The Hudson Valley Renegades set a franchise record for stolen bases and secured their second consecutive six-game series victory with a 5-2 win over the Wilmington Blue Rocks on Sunday at Heritage Financial Park.
The Renegades stole five bases in the game, giving them 231 for the season and surpassing the previous franchise record of 230 set in 2022.
Hudson Valley has been particularly aggressive on the basepaths in recent weeks, stealing 52 bases over its last 11 games while being caught only three times. The Renegades have averaged 4.3 steals per game since Aug. 4 and are averaging 2.1 steals per game for the season.
Shortstop Jackson Lovich swiped the record-setting 231st base. Lovich also went 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBIs and extended his hitting streak to four games. He has collected three extra-base hits over his last two games after going without one in his first 14 games with Hudson Valley.
All five of Hudson Valley’s runs came in the bottom of the second inning. The Renegades scored five runs on four hits before managing just two more hits the rest of the game. Every Renegades batter except one reached base.
Kyle West doubled, scored a run, walked and stole a base. His 15th steal of the season made him the first player in Renegades history to record at least 15 home runs and 15 stolen bases in the same season. West is one of 11 players in the South Atlantic League this season to reach the 15-homer, 15-steal mark.
Robbie Burnett went 1-for-4 with an RBI, a run scored and a stolen base, extending his on-base streak to 11 games. During the streak, Burnett is batting .216 with a .370 on-base percentage and .351 slugging percentage.
Left-hander Allen Facundo delivered a career-best seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs, one earned, while walking three and striking out six. He threw 95 pitches.
It was Facundo’s first outing of at least five innings since July 2, when he pitched a previous career-high 6 1/3 innings against Wilmington. He has now allowed two or fewer runs in six starts this season.
Facundo has struck out at least six batters in each of his last three starts. His 108 strikeouts rank him among two Renegades pitchers with more than 100 strikeouts this season, joining Luis Serna. Facundo is tied with Brendan Beck of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for the most strikeouts among Yankees minor leaguers with 133, according to the club’s statistics.
Hansel Rincon followed with a scoreless inning, striking out two, while Wilmy Sanchez struck out the side in the ninth to earn his team-leading fifth save. Sanchez has not allowed an earned run in 10 of his last 11 appearances.
The Renegades improved to 25-23 in the second half and remain two games behind Greenville for the second-half playoff spot. Hudson Valley is 11-13 against Wilmington this season and 8-10 at home.
The Renegades will meet Wilmington one more time this season, with a six-game series scheduled for Sept. 1-6 at Frawley Stadium in Wilmington, Delaware.