(June 23 Game)

By: Jayson O’Connell – boonvillelumberjacks.com

WATERTOWN, N.Y. – The Boonville Lumberjacks and the Watertown Rapids have played competitive matchups this summer. The two teams have split the four games that they have played so far.

The Lumberjacks took the two teams’ first meeting this week in a 12-4 win on Sunday. Watertown answered with a 7-5 win on Wednesday.

Boonville responded with an 11-5 win on Friday night that was led by third baseman Alex Angulo’s four RBI day.

Angulo’s first two RBIs came in the second inning off a single after Joshua Lopez and Jake Hatch reached base. The third baseman hit another single in the eighth inning to bring his other two RBIs.

“To be honest, it was right there for me. My teammates put me in the right position. I was there,” Angulo said about his situational hitting.

But the game didn’t start the way Boonville wanted it to. The Lumberjacks allowed five runs to score in the bottom of the fifth inning.

Starter Griff Minor was able to shutout Watertown for the next five innings of the game after struggling.

“I just wasn’t finding the zone,” Minor said about his first inning of work. “I was throwing with a little more turbulence in the last couple of innings. So that’s kind of what helped. Just a little more fire and turbulence.”

Bryce Collis then continued the dominance in the last three innings in a save appearance by not allowing a run.

Center fielder Marcus Smith continued his hot streak. After a three-RBI game on Thursday, Smith brought in two RBIs on a single and a sacrifice fly.

Designated hitter Mike Gorham also hit in a run with a single in the seventh inning. Boonville’s four other runs scored off a combination of Watertown errors and wild pitches.

Hatch and left fielder Matthew Layton recorded three and two hits respectively.

The Rapids that stood out at the plate in the first inning were first baseman Owen Parliament and third baseman Pranav Sundar. Parliament hit an RBI double while Sunday hit a two-run single.

Watertown’s starter Cory Arthur earned the loss after allowing six runs to scores in his three innings of work. Minor earned the win for Boonville.

The Lumberjacks will stay on the road on Saturday when they head to Utica while the Rapids will play the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs on Sunday