What started out as a pitchers duel between Mohawk Valley’s Payton Coddou (Napoleonville, Louisiana/University of Louisiana-Monroe) and Utica’s Michael Messier (Milton, Georgia/Bellarmine University) certainly did not end that way.

The Brewers took advantage of two errors by Colin Hawk (Beech Grove, Indiana/University of Indianapolis) to pull away in the seventh and send the Diamond Dawgs home with their third straight loss, this one by the score of 3-1.

The Diamond Dawgs would get on the board first, as an infield hit by Thomas Walraven (Pine Bush, NY/University of New Haven) would score Matt Pagano (Cranston, RI/Marist College). That was all they would get, but not before runners made their way to first and third and a fielder’s choice ended the inning.

Coddou would hit two straight batters to put himself into a first-and-second jam in the top of the fifth. The Brewers would make him pay for that, as Tadarious Hawkins (Commerce, Texas/Henderson State) hit a looper to right to score Ismael Herrera (Trumbull, Connecticut/Norfolk State). That would be all the Brewers would get, however, as Walraven would get Ryan Rosas (Rancho Cucamonga, California/Corban University) out to end the inning.

Utica (7-9) would take the lead in the top of the seventh, as a wild pitch by Coddou would score Herrera. That would be all they would get, however, as a pop fly would end the inning.

Coddou would pitch seven solid innings, only giving up two runs before being pulled for Ryan O’Connor (Bloomfield, NJ/Fairfield University) in the eighth.

The Brewers would get an insurance run in the top of the ninth, as an error by Hawk would score Herrera for the third time.

Krystien Johnson-Batillana (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada/Davenport University) would come in in the eighth for the Brewers and he would pitch a gem in relief. He set the Diamond Dawgs in order after a single by Anthony Herrera (McKinney, Texas/University of Louisiana-Monroe) in the eighth, followed by getting out of a first-and-second jam to slam the door on the Diamond Dawgs (7-8). Johnson-Batillana, in that spectacular effort, would get the save for the Brewers.

Messier would get the win for Utica. O’Connor would get the loss in the Diamond Dawgs’ third straight loss.

Mohawk Valley will try to get off the slide as a gift to Little Falls fathers as they host the Saugerties Stallions for the first time in PGCBL history. Utica begins a six-game home stand Sunday night as they host the Victor RailRiders at Murnane Field.