STATEN ISLAND, NY- On a night where a few of his teammates were honored before the game, Braedyn Pruitt’s star shined brightest in a Baby Bomber come from behind 4-3 victory over Tri-City at Richmond County Bank Ballpark Thursday night.

The Staten Island third baseman’s two-run home run capped a three-run rally in the home sixth and his eighth inning RBI single to center completed the comeback, lifting the Bombers to their third consecutive win and a season best 20 games over .500 (47-27).

“We hit the ball hard early into a little bad luck,” said team MVP Justin Snyder who shifted from short to second and also drove in his team’s first run. “We hit enough thanks to people like Pruitt who stepped up.”
Trailing by three runs in a game which manager Mike Gillespie rotated guys in and out including letting Game 1 starter Ryan Pope pitch the first inning to stay sharp for this Sunday, the Bombers fell behind the Valley Cats by three early.

Collin DeLome tripled in the first run and later scored on a runscoring base hit from Russell Dixon in the first. Craig Corrado tacked on a run with an RBI single off Chris Farley in the fourth to give Tri-City a three-run lead.

Still down three in the sixth, right fielder Matt Morris got the comeback started with an opposite field leadoff triple. He came into score a batter later on an RBI fielder’s choice from Snyder.

“I was just trying to find a way to get on base,” he said. “I had to battle and got a pitch I can use. It’s been a battle lately.”

Center fielder Taylor Holiday who earlier made a great sliding catch to prevent a hit singled up the middle to bring the tying run up. Following pinch hitter Brian Chavez’ routine fly to left, Pruitt stepped up to the plate against Tri-City starter Thomas Vessella and drove a pitch to deep right which kept carrying and eventually bounced off the top of the wall and over for a game tying two-run homer.

“I got a little help from the wind. I wasn’t sure. It was a favorable bounce,” he chuckled in the dugout of his fourth dinger.

Pruitt would also come up in a key situation a couple of innings later and once again deliver the big hit.

Holiday walked to start the eighth and was sacrificed over by Brian Chavez setting the stage for the third baseman, who got enough of a Jordan Powell pitch to line it into center for the go-ahead run.

“I was looking for something over the middle of the plate. I was jammed a little on the first pitch and got a little lucky.”

Already having recorded the final out of the eighth, Staten Island Firemen recipient Jonathan Ortiz pitched around a leadoff walk, improving to 5-0 when he got Brandon Barnes to chase a nasty offspeed pitch out of the zone for the final out with the tying run 90 feet away.

Backup catcher Frank Lonigro calmly tossed to first baseman Chris Raber to officially conclude the game.

Cyclones clinch McNamara Division: With the Cyclones rallying in their final at bat to tie Lowell before eventually pulling out a 3-2 win in 11, Brooklyn wrapped up the McNamara Division and most likely will see the Bombers who took the wildcard in the first round.

If Brooklyn wins later tonight, they’ll clinch the NY-Penn League’s best record and top seed. But if they lose and Auburn wins their final game, then the Doubledays would overtake them.

Snyder named Team MVP: Before the game, team awards were handed out including Team MVP which went to leadoff hitter Snyder.

One of two All-Stars who represented the club last month at Aberdeen, he’s established franchise records in walks (58) and runs scored (67) while setting the tone for the Bombers hitting over .330 while being extremely versatile in the field playing four different positions including center, third, short and second.

“I’m happy I got it,” he said later at his locker. “My approach is to get on-base for Taylor, Damon [Sublett], Braedyn and Jose [Gil].”

It’s worked wonders as the college star out of San Diego who frequently batted first there has continued to be a nuisance for opponents all summer long.

Meanwhile, Pope was awarded Pitcher of the Year. A third round pick out of Savannah College of Art and Design, the righthander has pitched extremely well for the Bombers going 3-0 with a 2.49 ERA having fanned 46 batters in 43-plus.

“It’s alright. I didn’t expect it,” he explained at his locker. “I’ve never received anything like this before. So it feels good to be recognized.”

Ortiz also took home the award for top Fireman. The closer has been outstanding saving 13 games while posting a perfect 5-0 record with a 1.80 ERA.

In 21 games, the 21 year-old out of the Dominican Republic has fanned 39 in 25 innings and has allowed just a .173 batting average against.

Catcher James LaSala was awarded the club’s most fan friendly player for this year signing plenty of autographs for fans.