The 8^th-seeded New York Storm turned the tables on the Brooklyn/Queens division’s top seed on Sunday, beating the Baisley Pirates 3-1 to take the first-round series 2-1.

The Storm had an inauspicious postseason start, losing a six-run lead in the sixth inning of the series opener, but battled back to win the next two contests to take the best-of-three series. The Storm offense backed ace Mike Pena’s outing in Game 2 with a 13-run onslaught that led to a mercy-rule shortened game, allowing the right-hander to come back and throw Game 3 the following day. He responded by limiting the hot-hitting Pirates to just one run in the complete game win.

“I think any time you have your ace on the mound, it gives your guys a huge jolt,” said NY Storm Manager Anthony Pardo. “But we obviously weren’t expecting that.”

According to Pardo, coming away with the  the 8-seed was a blessing in disguise for the Storm.

“We came into this knowing that the pressure was on them,” said the longtime skipper. “Even though we knew we could win, we felt like we were playing with house money.”

The Storm weren’t the only team to earn an upset win, as the 6^th seeded BQE outslugged the NY Pirates in a three game set on Aug. 4.  Play in the Bronx/Manhattan division also saw the 6^th seeded Gotham A’s shock the 3^rd seeded Bronx Titans with back-to-back comeback wins on Aug. 3. In both games, the A’s trailed late by as many as five runs, but were able to battle back and send the Titans packing. Alberto Nieves starred in the series, going 7-for-7 with four runs scored.

“I don’t take guys on the team who will quit,” said A’s manager Tommy Fusaro. “Last year in the playoffs, we were down 17-5 and we came back and lost 18-15 with the tying run at the plate. So I’m glad when we keep playing hard.”

The Storm will take on the second-seeded Mud Hens, who swept the NY Braves on the strength of strong pitching and an 8-RBI performance from right fielder Neal Stueber, while the A’s will take on the top-seeded D-Backs, who swept the Cross-Bronx Rockies. Other second round matchups see the BQE taking on the NY Rainmakers and The NY Express tangling with the Nassau Yankees.

Single-A matchups will be determined in coming days.