Princeton, WV (WOAY) – The Princeton Rays rallied from a middle-inning deficit to beat the Bluefield Blue Jays 8-7 Monday night at Hunnicutt Field, in the final Mercer Cup meeting of the 2018 regular season.
The hosts opened the scoring in the second inning as Jonathan Aranda brought home Grant Witherspoon, before Bluefield tied the game in the next inning. The Blue Jays then posted five runs in the fifth, including a three-run home run from Luis De Los Santos.
Princeton responded with five runs in the sixth inning to retake the lead, and after Bluefield tied the game 7-7 in the seventh, Wander Franco’s solo home run in the eighth proved to be the deciding run.
Carlos Vargas also went deep for the Rays, while Aranda totaled three RBI. All Blue Jays except D.J. Daniels recorded a hit.
Both teams head on the road to begin new series Tuesday; Princeton heads to Pulaski, while Bluefield will be at Danville. The Rays have a two-game lead on Bluefield for the East Division lead, but the Blue Jays are six games ahead of Danville for the final playoff spot.
