The Franklin Reporter & Advocate Eight Villages, One Community
Bridgewater, NJ – Somerset Patriots starting pitcher Nik Turley (1-0) struck out 14 batters to lead the Somerset Patriots (2-0, 77-63) to a dominating 10-0 win over the Long Island Ducks (0-2, 72-68) in Game 2 of the Liberty Division Series at TD Bank Ballpark on Thursday evening. The Somerset Patriots lead the best-of-five series 2-0.
“I felt that my fastball was really there. It was my main pitch today so I was able to work off that,” Turley said. “I was able to use it to get ahead in the count, and if I was behind, I was able to slip in some breaking balls. Every pitch seemed to be working.”
Turley scattered just three hits and walked one in seven scoreless innings pitched for the win.
“He set the tone early after the leadoff double by striking out the side. I thought he kept the batters off balance with good command of all of his pitches,” said Somerset Patriots manager Brett Jodie. “It was good to see and a lot of fun to watch actually.”
The Patriots jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on RBI singles by Yovan Gonzalez, Aharon Eggleston, Eric Farris, and Bryan LaHair. An RBI fielder’s choice by Vinny Zarrillo also plated a run in the inning.
Somerset extended the lead in the fourth inning on an RBI double by LaHair that made the score 6-0.
A two-run double by Zarrillo highlighted a four-run fifth inning. Runs also scored on a sacrifice fly by Eggleston and Farris’ second RBI base hit of the night for a 10-0 advantage.
“I had a chance to bring some runs in with the bases loaded to try to build our lead. With a knuckleballer on the mound, I was just trying to be patient, look for something in the zone, and I got a fastball that I was able to hit in the gap,” Zarrillo said.
Matt Larkins (0-1) suffered the loss, allowing five earned runs on seven hits in just two innings pitched.
The 2016 Somerset Patriots Season presented by Ford will continue on the road in Long Island for the remainder of the Liberty Division Series with Game 3 on Friday evening at 6:35 pm. Should the Somerset Patriots advance to the Championship Series, the team will host Games 3-5 (if necessary) at TD Bank Ballpark beginning on Friday, September 30th at 7:05 pm. For tickets, call 908-252-0700 or visit www.somersetpatriots.com. Download our Mobile App for free in the Apple or Android App store.
