Six games were played on Wednesday, with the highlight being a no-hitter in the first game of Geneva & Newark’s doubleheader.
Newark Pilots 1, Geneva Red Wings 0
In this battle of West Division teams looking to reach playoff positioning, the Pilots (5-15) came out on top over Geneva (5-14) thanks to a legendary pitching performance.
The only run scored in the game came on an RBI single in the bottom of the fourth inning by Pilots EH Jack Pawlowicz (St. Bonaventure). Catcher Gage Boatman (East Central) crossed the plate to make it 1-0, where the score held until the end.
The Red Wings walked six times in this game, including two from right fielder Brandon Gelpi (Baldwin Wallace).
The story of the night was Pilots’ pitcher Jack Gannon (St. Peter’s), who pitched a no-hitter, going the full seven innings and striking out seven. It was his season high in both innings pitched and strikeouts.
Amsterdam Mohawks 7, Saugerties Stallions 4
The Mohawks (25-1) continued their incredible season, this time with a victory over a talented Saugerties (11-10) squad.
Mohawks’ right fielder Zach Eldred (Brockport) and first baseman Cam Gurney (Utah), both standout players this season, had two hits each. Eldred homered in the bottom of the third to give the Mohawks a 4-0 lead, and Gurney scored Eldred on an RBI single in the seventh inning. Amsterdam shortstop Marek Houston (Wake Forest) had a phenomenal day at the plate, with three hits, including an RBI single in the second inning.
Saugerties DH Andrew Amato (Delaware) had two hits and 3 RBI to lead the Stallions’ offense. The big hit came in the ninth inning, when he hit his fourth home run of the season.
The star of the game for the Mohawks on the pitching side was Carson Pierce (Oklahoma), who went six shutout innings with 10 strikeouts to earn the win. Joey Colucci (Maryland) picked up the save.
Batavia Muckdogs 9, Jamestown Tarp Skunks 2
The Muckdogs (17-8) improved their impressive record with a win over the Tarp Skunks (13-8-1) thanks to a great all-around game.
After a 1-1 game after the first 3 1/2 innings, the Muckdogs broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth with an offensive explosion. Back to back hit-by-pitches of centerfielder Anthony Calabro (West Georgia) and second baseman Giuseppe Arcuri (Saint Leo) started off the scoring to make it 3-1. This was then followed by three more runs in the inning on a couple of putouts and passed balls.
Tarp Skunks second baseman Tommy Googins (Princeton) had a great day at the plate, smacking two hits, and tying the game at one with an RBI single in the third inning.
The star of the game was of course Batavia’s Julian Pichardo (Fort Lauderdale), who has been one of the standout players in the PGCBL so far this season. In this game, he went 6.1 innings, giving up one earned run and striking out seven to earn the win.
Newark Pilots 8, Geneva Red Wings 3
The Pilots (6-15) swept the doubleheader over Geneva (5-15) in a game where both offenses showed more promise than in game one.
Geneva jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a 2-run double by catcher Jason Shockley (Rutgers). He would finish the game with three hits and three RBI as Geneva’s top player.
The star of the game for Newark was centerfielder Frankie DiMartino (Hofstra), who finished the game with 3 RBI, including a 2-run single in the bottom of the sixth inning. This would push Newark’s lead at that point from 6-3 to 8-3, giving them the comfortable win.
Colt Bartling (East Central) was the winning pitcher, tossing two shutout innings with two strikeouts.
Elmira Pioneers 3, Auburn Doubledays 1
A great pitching matchup went the Pioneers’ (13-9) way over the Doubledays (10-12) in this West Division matchup.
Elmira jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning thanks to an RBI single from shortstop Chris Bear (Northern Essex CC) and an RBI double from EH Christian Zilli (Seton Hall). Auburn would then cut this down to 2-1, when in the bottom of the inning their third baseman Michael Wholly (Villanova) hit an RBI single of his own. This would be Auburn’s only run, however Doubledays catcher Bobby Sting (Georgia Southern) had a strong game with two hits.
Elmira added on one more run in the top of the fourth inning when Bear picked up his second RBI of the game.
Elmira’s Bradyn Coletta (Lenoir Rhyne) was the winning pitcher, pitching six innings, giving up one run and striking out seven. Brendan Ferrari (U-Mass Boston) picked up the save with a perfect ninth inning.
Oneonta Outlaws 9, Boonville Lumberjacks 5
An Oneonta (10-14) rally early on gave them the momentum leading to a win over Boonville (6-17).
In the bottom of the first inning, the Outlaws jumped out to a 5-0 lead. The scoring started with an RBI single from right fielder Jack Hopko (Rhode Island). This was then followed by a 2-run double thanks to first baseman Ethan Duda (Herkimer CCC), and with two more runs tacked on, the Outlaws went up by 5.
After six innings, the Outlaws lead 9-1, but this didn’t stop Boonville from creating some offense of their own. After a couple of errors in the seventh, two runs came in for the Lumberjacks to cut the lead to 9-3. They then scored two more the next inning, including an RBI double from third baseman Alex Angulo (Gettysburg).
Justin Decastro (Long Island) was the winning pitcher for Oneonta, going five innings, giving up one run and striking out three.