Rookie Darcy helps Jackals blank struggling Lumberjacks

LITTLE FALLS, N.J. – Friday night’s game at Yogi Berra Stadium was billed as “Christmas in July” night as part of the New Jersey Jackals’ fan appreciation weekend, but the fans weren’t the only ones receiving gifts.

The Jackals used a solid first start from rookie Ryan Darcy and an offense that finished with a flourish to take a 5-0 victory over the Bangor Lumberjacks.

The 8-6 Lumberjacks were once again stymied offensively as they followed up a six-hit effort Thursday with three Friday while being shutout for the second straight game.

Darcy gave up three hits while notching four strikeouts and walking no one in five innings of work for his first professional win.

“I was a little nervous before the first pitch, but other than that, I felt fine,” said the rookie out of Manhattan College who played against Bangor’s Steve O’Sullivan in college ball. “I was spotting my fastball and my changeup was working well. I wasn’t overpowering anybody, but I kept them away from big hits.”

The 7-8 Jackals broke onto the scoreboard first with a run in the bottom of the third. John Anderson tripled to the right field corner in his second at-bat and, one out later, finally made it home on a Darren Blakely sacrifice fly to right center.

It would be five innings later before any more runs crossed the plate, but New Jersey would make up for lost time with four runs on four straight one-out hits which chased Pincavitch and sent reliever Santiago Henry to the showers after two batters. The biggest hit of the inning was Keith Maxwell’s three-run double deep to right center off Henry.

The nine-hour bus ride from Bangor to Clifton didn’t allow many of the Lumberjacks to get much sleep, but nobody was using that as an excuse.

“I think the bus ride affected me more at the start. It took me a little longer to loosen and warm up,” said Pincavitch. “The trip had nothing to do with what happened in the eighth though.”

Pincavitch yielded nine hits and four runs, all earned, in his 7 1/3 innings of work as his record goes to 6-2.

Maxwell led New Jersey’s 12-hit attack with three singles in four at-bats.

GAME NOTES – Bangor manager Kash Beauchamp had to watch the first game of this series from the cheap seats. After being ejected from Thursday’s game in Bangor for arguing balls and strikes, he was suspended for one game by the Northeast League office.

Beauchamp, who managed and coached the Jackals for three seasons, looked pretty comfortable sitting in the stands as he greeted friends and former co-workers, teammates, and former players. Assistants Pincavitch and Josh Brinkley managed in his absence.

Relief pitcher Donnie Thomas, who was shipped to New Jersey by Bangor Thursday night as the player-to-be-named-later for a previous deal, was unable to join his new teammates in time for the series-opening game against his former teammates as he was caught in a traffic jam near the George Washington Bridge caused by a truck fire which closed all lanes in both directions and snarled traffic for hours. Thomas was able to contact New Jersey coaches by cell phone call. He planned to spend Friday night with his former mates at their hotel in nearby Clifton.