AUGUSTA, N.J. – The Sussex Skyhawks defeated the visiting Quebec Capitales 8-3 Thursday night off the strength of sixteen hits, with each starter collecting at least one hit.

Leading the Skyhawks cause was catcher Ray Serrano, who went 3 for 4 (two doubles) with two runs scored.  Outfielder Ryan Crespi was 2 for 4 with 2 RBI’s and two stolen bases, Kyle Kmiecek was also 3 for 4, and newcomer Alex Bardeguez made an immediate impact by going 2 for 3 with an RBI and a run scored.

Skyhawks starter Justin Knoff pitched 5 1/3 innings to earn his second win (2-0) of the season, while Capitales starter Karl Gelanis (0-1) got the loss.  Reliever Alex Smith pitched 3 2/3 strong innings with four strikeouts and no earned runs for the Skyhawks to earn his first save of the season.

First-baseman Pierre-Luc LaForest had one of the few bright spots for the Capitales with a homer in the sixth inning.

The Skyhawks and the Capitales will play game two of the four games series at Skylands Park Friday night at a special time, 6:35.

@ Augusta, N.J.                  Time: 2:54

W: Knoff            L: Gelinas             SV: Smith

HR: QUE – LaForest

Thursday’s Probable Starters:

QUE: I. Blanco

SSX:  T.J. Stanton