A full slate of PGCBL action Friday night kicked off a busy weekend across the league with a bang!
Game 1: Utica Blue Sox 3, Boonville Lumberjacks 2… Game 2: Utica Blue Sox 9, Boonville Lumberjacks 1
Even with Utica hosting Friday night’s doubleheader at Donovan Stadium, the Blue Sox were still the road team in Game Two. That was no challenge however for the Blue Sox (17-10), who swept the doubleheader over the city-visiting Lumberjacks (10-21).
After stranding five runners across the first three innings of game one, Utica broke through for one run apiece in the fourth through sixth. Josh Skowronski (Kentucky) scored on CJ Wisniewski’s sacrifice fly in the fourth, and RBI singles from Peter Adams (Limestone) and Greg Kopp (Hamilton) accounted for the three Blue Sox runs.
Boonville got one run back in the top of the sixth to make it a 2-1 game at the time, and after Utica got Kopp’s RBI single in the bottom half of the inning, the Lumberjacks put the tying run on base with no outs in the top of the seventh. A pair of wild pitches scored Ben Bohlman (Colby CC) and put Joshua Lopez (Thomas Jefferson University) in scoring position, but Kris Giangreco (Mount St. Mary’s University) buckled down to get a pair of pop outs and a strikeout to shut the door.
Utica would pick up right where they left off in game two, scoring three runs in the opening half of the ballgame. Utica’s first three hitters would reach to load the bases, and Will Shannon (Hillsdale) and Skowronski would cash in with a two-RBI single and an RBI single, respectively.
The Lumberjacks would get their game two run in the bottom of the second, as Samuel Fleming (Stillman College) would single in Hugo Kohnhorst (Mineral Area College) to make it 3-1.
Utica would take advantage of three Lumberjacks errors across innings three through seven to plate their six unanswered runs, just two of them earned against Boonville pitching. The Blue Sox would get one RBI apiece from Shannon, Skowronski, Ben Partridge (Rockland CC), Kyuss Gargett (Kentucky), and Norris McClure (Spring Hill).
The top three of the Utica lineup in game two- Partridge, Gargett, and McClure- would combine to go 5-for-9 with seven runs, three runs batted in, three walks, a double, and a stolen base.
Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs 10, Saugerties Stallions 3
Eight consecutive runs to open the ballgame from Mohawk Valley (19-11) propelled the second-place DiamondDawgs to a big win over fourth-place Saugerties (15-13) in Little Falls Friday.
Mark Darakjy (St. Bonaventure) would score on a fielder’s choice and Nick Sturino (Fairfield) would cross home on Corey Adams’ (William and Mary) single in the bottom of the third to give the hosts the 2-0 lead. Mitch Balint (Carson-Newman) singled in Owen Pincince (New Haven) to push the lead to three in the bottom of the fifth, and Mohawk Valley exploded for five one inning later.
Jaden Ross (University of South Florida) would kick things off with a two-RBI single with the bases loaded to score Sam Miller (Columbia) and Justin Hackett (Bryant), and three batters later with the bases reloaded, Adams’ single paired with a Saugerties error would clear the bases and make it 8-0.
Saugerties would load the bases themselves in the top of the seventh, and a pair of passed balls and a sacrifice fly from Travis Hobbensiefken (Mt. San Antonio) would cut into the Mohawk Valley lead, making it 8-3.
The DiamondDawgs would get two back in the bottom of the eighth, as an RBI single from Mason Snell (Herkimer CCC) and bases loaded walk from Hackett would put the Stallions away.
Adams, Balint, and Ross would lead the way with two hits apiece, and would combine for five runs batted in, three runs, a walk, and a stolen base.
Auburn Doubledays 5, Jamestown Tarp Skunks 4
Five runs in the first half of the ballgame from Auburn (13-16) would be just enough for them to hold off the four that came from Jamestown (17-10-1) in the second half.
Garrett Prosper (University at Pittsburgh-Johnstown) would give Auburn the early lead with an RBI single to score Fernando Espinal (Cayuga CC) in the top of the first.
Auburn would get three runs on no hits in the top of the fourth, scoring two runs on a Jamestown error and bringing in a third on a wild pitch. Bobby Stang (Georgia Southern) would advance the lead to five with an RBI double in the fifth, scoring Hazel Martinez (Union College- TN).
