Cyclones 4

Crosscutters 2

Saturday, Aug. 14 at Williamsport

Starter Yohan Almonte (7-3, 1.73 ERA) was amazing, yielding just two hits in seven shutout innings, before closer Ryan Fraser got his ninth save, despite giving up two runs in the ninth.

The Cyclones got on the board first on Darrell Ceciliani’s RBI single in the fourth, but the team’s best chance for a big inning came in the second, when starter Craig Fritsch walked the bases loaded with no outs. But reliever Garett Claypool retired the next three batters with no damage.

The Cyclones busted out with three runs in the ninth. Joe Bonfe led off with a double and scored on Luis Nieves’s single. Ceciliani later added another RBI single. Those runs were oh so important, as Fraser got hit pretty hard and gave up the two runs.

Ceciliani, who is trying to be the first player in the New York–Penn League to hit .400 since 1971, went 2-for-6, lowering his average to .371.

The Cyclones’ win, combined with a Hudson Valley loss, increased the first-place lead to nine games.