STATEN ISLAND, NY- A four-run fifth inning helped make for a successful home opener for the Baby Bombers. Before an energized sellout crowd, Staten Island (1-1) cameback from 3-1 down to defeat their Verrazano rivals the Cyclones 6-3 Wednesday night at Richmond County Bank Ballpark.

With the 2006 New York-Penn League championship banner flying above the field, they were able to bounceback against Brooklyn after falling 5-1 the night before at Coney Island.

“Yesterday was a big crowd, first game. A lot of jitters and stuff. So I think the nerves and the excitement kind of got the best of us,” shortstop Luis Nunez pointed out after being right in the middle of things with two hits and two runs scored.

“Coming out here, getting down by a couple of runs. We battled back and it shows good character for early in the season.”

After being held in check by Brooklyn starter Nicholas Waechter (0-1) early on, Nunez got the comeback started by leading off the fourth with a single and coming around to score on a David Williams’ sacrifice fly which cut the deficit to 3-2.

That seemed to get the Staten Island bats going. They would finally get to Waechter in the pivotal fifth by putting two of the first three on before he gave way to reliever David Koons. Nunez greeted him with a short single to right which loaded the bases. Second baseman Damon Sublett followed up with almost an identical single which tied the game up.

Left fielder Andres Perez’ RBI fielder’s choice gave the Yanks their first lead since the opening frame when Sublett plated D.J. Hollingsworth with a deep drive to center on which the Cyclones’ Raul Reyes robbed him of an extra base hit with a running over the basket Willie Mays’ catch.

Before the inning was out, they tacked on two more insurance runs on a Chris Raber basehit to center and Perez came around to score when Williams reached on a Jeffery Voyles error.

“It all starts with quality at bats,” Nunez added. “Seeing good pitches. That’s what our hitting coach [Ty Hawkins] really stresses. We got a good enough team to where if we see good pitches, we’re going to put good swings on it and hopefully have a lot of those type of innings.”

After being staked to a one-run lead, Brooklyn native Dellin Betances had a rough second. He loaded the bases with one out but couldn’t get away unscathed. After getting Matt Bouchard on a 5-2 force, the former 2006 eighth round selection lost Ender Chavez on a walk which tied it. Will Vogl then followed with a two-run single to put the Cyclones ahead. Betances would finally get out of it when he fanned Reyes. He settled down to toss a scoreless third and fourth before giving way to the bullpen.

“Nobody panicked. We just kind of stayed calm and put some at bats together. Put one big inning together and got great pitching. Hitting spots and throwing pitches. They really did a good job for us,” catcher Brandon Ketron said.
Reliever Philip Bartleski worked a perfect fifth to pickup his first win. When the Baby Bombers surged ahead, new skipper Mike Gillespie went to Craig Heyer to help slam the door. The 21 year-old Scottsdale Arizona native was brilliant, going three solid innings permitting just one hit while fanning three.

“The key was throwing strikes and it was quality strikes. They were using all their pitches so the guys couldn’t sit on one pitch. … We kept them off balance and our defense was making good plays behind us too,” Ketron noted.

“It was critical,” Gillespie expressed about his pen’s near flawless performance. “I really think that Bartleski, Heyer and [Peterson] all did a great job. We’re really pleased by that.”
Returning Baby Bomber Nick Peterson worked around a one out walk by inducing a game ending 5-4-3 twin killing to notch his first save.

“It was good to get back out there and close a game,” Peterson said. “This was exciting. Especially the first game. A lot of these guys, it was their first time here. They were pumped. They were thrilled.”

And so were many happy Baby Bomber supporters who went home with plenty to smile about.