island Tide

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

The Jersey Pilots won game one of a doubleheader against the Staten Island Tide 8-2 on Wednesday at Snyder Ave Park before falling 4-1 in the second game.

Tom Marcinczyk led the Pilot offense in game one. He went 3-4 with two towering home runs over the right field fence. His first home run was in the bottom of the first to put the Pilots ahead and his second home run was a three-run shot in the fifth inning.

Brian Rodriguez also had a day at the plate, going 2-3 with a two-run home run in the fifth inning as well.

On the mound, Tyler Poulin had a quality outing, going seven strong innings while allowing only four hits and striking out five. He also had four innings where he retired the batters in order.

Many Pilots had good games including Colby Smith, who had two walks and a hit-by-pitch; Harrison Walls, who went 2-3 with a double; Malcolm Kelsey, who had a RBI double and Justin Trochiano, who scored two runs.

In game two, the Tide got on the board quickly, scoring three runs in the top of the first and never looking back.

The Pilots managed to get one run back in the fifth when John Scarr singled home Alex Wright, but that was all Jersey was able to muster.

Dominick Pisciotto went five innings for the Pilots giving up only two earned runs with three strikeouts. Max Herrman came out of the pen for the Pilots and pitched two innings of shutout baseball. At the plate, Scarr led the team with three hits.

Zach Leone led the Tide with three hits, including two doubles, and Christopher Hess picked up the win for the Tide.

The Pilots next home game is on Tuesday July 5 against the Trenton Generals at Weehawken Stadium in Weehawken.

Check the jerseypilots.com or @ACBL_Pilots on twitter for more updates.

Pilots win doubleheader against Catz on Ben Smookler Day

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

Sunday June 26 was Ben Smookler Day at Snyder Avenue Park and the Jersey Pilots managed to defeat the Lehigh Valley Catz in both games of a doubleheader on the festive day.

The day, named in honor of longtime Pilots general manager and owner Ben Smookler who died last year, included a pregame ceremony. Current general manager Michael Kalb made a quick speech acknowledging the impact of Smookler and announced the creation of a fund in Smookler’s name that will pay for one player each summer to play with the Pilots.

In game one of the doubleheader, the Catz scored first with a run in the top of the first, but John Scarr homered in the second inning to tie the game.

The tie was not broken until the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs, Tom Marcinczyk doubled to put himself in scoring position. Greg Kocinski then singled him in to put the Pilots up by one. An insurance run was added when Malcolm Kelsey singled in Kocinski.

Taylor Parsons then came in for Pilots starter Matt Ratner, who went six strong innings, and shut the Catz down in order to get the save.

In game two, the Pilots fell down early as the Catz scored three runs in the top of the first and then added a fourth in the fourth. But the Pilots turned the tables in in the fourth inning.

With one out, Marcinczyk, Scarr, Kelsey, and Colby Smith had four consecutive hits to put the Pilots within one run of tying the game. Then, consecutive singles by Noah Clark, Harrsion Walls, and Alex Wright put the Pilots up by one run.

The Pilots added two insurance runs in the sixth inning when Wright singled in Aidan Favia and Clark.

Tommy Giunta went six innings with four strikeouts and picked up the win for the Pilots. Tyler Poulin earned the save with Wright leading the way at the plate with two hits and three RBIs.

With the two wins, Jersey’s record is now 8-8-1. The Pilots next play against the North Jersey Eagles at Overpeck Park on Tuesday before returning home to play the Staten Island Tide on Wednesday.

Continue to check jerseypilots.com and @ACBL_Pilots on Twitter for more updates on the team.

Pilot of the Week: Infielder Justin Trochiano

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

Justin Trochiano of Monmouth University is in his first season as a member of the Jersey Pilots. After hitting .309 in 25 games for the Hawks this spring, Trochiano has continued his success this summer. He currently has five hits, six walks, four runs scored, and two stolen bases in six games for the Pilots. On Wednesday against the Staten Island, with the bases loaded, two outs, a full count and the game tied at two, Trochiano walked, allowing the game-winning run to score. We caught up with Trochiano after the game.

Q: What was going through you mind in that final at-bat?

JT: Well I knew from watching the other hitters that the pitcher was a little bit wild. I was thinking in my head: don’t be aggressive, let him come to you, make him throw a strike and take it from there. It worked out in the end. Got a few pitches, saw a few pitches and ended up walking.

