STATEN ISLAND, NY- The Baby Bomber bats were cooled off by State College as three pitchers held them to just one run on four hits as Staten Island (17-14) dropped the second game of the series 7-1 before 4,917 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Saturday night.

The loss dropped the Bombers back to five and a half behind first place Brooklyn, who snapped a two-game skid with an 11-2 win over Tri-City to pickup a game in the standings.

Despite a solid effort from losing starter Zach McAllister (2-2), the Bombers couldn’t provide enough support to take the righty off the hook. He got off to a rough start by allowing the first four Spikes to reach base. After loading them up on a walk, he gave up an RBI single to Andrew Walker for the game’s first run.

But facing serious trouble, McAllister pitched his way out of it by striking out the next two batters and then got Erik Huber to bounce out to second baseman Damon Sublett.

Staten Island would threaten in the bottom half by putting runners on the corners with one out but Duke Welker (1-1) induced a tailor made 4-6-3 double play from S.I. third baseman Braedyn Pruitt to get out of it. It summed up the night as the Bombers left 10 runners on.

Consecutive two out hits by Smelin Perez (double) and Keanon Simon (RBI single) in the fifth increased State College’s lead to 2-0.

The Bombers responded quickly in the bottom of the frame to slice it back to one. After shortstop Luis Nunez singled and stole second, designated hitter Chris Raber drove him in with a runscoring single to left. But that was all they could muster as Austin Krum bounced into a fielder’s choice and Dave Williams followed by striking out swinging.

Staten Island had one chance to tie it up in the seventh off State College reliever Michael Felix. After Felix fanned the first two batters, he issued back-to-back walks to Nunez and pinch hitter Isaiah Howes to get the crowd’s hope up. But pinch hitter Matt Morris harmlessly popped out to short which ended the inning.

The Spikes finally put the contest away by batting around for a five-run eighth. S.I. reliever Jason Kiley was done in partially by the defense. After allowing a run to come in on a Justin Ryler RBI double to left center, he gave up a single to Andrew Walker which put runners on the corners with nobody out. That’s when it got ugly.

First, catcher’s interference by Jose Gil allowed Daniel Rios to reach base safely which loaded the bases. Trailing by two with the infield in, Kiley got Matt Cavagnaro to ground to short but Nunez’ throw was dropped by Gil going all the way to the backstop allowing two runs to score which suddenly made it 5-1.

Kyle Hollander replaced Kiley and permitted two more runs on a 4-6-3 twin killing and an RBI single by Austin McClune to make the deficit six. It could’ve been worse two batters later when Simon laced the third straight hit off the reliever but centerfielder Justin Snyder threw out McClune at home to mercifully end the inning.

State College reliever Brandon Williams worked around a two out ninth inning walk by getting Howes to line out to right which ended it.

Notes: Despite taking the loss, McAllister went the first six giving up two earned runs on four hits while walking two and fanning five. … In three innings of work, relievers Kiley and Hollander allowed five runs (2 ER) on seven hits. … Simon finished with a game high four hits in five plate appearances for State College while driving in and scoring a run. … Welker tossed six strong for the Spikes allowing just a run on three hits while walking one and striking out five to notch the win. … The game was live webcast on the official Staten Island Yankee site siyanks.com by their team official scorer. … SP Ryan Zink will go for the Bombers in the rubber game Sunday afternoon at 2 PM.

We should be getting back out to the ballpark this weekend and putting together some stuff finally after a nine day hiatus off. It’s tough being sick sometimes.

I also promise to get out the second part of The Baby Bomber Report so you can keep track of possible future Yankees down the road.

Aside from that, we’re also going to try to get into what else is going on in the sports world. What’s our take on Michael Vick? What about this NBA scandal? What are our thoughts on Barry Bonds as he marches closer to Hank Aaron’s record? Find out what we have to say on this and other things going on!

See ya all later.

The Staten Island Yankees continued their winning ways by posting a 9-5 victory over Auburn before a sellout afternoon crowd of 7,171 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark this afternoon in a special matinee which began at 11 A.M.

Their fourth consecutive win lifted their record to 13-10. The second place Baby Bombers still trail the Cyclones by three and a half as Brooklyn also took the first of a day/night doubleheader with the second game taking place now.