Jamestown would get some luck of their own in the bottom of the seventh, as Tommy Googins (Princeton) and Henry Juan (Williams College) would score on Jake Kernodle’s (Princeton) triple after their leadoff walks. Kernodle would score one pitch later on the Paul Catalano (Fairfield) groundout to cut it to 5-3.
In the bottom of the ninth, Jamestown would put runners on the corners with one out. Grady Mee (Western Michigan) would score on a fielder’s choice to cut the deficit to one and keep the tying run on first, but Michael Sills (Wofford) would pickoff the pinch-runner at first to end the ballgame.
Niagara Power 3, Elmira Pioneers 1
A pitcher’s duel at Dunn Field in Elmira Friday did not go the hosts way, as Niagara (17-11-1) got two runs in the eighth inning to defeat Elmira (18-12).
Niagara would take the first lead, as Jeremy Glinski (D’Youville) would single in Andrew Fairbrother (Tiffin University) in the top of the third to make it 1-0. Elmira would tie the game up in the bottom of the seventh, as Cooper Smith (Northern Essex CC) would score on Rey Hernandez’s (St. Thomas University) double.
Glinski would again single in Fairbrother in the top of the eighth before he would later score on Zach Evans’ (Lenoir-Rhyne) single, making it 3-1. The lone baserunner Elmira would get in their final two at-bats would be caught stealing, as Brett Johnson (NCCC) would get the final six outs to record his first save of the summer.
Cal Brazier (Tiffin) would get the win in his first appearance on the mound of the summer for the Power, as he came in to get the final out of the bottom of the seventh. Billy Morris (D’Youville) was therefore faced to take the hard fought no decision, going 6.2 strong innings with 10 strikeouts in his best start of the summer. In even worse luck, Joseph Keldsen (California State) took the loss after he turned in seven strong innings, allowing just two earned runs with seven strikeouts.
Newark Pilots 10, Geneva Red Wings 0
A 13-hit offensive effort paired with a two-hit shutout from Anthony Laurinitis (Keuka College) led the Pilots (7-20) to the victory over Geneva (7-21).
With the bases loaded in the bottom of the second, Nick Payne singled in Mitchell Kelly to make it 1-0. After a fielder’s choice cut the runner down at the plate and kept the bases loaded, Harris McReynolds cleared the bases with a single and a Geneva error. McReynolds would score two batters later on Tim Wagner’s RBI single, and suddenly it was 5-0 Newark.
McReynolds would single in Michael Mugan in the bottom of the fourth to push the lead to six. Two runs in the bottom of the sixth, off a Geneva error and RBI single from Gage Boatman, and two in the seventh off Mugan’s two-RBI single, allowed Newark to walk off in seven innings.
Laurinitis would allow just two hits and two walks with his seven strikeouts in his seven shutout innings. The top three of the Newark lineup- Mugan, McReynolds, and Justin DiMartino (Farmingdale State)- would combine to go 6-for-10 with five runs, five runs batted in, three walks, and two stolen bases.
Oneonta Outlaws 8, Glens Falls Dragons 7
Down 7-2 after seven innings, Oneonta (11-20) exploded for six runs in the top of the eighth to steal the victory away from Glens Falls (11-17).
An RBI double from Ryan Grace (Colby College) in the first and a pair of wild pitches after Trevor Dutra’s (Monroe College) double in the second would give Glens Falls a 2-0 lead after two. Three in the third off a two-RBI single from Zander Teator (Babson College) and bases loaded walk from Kyle McNeff (UMass-Dartmouth) would push the lead to five, and a RBI groundout from Grace made it 6-0 after four.
Oneonta got on the board in the top of the fifth, as Ryan Leary (Wagner) would score on an error and Brody Raleigh (Western Carolina) would double in Anthony Barone (Oswego) to cut the deficit to four. Grace would respond however with another RBI double in the seventh to make it 7-2.
Christopher Baillargeon would triple in Dakota Britt (Herkimer CCC) and Logan Haskell (Binghamton) to cut the deficit to three, and after a walk and hit by pitch loaded the bases for Caden Marsters (Erskine College), his first home run of the summer would be a grand slam to give Oneonta the lead, and the win.