“You’ll see, it’s been close, but we’re going to beat Hudson Valley to win the second half to go to the playoffs,” said Brooklyn Cyclones manager Luis Rivera. “We’ve been playing well and deserve to finish in first.”
After trading first place back and forth several times with the Hudson Valley Renegades in the South Atlantic League’s North Division, the Cyclones finally captured first place after winning four out of six games at home against the Wilmington Blue Rocks.
But the team faced the challenge of keeping their division lead while playing on the road the last week of the season.
“I’ve got a good feeling about this team since they play well on the road,” said bullpen coach and video associate Greg Nevins.
Traveling to North Carolina to play the Winston-Salem Dash, the 40-26 Cyclones repeated their previous week’s record, winning four of six games to take the second-half playoff spot by two games over the 37-27 Renegades.
The Cyclones hosted the first game of the North’s semifinal playoff Tuesday night against first-half champion Aberdeen and won 8-1. The team was scheduled to play the second game Thursday in Aberdeen, where the third game will also be played, if necessary.
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