The Bombers got a strong outing from rehabbing Yankee pitcher Jeff Karstens. He went the first five allowing just one earned run on a solo homer while fanning an impressive eight to pickup the win.

Staten Island supplied Karstens with an early lead by scoring three times in the first couple of frames. Back-to-back two out first inning hits by Damon Sublett and Jose Gil gave them the lead. In the second inning, third baseman Justin Snyder would take full advantage of a couple of Doubleday miscues by singling in Isaiah Howes and Austin Krum to increase the margin to three.

After getting Manny Rodriguez to bounce into a 1-6-3 double play, Karstens made his only mistake when Victor Santana took him deep to center to make it 3-1 in the fourth. But the righty recovered by striking out three of the last five batters he faced before giving way to Ryan Zink.

Before the reliever made things interesting by allowing a three-run homer to Adam Calderone in his first inning of work, his teammates gave him some extra cushion with three of their own in the fifth highlighted by a Krum two-run triple with two outs. David Williams then followed with an RBI single to left which made it 6-1.

After Zink permitted the three-run shot to Calderone, the S.I. Yanks responded immediately with three more. Once again, they all came with two outs. With Snyder on third and Luis Nunez on second, first baseman Taylor Holiday came through with a two-run single to center. After advancing to second on the throw, he came around to score on Howes’ ground rule double to give Staten Island a 9-4 lead.

Zink settled down after a shaky sixth to toss two scoreless before allowing a run in the ninth. But he stayed in to get Baron Frost looking to end it for his first save.

Notes: Staten Island banged out 16 hits in the win with every batter registering at least one with Snyder leading the way with three. They cashed in on three Auburn errors which led to four of their nine runs. … Bombers also took the opener last night waiting out a long rain delay which lasted 84 minutes. They held on for a 4-3 win which made starter Zach McAllister a winner. He went the first six scoreless while striking out 10 to improve to 2-1. He was supported by Snyder, who continued his torrid hitting by getting two more hits including a two-run double which highlighted a three-run third. Making his first appearance, Jonathan Ortiz struggled allowing two runs in the ninth before closing it out on a grounder to third for his first save. … Baby Bombers aim for the sweep tomorrow night at St. George with fireworks afterwards.

This will be the first in a series we hope to keep track of this summer as former Baby Bombers continue to develop in their attempts to fulfill big league dreams as they try to climb the minors.

Today, we start going through some of these players to see how they’re performing at different levels:

1.3B Mitch Hilligoss- After missing nine games with a lower body injury, the 22 year-old former Purdue standout has continued to excel with Single A Charleston. A year after helping lead the Baby Bombers to a repeat in the NY-Penn League, he was an All Star and for the second consecutive year garnered MVP honors. In his third game back from the DL yesterday afternoon, he had three hits including a clutch walkoff single to give the Riverdogs a 5-4 11 inning win. In 77 games, he’s now hitting .317 with two homers, 30 RBI’s along with 16 steals. Earlier this season, he also set a new South Atlantic League record with a 38-game hitting streak. A line drive lefty hitter who uses all fields plus speed and a strong arm, keep a close eye on him.
2.OF Colin Curtis- A year removed from signing late and playing a solid center for the Baby Bombers, the 22 year-old Arizona State product who was selected in the fourth round last year has developed well enough this season to get promoted to Double A Trenton. In 65 games with Single A Tampa, he hit .298 with five homers and 26 RBI’s before being moved up. Entering last night, Curtis had struggled thus far but last night, he finished three-for-four with two runs scored and his first home run to lead the Thunder to an 8-4 win. He’s a good all around player who can drive the ball to all fields who possesses excellent speed to go with terrific defense. Once he masters Double A, his Bronx arrival shouldn’t take much longer.

3.CF Brett Gardner- The former centerfielder on the 2005 Staten Island championship team is currently in his second season with Trenton after being elevated to Double A last summer. He was selected in the third round a couple of years ago and has evolved into an outstanding defensive player who bats leadoff and can get on-base. Once on, the speedy Gardner is a threat to run. This season, he’s stolen 18 bases while only being caught four times. He’s currently hitting an even .300 with 14 doubles, five triples and 17 RBI’s. He also has drawn 33 walks in 54 games and has an on-base near .400 (.392). The former College of Charleston star continues to improve and it could be a matter of time before he moves up to Triple A Scranton/Wilkes Barre.

