Game 4 vs. Somerset Patriots

With the final game of the series, and of the road-trip, the Skeeters looked to stop the losing streak before returning to Constellation Field Friday night. The Skeeters sent Derrick Gordon to the mound to face the Patriots starter, Paul Phillips.

1st inning - The Skeeters' top 3 batters (Locke, Cabral, Botts) went 3 up & 3 down. Gordon faced the top of the order and sat them down in order, recording 1 strike out. The score was 0-0.

2nd inning - Pressley & Van Ostrand both hit singles to give the Skeeters 2 runners but Bell hit into a 4-6-3 double play, moving Pressley to 3rd base with 2 outs. Harrison battled through 7 pitches but eventually struck out to retire the side, 1 LOB. Once again, Gordon faced 3 batters and again sat them down in order. The score remained 0-0.

3rd inning - Martinez, Gutierrez, & Locke went 3 up & 3 down. That was the 2nd time for the Skeeters to go down in order. Gordon did it again by facing 3 batters, setting them down in order, recording 2 strike outs to give him 3 for the game. The score remained 0-0.

4th inning - After Cabral grounded out, Jason "BIG MAN" Botts crushed a 402 foot HR for the 1st run, that was his 3rd HR of the season. Pressley & Van Ostrand went down back-to-back to retire the side. Gordon completely fell apart by facing 9 batters, allowing 5 runs on 4 hits and 3 walks with 2 outs before anyone started warming up in the Skeeters bullpen. He finally got out of the inning with a fly out to CF on the 10th batter of the inning. The score was 1-5.

5th inning - 4 Skeeters came to the plate but the only result was a double by Harrison. That made 2 LOB for the Skeeters this game. Sean Morgan came in for relief and faced 5 Patriots, allowing 1 run. That made the score 1-6.

6th inning - For the 3rd time this game, and a countless number for the entire road trip, the Skeeters went 3 up & 3 down. The Patriots also went 3 up & 3 down in the inning facing Morgan. The score remained 1-6.

7th inning - Pressley, Van Ostrand, & Bell came up to bat...and went down in order. That was the 4th time this game for the Skeeters to go 3 up & 3 down. Morgan came back out to the mound and helped the Patriots go 3 up & 3 down...retiring the first 9 batters he has faced. That made the 5th time that the Skeeters have retired the side in order. The score remained 1-6.

8th inning - The bottom of the order came up for the Skeeters. Harrison brought his big-boy bat and hit a HR for the 2nd run of the game. Martinez struck out, Gutierrez grounded out to the SS, and Locke grounded out to the 2nd baseman to retire the side. Morgan stepped onto the mound and again retired the first 2 batters, making it 11 in a row, before issuing a walk to end the streak. He struck out the next batter to retire the side, giving him 3 strike outs for the game. The score was 2-6...3 outs to go.

9th inning - Cabral walked to start the inning off for the Skeeters. Botts struck out for the 1st out before Pressley doubled, moving Cabral to 3rd. Van Ostrand grounded out to 3rd base for the 2nd out but Cabral scored, for the 1st time as a Skeeter, and Pressley stayed on 2nd base. Bell stepped in and saw Pressley advance to 3rd on a wild pitch before grounding out to 2nd base to end the game. The final score was 3-6.

This loss became the 6th loss in a row, for a 1-9 record on this, the first road trip of the season. The Skeeters' season record drops to 4-10...5 games behind the Somerset Patriots in the Freedom Division. 

The hometown boys will travel home Friday morning before they take the field against the Long Island Ducks at 7:05pm Friday night.