KINSTON, North Carolina (May 15, 2025) – The Down East Bird Dawgs fell in their inaugural home stand as they lost 14-9 to the New Jersey Jackals on Thursday night.

The Bird Dawgs took their first lead in franchise history as Cameron Masterman hit a 397-foot bomb to left center with Jaylen Smith on base to take a 2-0 lead.

New Jersey answered in the top of the second with four runs as Jimmy Costin, and Luis Acevedo each hit a two-RBI single to take a 4-2 lead.

The Down East Bird Dawgs took back the lead as Gehrig Ebel scored on an error in the second and Yassel Pino hit a two-run homer that brought in Smith to jump up 5-4.

The Jackals took off through the middle innings, scoring three in the fourth, five in the fifth, and one in the sixth to take a 13-5 lead.

Stephen DiTamaso extended his hitting streak to four games as he brought home Ebel on an infield single in the sixth for the Bird Dawgs. Smith and Masterman followed suit with back-to-back doubles, scoring three more runs as the Bird Dawgs trailed 13-9.

The Bird Dawgs brought hope in the bottom of the seventh as they loaded the bases with two outs and the game-tying run at the plate. However, New Jersey subbed in David Tiburcio, who struck out DiTamaso to leave the bases loaded.

New Jersey added one run in the top of the ninth to close the game out with a 14-9 victory.

Frankie Giuliano (1-0) earned the win for the Jackals as he delivered one scoreless inning in relief to bring New Jersey’s record to 2-3 while Andrew Baker (0-1) was given the loss, dropping the Bird Dawgs to 0-4.

Next up, the Bird Dawgs take on the Jackals in New Jersey from Friday, May 16, until Sunday, May 18. The Bird Dawgs return home on Tuesday, May 20, as they take on the Mississippi Mud Monsters for a six-game series.