4.C Francisco Cervelli- The 21 year-old who was signed out of Venezuela got off to a great start this season with Tampa but has cooled off lately. After hitting over .300 last summer with Staten Island, he’s at .266 with two homers and 25 RBI’s at a more advanced level. That second dinger came in a 6-5 home defeat last night. The backstop has a respectable .381 OBP drawing 31 walks. His 19 doubles are also solid. The catcher also had a chance to be behind the plate for one of baseball legend Roger Clemens’ minor league outings. That kind of experience can certainly help in handling any pitcher. Figure Cervelli to stick in Tampa before the organization assesses if he’s ready for Double A.

5.SP George Kontos- The ace of last year’s championship staff at St. George has been up and down with Tampa in an injury riddled campaign. After missing almost two months, he returned in the middle of June and didn’t miss a beat by tossing nine consecutive scoreless innings with 12 K’s. His last four outings have produced mixed results with the latest one disappointing for the Northwestern product who last night permitted five earned on seven hits in just four frames in relief of Phil Hughes, who tossed two scoreless in his first rehab stint. Out of the bullpen for the first time in nine games, Kontos also gave up two home runs as he took the loss to fall to 1-3 with a 3.09 ERA. In 43 and two thirds, he’s allowed 40 hits while walking 12 and fanning 48. Kontos isn’t overpowering by any stretch but locates his fastball well enough to mesh with a nasty changeup and effective curve. He does have some potential. The good news is his mechanics have improved since college leading to a better walk/strikeout ratio. We’ll see where he goes.

6.SS Reegie Corona- The hero from the 2005 championship who delivered the walkoff hit which scored Joe Burke is in his second season at Tampa. Still only 20, the Venezuelan is a solid middle infielder who can start the double play effectively. This really is his first full season in Tampa. He had a brief stint last year after being promoted from Charleston. Corona has excellent speed as his 20 steals attest. Last year, he swiped 28 total between Charleston and Tampa. The switch hitter is not big in stature (5-11, 160) but makes the most of his light frame at the plate by slapping balls to the outfield and working counts. This season, he’s already drawn 44 walks. After an 0-for-4 night with a walk, Corona is hitting .270 with two homers and 32 RBI’s. He also has added 12 doubles and three triples. If you’re looking for a plus, he hits much better with runners on (.313) than when the bases are empty (.244). If all goes accordingly, Corona could find himself at Trenton soon.

7.RP Josh Schmidt- A year after struggling to adjust in an advanced level, the former lights out closer for the 2005 Baby Bomber Penn League winners has improved this season down in Tampa. The lanky reliever who goes 6-4, 175 doesn’t throw the ball very hard but does have a nasty sinker in his arsenal which can get batters to chase. It might help explain the eye popping 63 strikeouts in 43 innings so far. The only issue could be his control (18 walks). You certainly can’t argue with the recent success the 24 year-old former Pacific star has had. In 24 games, he’s 3-0 with a 3.35 ERA and one save. Batters are hitting just .214 against him. Since the All Star break, Schmidt has been almost untouchable going 1-0 with a miniscule 0.73 ERA while whiffing 15 in 12-plus. He could be one of those guys who progresses and eventually works his way to the Bronx. Given how unsteady their pen is, let’s hope so.

8.SP Daniel McCutchen- The 24 year-old from Texas might be the one pitcher in the organization who has flown under the radar. While Hughes, Ian Kennedy and Joba Chamberlain get all the press, McCutchen has quietly had a very good season with Tampa. A year after splitting time on Staten Island and Charleston, he’s done well enough to be named a Florida State League All-Star. In 14 starts, he’s 9-2 with a 2.76 ERA while walking only 14 and K-ing 61 in 88 frames. He’s been even better since the break going 3-1 with a 1.88 ERA. There’s much to like about the future of Yankee pitching. If McCutchen is included along with 19 year-old phenom Dellin Betances, watch out.

