Game on!

Lakeland starter Duane Below on the left was dominant to begin the High Class A Season.

FLYING TIGERS 6, YANKEES 4
at Joker Marchant Stadium, Lakeland, FL
Thursday, April 9

Flying Tigers at the plate: Audy Ciriaco put the Flying Tigers on the board in the fourth on a fly ball hit towards center field. With two on the bases, Ciriaco burned his way to third base scoring both runners, eventually scoring himself on a throwing error by second baseman Damon Sublett. They would tack on one more in the seventh and two more in the eighth.

Yankees at the plate: The Tampa Yankees bats slumbered for most of the game. Eric Fryer did his part in the top of the fourth, legging out a triple. After striking out in his first at bat, the slugging catcher Jesus Montero picked up his first RBI of the season, grounding out to the shortstop, scoring Fryer. The designated hitter Austin Romine put himself in scoring position to kick off the seventh, beginning the inning with a double. He would advance to third on a fielding error by second baseman Shawn Roof before scoring on a Addison Maruszak sacrifice fly. Down four runs in the ninth, the Yankees showed resolve. Wady Rufino got the inning going with a single. Mitch Hilligoss would double, advancing Rufino to third on the play. The next batter, Addison Maruszak, would make it to first on another Flying Tiger error, this one coming from the shortstop Audy Ciriaco. Rufino would score and the other runners advanced. Fryer would pop off a sacrifice to get an RBI on Hilligoss for the last run of the night for the Yankees. The highly touted Montero stepped in representing the tieing run and would ground out to the shortstop to end the ball game.

Flying Tigers on the mound: Duane Below pitched a five inning gem to begin his season in High Class A. Below struck out the side in the first, setting down Austin Krum, Eric Fyer, and Jesus Montero consecutively. He would set down two more in the second, finishing his outing with nine strikeouts against two hits, one walk, and one earned run.

Yankees on the mound: Yankee pitching did their job, with the starter Jason Stephens, a sixth rounder from the 2003 draft, matching Below's five innings. Stephens struck out six Flying Tigers, allowed three hits and three runs, two of them earned. Stephens was saddled with the loss.

Up next: The Yankees head back to Tampa to face off against the Flying Tigers in the Seinbrenner Field home opener. The lanky right-hander Dellin Betances is expected to be on the mound for Tampa. Betances pitched well for the Charleston River Dogs in 2008, posting a 9-4 record with a 3.67 ERA. He struck out 135 while walking just 59 in 115 plus innings of work. I will be headed to the ball game for tomorrow's game. This will be my first time meeting the team. I am looking forward to it!