PATERSON, N.J. (August 12, 2026) – The Down East Bird Dawgs blew a six-run lead, watched New Jersey tie it in the eighth, then answered with a five-run ninth inning to pull away for a 12-7 victory over the Jackals at Hinchliffe Stadium Wednesday night, winning the series and inching to within 5.5 games of a playoff spot at 36-44.

Down East jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fourth as Jacob Corson doubled in a run, Ali LaPread added an RBI groundout, and Colby Backus hit a sacrifice fly before three more runs in the sixth on a Kenny Levari two-RBI single and a Juan Garcia RBI single pushed the advantage to 6-0.

New Jersey answered with three home runs in the bottom of the sixth — a Martin Figueroa leadoff shot, a DeAmez Ross homer, and a Gustavo Sosa two-run blast — to cut it to 6-4.

Each team added a run in the seventh before the Jackals tied it at 7-7 in the eighth on a Felix Stevens wild pitch score and a Noah Furcht RBI single.

The Bird Dawgs responded with their best inning of the night in the ninth, as Corson delivered a go-ahead triple, LaPread added an RBI single, Levari hit a two-RBI double, and Garcia capped the frame with an RBI groundout to close out the 12-7 final.

Spencer Johnston was strong through five scoreless innings before allowing two runs in the sixth, finishing with six hits allowed, no walks, and four strikeouts. Kendall Lyons (1-1) earned the win, allowing two runs on three hits over the eighth with two strikeouts.

Ryan Velazquez started for New Jersey, allowing six runs on seven hits over six innings with nine strikeouts and three walks. Jorge Benitez (4-4) took the loss, surrendering three runs on two hits in ⅓ of an inning.

The Bird Dawgs (36-44) look to complete the sweep Thursday, August 13, at 6:35 p.m. ET at Hinchliffe Stadium.