9.2B Wilmer Pino- A year after dominating the Penn League to win the batting title with a record .326 average, the 21 year-old out of Venezuela has struggled mostly with the Riverdogs. A line drive righty hitter with solid speed, he does have decent ability. If there is one area Pino must improve at, it’s at becoming more disciplined. The free swinger has only drawn 11 walks in 70 games. After a multi-hit game last night, he’s hitting just .238 with four home runs and 22 RBI’s. Last summer, he didn’t go yard once which makes one wonder if that’s part of the problem. He still has stolen 10 bases a year after swiping 18. If Pino can make the adjustment, he could have a future. For now, he’ll try to finish stronger in Charleston.

The Staten Island Yankees snapped their three-game skid by posting a 5-1 win over Batavia Sunday afternoon. They used a two out rally to push across the game’s first two runs in the second inning. After Isaiah Howes walked, D.J. Hollingsworth doubled him in. Chris Raber followed with a runscoring single.

They would tack on three more in the fifth. Back-to-back runscoring doubles by Luis Nunez and Damon Sublett doubled their lead. After an error allowed the inning to continue, Austin Krum delivered an RBI single which plated Taylor Holiday which put them ahead five.

Staten Island got a strong outing out of Nick Chigges, who tossed the first four scoreless while allowing one hit and fanning eight. He gave way to long reliever Jason Kiley, who didn’t permit a run in the next three while striking out four en route to his first win of the season.

The Muckdogs lone run came in their final at bat thanks to an RBI double from Justin Roberson off reliever Fred Jones. Jones cameback to get the final three outs including Thomas Pham to bounce out to Sublett which ended matters.

With their first win in four, the Baby Bombers got back to .500 at 10-10 but still trail first place Brooklyn by five games.

They’ll look to take the rubber game of the series at Batavia later tonight when New York native Dellin Betances is expected to get the ball. He’s coming off a resilient performance in which the former Grand Street High School product gutted out four-plus without allowing a run despite six walks while also fanning the same amount to get out of a couple of jams.

The Bombers are idle Tuesday before returning home Wednesday night to host Jamestown.

The Staten Island Yankees dropped their third consecutive game Saturday night at Batavia, falling 8-3 in the first of a three-game set on the road.

Third baseman Justin Snyder’s second home run of the season tied the game up in the eighth. However, the Muckdogs pushed across five in the home half off losing reliever Justin Segal (0-1). Justin Roberson’s bases loaded two-run single to right put Batavia back ahead to stay. They would tack on three more insurance runs before the inning was out.

The Baby Bombers got the first two batters on thanks to back-to-back singles from left fielder Isaiah Howes and first baseman Taylor Holiday. But Batavia’s Josh Drew got the next three batters including Austin Krum to bounce out to short which ended it.

Combined with Brooklyn’s 8-6 win last night over Jamestown, Staten Island now trails the Cyclones by five games in the McNamara Division. They’ll look to bounce back today in the middle game with first pitch scheduled for 2:05 P.M.

In other Bomber news, pitcher Gabe Medina was recalled to Charlestown Saturday. Returning to S.I. on the roster was catcher Brandon Ketron.

We’ll have more related news to former Staten Island players later today including the return of ex-third baseman All Star Mitch Hilligoss to the Riverdogs after missing nine games.

STATEN ISLAND, NY- The Cyclones used two big innings along with solid pitching to shutdown the Bombers en route to a 9-3 win before a near capacity crowd of 7,171 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Friday Fireworks Night.

Their second straight win allowed them to comeback and take the series after dropping the opener on Independence Day. It raised first place Brooklyn’s record to 13-5 and pushed their lead over Staten Island to four games. It was the Baby Bombers’ second consecutive loss dropping them back to .500 (9-9).

“You’re going to have tough games. The good teams are the ones that take the tough games and they figure out what they can do better and they come out and they bounce back the next day,” Staten Island outfielder Isaiah Howes explained after coming in as a defensive replacement and singling in his only at bat to leadoff the home ninth.

“It was a good win. It’s good to take the series after that first loss in the first game. We just kind of swung the bats. A lot of close games lately. So it was good to win by a big shot,” Brooklyn shortstop Jake Eigsti pointed out after finishing with a double and run scored in a three-run fourth which knocked out losing Bomber starter Ryan Zink, who fell to 2-1 after allowing five earned runs on eight hits in just three-plus.

