The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Bridgewater, NJ – David Vidal’s eighth inning grand slam (21) led the Somerset Patriots (21-18, 59-50) to a 6-4 win over the York Revolution (21-17, 61-47) on Tuesday afternoon at TD Bank Ballpark.
Vidal’s grand slam came with the team trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning. His 21st home run leads the Atlantic League this season and sets a new career high. He has now homered in three straight games and five out of his last six games.
“I was just trying to get a good pitch to hit. He was going to attack me early and I just wanted to swing at strikes,” said Vidal. “ I was looking for a ball up to put a good swing on it to see if I could drive it.”
York took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning on a solo home run by Michael Rockett (4).
The Revolution added a run in the third on an RBI single by Joel Guzman for a 2-0 advantage.
Somerset answered with two runs in the bottom of the frame to tie up the game. Recently added outfielder Gevon Jackson Jr. drove home a run on an RBI double. Vidal later plated Jackson with an RBI single that made the score 2-2.
“I’ve just been taking my usual approach and staying aggressive early,” said Jackson Jr. of his first RBI as a Patriot. “I haven’t been here long, but I can see it is a resilient team. Even if we are down, we know we are going to chip away and try to get the big boys up with some runners on.”
York regained the lead in the top of the fourth on a sacrifice fly by Salvador Paniagua.
Connor Little (5-0) picked up the win, allowing a run in two innings pitched. Ricardo Gomez (3-2) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on four hits in an inning pitched. Jon Hunton earned his 30th save of the season with a scoreless ninth inning. Hunton has now saved 30 or more games in each of his last four seasons in Somerset.
The 2016 Somerset Patriots season presented by Ford continues at home with a 7:05 pm game on Wednesday night against the York Revolution. The game features Science Night and Senior Wednesday. For tickets, call 908-252-0700 or visit www.somersetpatriots.com. Download our Mobile App for free in the Apple or Android App store.
