The Sussex County Miners scored five times in the third inning to grab control of the game and went on to defeat the visiting New York Boulders 11-5 on Thursday night ay Skylands Stadium in Augusta, NJ.

The victory gave the Miners the series win after the teams had split the first two games of the three-game set.

A sacrifice fly by the Miners’ Martin Figueroa in the bottom of the first and a solo home run in the top of the second by New York’s Jake MacKenzie, his fifth long ball of the season, left the game knotted at 1-1 before Sussex County grabbed the lead in the home half of the second inning when Dave Maberry hit a two-run home run, his second of the year and second in as many nights, the blast giving the Miners a 3-1 advantage.

In the third, the Miners seized control of the game by scoring five times. Juwuan Harris and Errol Robinson had RBI doubles in the frame, while Maberry added a run-scoring single. Bryan Leef and Figueroa drew bases loaded walks to force in the inning’s last two runs as Sussex County moved out to an 8-1 advantage.

The Boulders made things interesting with a three-run seventh inning that cut their deficit to 8-4. In the frame, Giovanni Garbella had an RBI double, Steven Figueroa a sacrifice fly and David Vinsky a run-scoring single.

However, the Miners added a trio of insurance runs in the eighth, two coming on a double by Ariel Sandoval and the third on a sacrifice fly by Harris.

The Boulders’ Steven Figueroa capped the night’s scoring with an RBI single in the ninth.

Willie Rios took the loss for the Boulders. He lasted just 2 1/3 innings and allowed five runs on three hits to go along with four walks and a strikeout. The defeat dropped Rios to 0-2 on the year.

Dwayne Marshall started and got the win for Sussex County. The righthander went 6 1/3 innings and surrendered four runs on five hits while walking three and striking out one. The win improved Marshall to 3-2 on the season.

Billy Layne, Jr., Robert Klinchock and Ivan Pineyro finished out the game on the hill for the Miners.

Information regarding season tickets and packages for the Boulders’ 2022 season are available by calling 845-364-0009 or sliding to www.NYBoulders.com.