Staked to a one-run lead after his teammates picked him up with three in the first off Brooklyn starter Dylan Owen, Zink tossed two consecutive scoreless but ran out of gas in the fourth. The first four Cyclones reached base on hits including a tying single by catcher Jordan Abruzzo followed by a Joaquin Rodriguez go-ahead single to left which plated Eigsti and knocked out Zink, who was replaced by reliever Phil Bartleski.

They tacked on a run when Micah Schilling grounded into a twin killing to put them up 5-3.

“Big innings are always nice and the pitching did a good job. Besides that first inning, it was great and it’s been great. Hopefully, we can keep it up,” added Eigsti.

Meanwhile, Owen settled down after a shaky first in which he permitted all three runs on a Damon Sublett RBI double, Jose Gil sac fly and a Taylor Holiday runscoring single.

“It kind of got away from us after that first inning. We did a good job bouncing back in the first but we just couldn’t get anything going after that. It wasn’t our night I guess,” Holiday said after finishing two-for-four with an RBI in a losing effort.

Instead, Owen was in control the next four frames keeping Staten Island hitters off balance with a nasty slider which froze some batters as he piled up nine strikeouts in five to boost his record to 3-0. In fact, after permitting a single to Holiday to start the fourth, he struckout the final six hitters he faced.

“[Owen] definitely made an adjustment after that first inning and he dealt. He was getting that curveball over and did a great job,” noted Eigsti.

“I didn’t face him but it looked like he had some pretty good offspeed stuff,” Howes viewed. “He was throwing a decent fastball in there. He was a quality starter. No doubt. We did well to get three runs in the first inning and I guess he just got it together. You got to hand it to him.”

The Cyclones put the game out of reach with a four-run sixth against Bartleski, who lost the plate by beaning two batters to get into trouble with an out. He paid the price as Brooklyn tagged him. A Rodriguez single to left scored Will Vogl which made it 6-3. Micah Schilling then followed with a two-run double and came into score on J.R. Voyles’ basehit to right giving them a six-run cushion.

They would never look back.

Steve Cheney came on to toss three and two thirds scoreless before giving way to lefty Grady Hinchman, who pitched around a two out walk to Austin Krum by getting shortstop Chris Carrara to pop out to first in foul territory which ended it.

Notes: Staten Island immediately boarded a bus for Batavia with a three-game series starting later tonight.

“We don’t know anything about them or about their field. We’re just going to go there and we’re going to play our game and look to bring back at least two out of three,” Howes said of the upcoming series.

“Now we got to go on the road for three at Batavia and hopefully right the ship a little bit and get back in the winning column,” Holiday added.

“I sure hope so,” skipper Mike Gillespie remarked. “It’s interesting that with 75 percent of the season to go that we find ourselves having to make the realization to win every game is critical. We’re four games behind in the loss column or whatever it is. They call this a short season for a reason.”

After the three-game series on the road, the Baby Bombers get a rare off day on Tuesday before returning home the following night when they’ll play host to Auburn.

STATEN ISLAND, NY - Sometimes, baseball can be a funny game. That was the case in the Baby Bombers’ exciting 4-3 comeback victory in 11 innings against their Verrazano rival before an energized 6,011 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark who were treated to special Fourth of July fireworks immediately following the unpredictable game which lasted three hours and 39 minutes in spite a start an hour earlier.

The win improved second place Staten Island to 9-7, pulling them within two games of first place Brooklyn (11-5) in the McNamara Division.

“Our offense found a way to get it done,” pumped up third baseman Justin Snyder said after leading the 11th off with a walk before coming around to score the tying run when Brooklyn first baseman Jason Jacobs was unable to get his glove on second baseman Damon Sublett’s sharp grounder.

“To score the winning run and getting the win and seeing the fireworks is pretty awesome. That’s what it’s all about,” as he and teammates then gathered around edge of the dugout to watch the beautiful display which seemed symbolic on such a special day.

Trailing by a run thanks to a titanic 400-plus foot blast off the bat of Jake Eigsti to left center, Staten Island rallied in their final at bat. After Snyder worked a walk off Brooklyn reliever Stephen Clyne (1-1), center fielder Matt Morris dragged a perfect sac bunt which Clyne had trouble fielding to put the first two on. Sublett then followed with a hard hit grounder which went underneath Jacobs’ glove for the second error of the inning, allowing Snyder to score from second to tie it.

