The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Bridgewater, NJ – The Sugar Land Skeeters (20-14) defeated the Somerset Patriots (20-14) 6-1 before a season high 7,151 fans at TD Bank Ballpark on Thursday afternoon.
The Skeeters took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a sacrifice fly by Renee Tosoni.
Back-to-back home runs by Kent Matthes (5) and Jose Limonta (2) in the fourth inning extended the lead to 3-0.
The Skeeters added two more in the fifth inning on RBI singles by Matthes and Beamer Weems.
Ricky Hague drilled another home run (3) in the sixth inning for a 6-0 advantage.
“They capitalized on what I thought were a few bad pitches,” said Somerset Patriots starting pitcher Mickey Storey. “It’s just tough to figure out right now the difference between a good and bad pitch. I just have to keep on doing what I’m doing because there’s nothing that appears to be completely wrong.”
Matthes was 5-for-8 with three runs, two home runs and five RBI in the last two games of the series.
Somerset got their lone run in the eighth inning on an RBI single by Brad Snyder for the 6-1 final.
It is the second straight series sweep of the Patriots by the Skeeters who are a perfect 6-0 against Somerset for the season.
“We know it’s always going to be a good battle between these teams. We respect them and like to play them, as I feel that they like to play us. They’ve pretty much taken advantage of the two series so far,” said Somerset Patriots manager Brett Jodie.
Parker Frazier (5-1) earned the win, scattering three hits over six scoreless innings. Mickey Storey (0-2) suffered the loss, allowing six earned runs on ten hits in six innings pitched.
“I don’t want to take anything away from Frazier, who pitched well. He kept the ball down, worked in the sinker with the slider and changeup well and we just didn’t get anything going against him,” Jodie added.
The 2016 Somerset Patriots season presented by Ford continues on the road until the team returns to TD Bank Ballpark on Friday, June 3rd for a 7:05 pm game against the Bridgeport Bluefish. For tickets, call 908-252-0700 or visit www.somersetpatriots.com. Download our Mobile App for free in the Apple or Android App store.