Q: How do you think this win is going to put you guys on track?

JT: It was big. Coach was talking about it in the huddle. Good energy the whole game and I think we can bring this energy into the next few games coming up.

Q: How does it feel to be the guy that gets the walk-off?

JT: It’s always good to be the guy but you can’t get there without your teammates getting you in that spot to be the hero for the team.

Q: After coming off the bench halfway through, how do you get yourself ready?

JT: Just staying in the game. When you are on the bench, it's always important to keep your mind on the game and not on the other stuff going on around you.

Q: How is your first season with the Pilots going so far?

JT: It’s good. I like it a lot. Coach Ehehalt at Monmouth University helped get me on this team and I love it so far. It’s awesome.

Q: What are some goals you have for the season?

JT: To stick with my approach, build up enough confidence, play solid defense for the Pilots and get some wins.

Q: At the end of the season, what do you hope to have accomplished as a player and as a team.

JT: To have a good year myself and win a championship.

Pilots get third win of the year on walk-off against Tide

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

The Jersey Pilots defeated the Staten Island Tide 3-2 on Wednesday, June 15 on a walk-off walk by Pilot shortstop Justin Trochiano.

With the game tied at two, Colby Smith singled to lead off the bottom of the ninth. Rob DeAngelis, who has four stolen bases this season, then entered in as a pinch runner. Noah Clark bunted him over to second to put him in scoring position.

The Pilots loaded the bases after Aidan Favia reached on an error and Vic Konstantinovsky waked. With only one out, the Pilots had two chances to score the winning run. Lukas DeRenzi hit a fly ball to left field but not far enough to score DeAngelis from third.

Trochiano then stepped up to the plate. He worked a full count and then took ball four, allowing the game-winning run to score.

Jersey had taken the lead in the bottom of the third inning when, after Alex Wright reached on a single, Tom Marcinczyk crushed his first home run of the season over right field fall.

Starter Tim Pilrun went six strong for the Pilots, giving up only one run on five hits and three walks. Andrew Ciolli and winning pitcher Tyler Poulin were strong out of the bullpen, combining to give up only one run and three hits.

For the Tide, Douglas Molnar pitched eight innings, giving up seven hits and two earned runs. Austin Pollack led the Staten Island offense with three hits, and RBI, and a run scored.

The Pilots next home game is on Sunday against the South Jersey Giants at Snyder Ave. Park. The two teams will play a doubleheader with game one set for a 4:30 start time.

For more updates on the Jersey Pilots, visit jerseypilots.com or @ACBL_Pilots on twitter.

Pilots lose both games of a doubleheader against Allentown

Originally posted on jerseypilots.com

The Pilots dropped two games of a doubleheader against the Allentown Railers on Sunday, June 12 at Snyder Avenue Park.

The Pilots lost game one of the doubleheader 11-7 in extra innings and then were defeated 6-2 in game two.

The Pilots were down 7-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning of game one. After a strikeout, Malcolm Kelsey doubled and Justin Trochiano walked to put two runners on base. Drew DeAngelis then singled home Kelsey and Tom Marcinczyk followed that up with a double into the gap that scored two runners and put the Pilots down by one.

After another out, Colby Smith walked up to the plate with two outs and the game-tying run in scoring position. After fouling off a few pitches, Smith hit a single up the middle that brought in Marcinczyk and tied the game for the Pilots.

After being held scoreless in the eighth, the Railers blew the game open in the ninth, scoring four runs and putting the game out of reach.

The leading Pilots in the game were Trochiano, who went 2-3 with two walks; Marcinczyk, who had three hits, including two doubles, and three RBIs; and Kelsey with two hits off the bench.

In game two of the doubleheader, the Pilots fell behind early, giving up one run in the second and four runs in the third.

The Pilots managed to get two runs in the third when Colby Smith and Alex Wright scored after a Trochiano pop fly was caught but the ball was thrown away. The throwing error allowed the two Pilots to score. However, that was all the Pilots were able to muster.

Rhett Jacoby picked up the victory for the Railers while Matt Ratner received the loss. Alvin Vega and Andrew Ciolli pitched well out of the bullpen for the Pilots. Both went two innings and had three strikeouts while only giving up one hit.

The Pilots next home game is Wednesday June 15 at Snyder Avenue Park at 6:30 against the Staten Island Tide.