With runners on the corners and nobody out, slugging catcher Jose Gil who earlier accounted for the club’s prior two runs with a two-run home run in the fourth couldn’t drive home the winner. Instead, he flew out to short right.

Just when it looked like the Cyclones might somehow escape, they messed up a chance to get the second out. With Morris running on contact from third, left fielder Austin Krum grounded to second baseman Micah Schilling who was playing in at the edge of the grass and immediately came home. Morris was a dead duck. So he backpedaled and got himself in a rundown. But third baseman J.R. Voyles was unable to apply the tag instead dropping the ball which allowed everyone to be safe loading the bases with an out.

It got even wackier when Clyne predictably uncorked a wild pitch which allowed Morris to cross the plate with the winning run to give his ballclub an unlikely win before a raucous atmosphere as fireworks went off.

“It was exciting. It’s always against top rivals like Brooklyn. So it was a pretty big win for us,” reliever Phil Bartleski pointed out after failing to pickup the save when he permitted a one out opposite field double to Ender Chavez which forced extras.

“Everybody played till the last out. That’s all we can ask for out of everybody. We got two more games. Take these next two or at least one going into the All Star break. These are big games right here,” eluding to the big three-game set with Game 2 later tonight at Keyspan Park before they return to the Ferry terminal tomorrow.

“It was good to comeback and get that win in front of the home fans. Especially against Brooklyn and take a game back when we’re trying to catch them,” explained reliever Craig Heyer after tossing three innings of one-run ball in relief of starter Dellin Betances and Jason Kiley.

“It just came down to the end and we were able to squeeze it out right there. There were some weird plays but we got the win. So that’s all that matters.”

The night started off with Betances working in and out of trouble. Despite not having his best stuff and walking the same amount of batters (six) he fanned, the 19 year-old Brooklyn native who was drafted by the Yankees last year showed plenty of resolve in tossing 89 pitches over four and two thirds scoreless.

“I liked the way he kept his poise and sort of pushed his way through it,” praised skipper Mike Gillespie about the former Grand Street High School star. “I think he is a mature kid. I personally have been very impressed with his maturity beyond his years. I haven’t seen him be rattled.”

Most impressive was that when the young hurler needed to dial up a big pitch to squeeze out of a bases loaded jam he created, Betances painted the outside corner on a full count to catch Jacobs looking which ended the third.

“It was pretty hard,” the 6-9 righthander explained of rainy conditions which made the mound slippery. “I was glad to get that pitch cause I was kind of [upset] that I walked the bases loaded. So I was glad I got that last strike to strike [Jacobs] out.”

He finished strong by striking out the last two batters reaching his pitch count before giving way to the bullpen. Given a two-run lead on Gil’s blast to left for his second dinger in two days, they pitched well but couldn’t hold it which setup the crazy finish.

Gillespie knew how important it was to get this first one:

“We haven’t talked to our players about the fact that it is a big series but I certainly think all the coaches think it’s a big series. Even though it’s early, it’s getting to be less early. … To have them get out there with too big a gap is not a little thing. I certainly don’t like the idea of falling further and further behind.

They’ve been hot and I think they’re good.

Notes: Despite allowing a homer to Eigsti in the eleventh, Staten Island reliever Kyle Hollander cameback to retire the side and pickup his first win. He also came on for Bartleski in the 10th with runners in scoring position with just an out and got out of a tight situation when Will Vogl’s suicide squeeze backfired. Gil quickly grabbed the ball before just getting back to the plate in time to tag out Matt Bouchard. Hollander would then get Jordan Abruzzo on a comebacker to end the threat.

“I’m sure glad it came out like it did because I think the surprising thing would be that at some point I didn’t ask for a pitchout,” an unsurprised Gillespie said. “Julio Mascara, our third base coach pointed out the squeeze as a possibility and I was just guessing for a count. … They have shown in the few games that we’ve played that there’s a lot in their bag.”

Summing up the game, 31 different players were used including 17 Baby Bombers. That included three pinch hitters and nine total pitchers (Bkln- 4 S.I.- 5). … Since a 1-4 start, the S.I. Yanks have won seven of 10.

