KINSTON, N.C. (August 10, 2025) – The Down East Bird Dawgs ended their eight-game losing streak in dramatic fashion Sunday, scoring in the sudden-death 11th inning to beat the Sussex County Miners 9-8 at Grainger Stadium.

Sussex County plated three runs in the third before the Bird Dawgs responded in the bottom half when Yeniel Laboy tripled to drive in a run, Elias Stevens hit an RBI double, and Stephen DiTomaso added an RBI single to tie it 3-3.

Down East took the lead in the fifth when Jaylen Smith doubled home a run to make it 4-3.

In the sixth, the Miners scored twice to retake a 5-4 advantage, but the Bird Dawgs answered in the home half as DiTomaso lined a two-run single to go up 6-5.

Sussex County tied it in the seventh on Mahki Backstrom’s sacrifice fly, then added two runs in the eighth for an 8-6 lead. Down East fought back in the bottom half when Kalae Harrison hit a sacrifice fly and Emmanuel Tapia singled in the tying run.

Both sides went scoreless through the ninth and 10th, forcing a sudden-death 11th inning.

Under Frontier League rules, once the game reaches the 11th inning, the sudden-death rule is introduced. The home team determines if it will play offense or defense, and they play a half-inning. If the fielding team gets three outs without allowing any runs, then they take the win. The team that is hitting is given a baserunner at first base with no outs, and if they score a run, then they win the game.

The Bird Dawgs elected to play offense, and it paid off as Cameron Masterman hit a sacrifice fly to drive in Smith to take a 9-8 win, avoiding the series sweep.

By rule, no losing pitcher is charged in sudden death. Jackson Hicks (1-1) earned the win, tossing two hitless innings with one strikeout. Starter Axel Andueza allowed three unearned runs on three hits with five strikeouts over five innings.

With the win, the Bird Dawgs advance to 30-47, picking up their first sudden-death victory. Next up, Down East travels to Brockton to take on the Rox for a three-game series to start the six-game road trip. The series begins on Tuesday, August 12, with the first pitch scheduled for 7 p.m.