On Tuesday, Staten Island's Ivan Pineyro took the mound to face the best-hitting lineup in the Atlantic League (.278 team BA). He held the Rockers scoreless once through the lineup but got roughed up for five runs in the third inning, including a three-run home run off the bat of Ryan Grotjohn.

In the fourth inning, the Rockers added four more runs off Staten Island native John Esposito, who came in to relieve Pineyro. Rockers left fielder Dai-Kang Yang slapped a two-run RBI single to center field and would later score on Ben Aklinski's 10th double of the year.

The FerryHawk bats came alive in the fifth. Recently acquired FerryHawk left fielder Mike Wilson hit his first home run of the season over the left field wall. Later in the inning, shortstop Angel Aguilar launched his 11th home run of the year, scoring Ricardo Cespedes and narrowing the Rockers lead to 9-4.

The FerryHawks scored two runs in the top of the seventh against reliever Austin Ross – on clutch RBI singles from Garrett Kueber and Roldani Baldwin.

Down 11-6 in the top of the ninth, the FerryHawks rallied once more. With two outs and two runners on, Baldwin took an 0-2 pitch deep over the left field wall for his sixth home run of the year – narrowing the Rockers' lead to 11-9 and knocking reliever Kyle Halbohn from the game. Ryan Dull came on for the home team to earn a one-out save, his 13th of the year, as the Rockers defeated the FerryHawks in the first game of the series, 11-9.

NOTES: The FerryHawks head to Gastonia, NC for a 3-game weekend set against the Honey Hunters. The FerryHawks return home to Staten Island University Hospital Community Park on Tuesday, July 18th to face the Frederik Baseball Club.