After an impressive start to the 2021 season, the New Jersey Jackals have hit a bit of a rough stretch. Following a 15-9 start that had them tied for first place in their division, New Jersey lost two of three to Equipe Québec, and have now lost two to the Tri-City ValleyCats in a rain-shortened series.
Demetrius Moorer Returns in Loss
Outfielder Demetrius Moorer made his return in the first game on June 29. Moorer had missed the previous three games due to injury, but was back in the Jackals lineup as the designated hitter. Moorer finished the game going 1-for-2 with a walk. As of right now, the plan is for Moorer to stay at DH for a couple more games before returning to the outfield.
"The reason why I was DHing today was to just keep it on the precautionary side," said Demetrius Moorer. "Just to make sure everything's okay. But once I'm back to 100 percent, we're gonna see what we're gonna do. Whether I'm in center, right, or left."
Unfortunately for New Jersey, they couldn't celebrate Moorer's return with a victory, as Tri-City ultimately pulled away in the top of the fourth inning scoring four runs. Willy Garcia drove in one of them with an RBI single as he went 2-for-3 on the day. The ValleyCats rode the momentum from that inning all the way to a 6-2 victory, handing New Jersey their third loss in their last four games.
Jackals Lose Rain-Shortened Game
The second game started on June 30 as a close one. Tri-City took the lead in the top of the first on a dropped fly ball by Alfredo Marte in left field. One run scored on the E-7 and the ValleyCats had a 1-0 lead. However, New Jersey would get the run back in the bottom of the fourth when Jason Agresti lined one to left field for a one-run double, tying the game 1-1. After that, heavy storms came into the area, and the game was put into a rain delay and eventually postponed due to the inclement weather.
Because the game wasn't long enough to be declared official, both clubs would come back to Yogi Berra Stadium the next day on July 1 at 4:05 p.m. to resume play. This forced the Jackals to replace staring pitcher Chase Ingram sooner than they probably would've liked, as he had given New Jersey four innings of work allowing no earned runs.
The game would ultimately be decided in the top of the sixth when Nelson Molina hammered one to right for a no-doubt, solo home run. New Jersey would have a chance to tie it with runners on first and third with two outs in the bottom half of the inning. Santiago Chirino came into the game to pinch hit, and in doing so set the new Frontier League record for most career games played with 589. He also set the record for most career Frontier League at bats the previous game with 2,332. Both records were previously held by Chris Sidick.
Unfortunately for New Jersey, Chirino struck out on an eight-pitch at-bat and the Jackals stranded the runners. Following the at-bat, the game was once again sent into a rain delay. And just like the previous day, the game was called, only this time it was long enough to be declared official, so the Jackals ultimately lost to the ValleyCats 2-1, giving New Jersey their fourth lost in their last five.
"It's still a long season," said Moorer. "We still find our groove. We're still gonna hit. We're still trying to get the little tweaks and the little mishaps out of the way. But we're a easy team. I believe somebody said it the other day. We're like a firehose. Light it up and turn it on and we're good. We're still positive even though we've had some steps backward. But when you go backwards, there's always time to go forward."
The New Jersey Jackals now stand with a 16-13 record on the 2021 season. They remain in second place in the NorthEast division and four games behind the Sussex County Miners for first place. The Jackals will go on the road to Skylands Stadium to play the aforementioned Miners on July 2 before returning home for a doubleheader against Sussex County on July 3. New Jersey will then go on the road once again to face Sussex County once more on July 4.
