Cyclones topple Spartanburgers to begin SAL Championship Series 

BROOKLYN, N.Y. — The Spartanburgers stayed on the road for game one of the South Atlantic League Championship against North Division champion Brooklyn. After Hub City struck in the first inning, the Brooklyn Cyclones rattled off 13 unanswered runs to claim game one of the championship series 13-1.

Hub City used a Dylan Dreiling walk, a Malcolm Moore single and a Ben Hartl sacrifice fly to strike in the top of the first against Brooklyn starter Noah Hall. Brooklyn loaded the bases against Dalton Pence (L, 1-4) in the bottom of the first and tied the game on a groundout from Yohairo Cuevas.

Hub City racked up baserunners in three of the next four innings against Hall, but could not score. Brooklyn removed Hall with an out in the fifth inning, sending lefty Gregori Louis (W, 1-2) in to record two outs.

Pence got tagged for three runs in the second inning on a Yonatan Henriquez home run. The left-hander gave way to Victor Simeon on the mound for the third. Simeon kept the game at 4-1 Brooklyn with a scoreless frame. Ismael Agreda also kept the game close with a scoreless fourth for Hub City.

After the ‘Burgers stranded two in scoring position in the top of the fifth, Agreda could not record an out in the bottom half. The righty gave up a single and two walks, handing the baseball over to D.J. McCarty with nobody out. Trace Willhoite greeted McCarty with an RBI single, and one out later Diego Mosquera tacked on two more with another single. McCarty hit two batters and surrendered another two-run single to Henriquez before coming out of the game. Three more runs crossed with Adonis Villavicencio on the mound thanks to a walk, a sacrifice fly and a wild pitch. Brooklyn cashed in eight runs to blow the game wide open after five innings.

Anthony Susac, Brock Porter and Brooks Fowler combined for the final three innings on the mound for Hub City. Porter gave up the only run of the group. The Cyclones used four different arms for the final four innings of play. Hub City only mustered two hits and no runs in that stretch.

The Spartanburgers and Cyclones travel to South Carolina on Monday before returning to action on Tuesday night. Fifth Third Park plays host to game two at 6:35 p.m. ET with Hub City left-hander Dylan MacLean (4-1, 3.29 ERA) facing fellow southpaw Franklin Gomez (1-2, 4.15 ERA). An if-necessary game three scheduled for Wednesday evening in Spartanburg. Tickets are available online at hubcityspartanburgers.com/tickets.

About the Hub City Spartanburgers

The Hub City Spartanburgers are in their inaugural season as the High-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers. For more information on the Spartanburgers, visit milb.com/hub-city. For information about tickets to any of Hub City’s 66 home games, call 864-658-4206 or email: [email protected] For media inquiries, email: [email protected]. Follow along with the Spartanburgers on social media.