We apologize for the lateness. This was the Sunday July 1 recap:

STATEN ISLAND, NY- Sometimes, a comeback win can build character. For Mike Gillespie’s ballclub, maybe this is the start of something big.

“I think so,” the skipper said. “We have played better. We have these new players which has helped. I think we have just about everybody we’re going to have. I understand that the Yankees have signed the Pope guy. The pitcher taken in the third round. … These guys that have come have made a difference.”

Trailing 4-0, the Baby Bombers scored seven straight in the fifth and sixth to rally past the Renegades 7-5 before an energized 4,307 at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Sunday. It was their second win in a row and sixth in their last eight to push them over .500 (7-6), remaining just two behind first place Brooklyn who also won.

“Baseball’s a funny game. You never know what’s going to happen. A hit here. A hit there. A little momentum is all we needed,” explained DH Isaiah Howes after coming around to score one of his team’s runs. “In this organization, we don’t accept losing. We’re out there to win. It’s fun when you win. That’s what we try to do.”

It didn’t start well. Starter Angel Reyes didn’t make it through two innings to put Staten Island in an early 3-0 hole. Hudson Valley struck for two in the first on back-to-back one out hits from Cody Cipriano (double) and Stephen Vogt. The southpaw got into more trouble in the second. After getting the first out, he allowed three consecutive hits including a Maiko Loyola run-scoring single which made it a three-run deficit.

After walking his third batter in one and a third to load the bases, he was pulled in favor of reliever Phillip Bartleski. The righty was able to limit the damage by getting Vogt to bounce into a 4-6-3 double play.

“I knew I had to throw strikes and I got a great defense behind me,” the cool middle reliever pointed out after tossing two and two thirds scoreless to keep his team afloat. “I just had to hit some spots and let the defense do the work.”

Before the comeback got started in the home fifth, reliever Ryan Zink allowed a Henry Wrigley RBI double which made it four zip. But Zink later settled down to toss five solid innings allowing two runs (1 ER) while whiffing four to improve to 2-0.

“We got some good arms on the staff and really, pitching can carry a ballclub and today, from the fifth inning on, they were lights out,” noted Howes. “We got the momentum in the fourth or fifth inning and we built on that throughout the game. And our pitching shut them down.”

After failing to capitalize early on against knuckleballer Diego Echeverria (0-3) with even one inning ending on a bizarre 1-5-2-6-6-2 twin killing, the Bombers finally got it going by pushing across three in the fifth. Left fielder D.J. Hollingsworth was hit by a pitch and came around to score when catcher James LaSala’s single to right was booted by Epifanio De Leon allowing the speedy runner to score all the way from first.

The big blow came off the bat of second baseman Damon Sublett, who drilled his second home run of the week for a two-run blast to right with two outs which sliced the deficit to one.

“I was just looking for a ball up. My other at bats, [Echeverria] threw me a couple of pitches that were up and out and I was just looking for one in and he gave me one,” Sublett pointed out.

The game seemed to turnaround after that.

“We definitely started having better at bats after that. Early in the game, we kind of were up there swinging at first pitches. Not having good at bats. But after that, we locked in and did some things.”

After Zink got the Renegades in order, the Bombers nearly batted around for four more in the sixth. They loaded the bases with one out before Claudio Rodriguez replaced Echeverria. In a recent home win, Sublett tagged him with a long dinger. This time, a walk to pinch hitter Austin Krum knotted it before center fielder Taylor Holliday delivered a tiebreaking two-run single to center for S.I.’s first lead. Shortstop Luis Nunez followed with a sac fly which scored Krum to put them ahead 7-4.

“In the beginning, we’d get down and kind of give in. But we had a pretty good game. Some good at bats. If our pitching’s on, I don’t think we’re beatable,” third baseman Justin Snyder said after being on base twice and scoring a run. “It seems like everyone’s getting knocks.”

It was enough to hold up. After giving one run back on an eighth inning Greg Sexton single, Zink got the final three outs on a 6-6-4 DP and a groundout to Nunez.

Notes: Staten Island used all three backstops with LaSala finishing 1-for-2 before Frank Lonigro replaced him after Krum pinch hit. Jose Gil then came on in the final inning to catch Zink. … Baby Bombers travel to Hudson Valley for Game 2 of the series before concluding it tomorrow night back at St. George.