Storming on: Cyclones advance to playoff with doubleheader sweep

It's official, the Cyclones are headed to the 2010 post-season. With two convincing victories over the Swingers (3-7) the Cyclones (5-5) evened their record to .500 on the season, their best finish since 2009. In the process, and in a way some players called "redemption", they eliminated Albert Cortes and the Swingers who needed to win one game to keep their playoff hopes alive. Instead, the Cyclones, backed by strong starting pitching from both Joe Leeman (1-0, 4.30) and John Homenuk (2-1, 0.36) and timely hitting, won both games to advance.

Game 1 started well and ended well for the Cyclones. In the first inning, John Homenuk tripled with one out, followed by an RBI from J.J Dagostaro. That was not the end of it, as Jorge Cruz followed with an RBI hit to plate Dagostaro. The Cyclones jumped out to an early 3-0 lead and would not be back. The Swingers were able to chip away at the lead, and in the 6th inning Miguel Munoz called upon closer Jorge Cruz to get a six out save. Cruz promptly served up a long solo home run to Albert Cortes, but was able to escape further trouble and held the Swingers at 7-5 once they brought the tying run into scoring position. Cruz picked up his first save of the year, and gave up his first earned run on the Cortes home run, although his ERA still remained near 1.

Read more »

Cyclones prepare for week 2

The New Jersey Cyclones will prepare for the second week of their 2010 Fall campain, entering the weekend with a 1-1 record. The Cyclones have had several early-season changes to their roster, most noteably the loss of Albert Cortes, who opted to join the West New York Mets earlier this week. Adding to the confusion, J.J Dagostaro, who was added to the roster just a few weeks earlier, decided to leave the team due to personal reasons that were not released publicly. To replace the two roster spots, the Cyclones have made only one move, the addition of Jorge Cruz. This will be Cruz's first appearence in a Cyclones uniform and his first appearence in the MSM Baseball League.

The Cyclones face off against the Middlesex Twins this Sunday at 10:00am, and 12:30pm. John Homenuk (1-0, 0.00) is the expected probable starter for Game 1. The Cyclones have not announced a probable starter for Game 2.

Split Story: Cyclones start season 1-1

The Cyclones got off to a great start in their first game of the season, with a thrilling 3-1 victory behind the strong pitching of John Homenuk. The same was not true for the second game of the doubleheader, which featured a 10 run loss for the Cyclones behind three errors and a weak offensive performance where the offense mustered only 1 run.

The first game of the season was a 1-1 pitchers duel into the 7th inning, when the Cyclones were able to piece together a rally. With the help of a walk and two bunts, they pushed across the go ahead run. Another run scored on a wild pitch, which suddenly had the Cyclones leading 3-1. Starter John Homenuk was able to finish the game that he had started beyond that point, going the complete 7 innings and giving up 3 hits behind a well-played defensive game which featured two double plays. Homenuk recorded his first win of the season and did not allow an earned run. The lone run scored on an error in the fourth inning.

Game 2 was a lost cause from the get-go as the Cyclones were outplayed and outmatched. Several errors and weak offense led to a ten point defecit by the fifth inning--and the Cyclones were humbled thereafter.

The team rejoins this Sunday for two games, where they will look to push their record above .500 on the second week of the season.

Ring 'Em Up: Cyclones strong pitching dominates

The New Jersey Cyclones improved to 4-2 on the season after stunning pitching performances from the top of the pitching rotation, John Homenuk and Albert Cortes. Led by Homenuk in Game 1, the Cyclones defeated the Central Jersey Reds by a 7-4 final. Homenuk hurled 6 innings of 1 (earned) run, 12 strikeout baseball striking out the side twice and seemingly staying out of trouble the entire game. With strong command of his two and four seam fastball, as well as his slow breaking curveball and slider, Homenuk was able to remain efficient and keep a low pitch count through the shortened six inning game. The game featured a baserunning-happy Cyclones team which ran itself out of several potential rally's. Homenuk was caught stealing twice, once at second and once at home. The Cyclones were seemingly unhappy with the umpiring multiple times throughout the game, with several arguments on potentially missed calls. With RBI hits from Jim Davis, Michael Ruzek, Albert Cortes, James Strickhart, and Miguel Munoz, the Cyclones successfully put their offensive struggles in the past, after going 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position last weekend.

Game Two featured a classic pitchers duel which ended in the favor of Cyclones starting pitcher Albert Cortes, who hurled seven innings of 1 run baseball to challenge the performance in Game 1 of the doubleheader. Totaling 11 strikeouts, despite several walks, Cortes was in control of the game throughout. The Cyclones were able to tack on two runs and secure the victory, pushing their record to 4-2 on the season and it's mid point.


October 11th, 2009 (Game 1)
Final

New Jersey Cyclones

7

10

3

Central Jersey Reds

4

3

0

October 11th, 2009 (Game 2)
Final

Central Jersey Reds

1

-

-

New Jersey Cyclones

2

-

-

Injury Report: October 11, 2009

The Cyclones received encouraging news Saturday when P/IF/OF Connor Viglianti was removed from the 15 Day Disabled list. He is expected to be penciled in to the starting line up for Sundays double header in Neptune. C/OF Michael Ruzek will also start, despite his leg injury he suffered last weekend. There are no other players currently on the disabled list.

Cyclones look to improve on .500 record

New Jersey Cyclones (2-2) @ Central Jersey Reds (0-2-1)

The New Jersey Cyclones will travel into Central New Jersey today and attempt to improve on the disappointing season which has led to a 2-2 record heading into the seasons third weekend. They take on a strong Central Jersey Reds team, which despite it's 0-2-1 record has battled the leagues two best teams and come up just short. The double header begins at 5:00pm ET at Neptune LL Fields. No starting pitchers have been set for Game 1. Game 2 begins at 7:45pm, with no starting pitchers set for the night cap at this time.