POMONA, N.Y. (August 2, 2025) – The Down East Bird Dawgs came up just short in a late push Saturday night, falling 6–5 to the New York Boulders at Clover Stadium. A ninth-inning rally brought the Bird Dawgs within one, but they left the tying and go-ahead runs on base as New York held on to secure the series win.

Down East struck first in the opening inning when Jaylen Smith singled to drive in Yassel Pino for a 1–0 lead.

New York responded in the second when Enzo Apodaca tied the game with an RBI groundout, and Austin Dennis followed with a two-run homer to give the Boulders a 3–1 advantage.

In the top of the fifth, Pino hit a sacrifice fly to bring home Yeniel Laboy, cutting the deficit to one. But New York answered in the home half when Christian Ficca delivered an RBI single to make it 4–2.

The Boulders added insurance in the sixth on a bases-loaded walk to Alfredo Marte and a Jason Agresti RBI single, stretching the lead to 6–2.

Down East rallied in the ninth when Pino hit a two-run home run, and Ali LaPread hit a sacrifice fly but came up short, leaving two runners on, falling 6-5.

Danny Beal (3–4) took the loss, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits while walking five and striking out two across five innings.

Garrett Cooper earned the win for New York, giving up two runs on eight hits over 5 2/3 innings. Tyler Vail picked up his 13th save of the season, pitching the ninth.

With the loss, the Bird Dawgs drop to 29–41 and will look to avoid the sweep against the Boulders on Sunday, August 3. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at Clover Stadium.