June 7th
By Sam Reis – amsterdammohawks.com
Hits were hard to come by in the early stages of Wednesday night’s game between the Amsterdam Mohawks and the Utica Blue Sox at Rao Family Stadium. However, the Mohawks erupted for seven fourth inning runs, leading to a 12-1 triumph in seven innings.
Carson Cotugno (Wake Forest) made his 2023 debut for the Mohawks in his second season on the mound for Amsterdam. The right hander pitched two innings without allowing any hits or runs, while walking three and striking out one.
Von Baker (Cornell) replaced Cotugno in the third and also pitched two scoreless and hitless innings, with one walk and two strikeouts.
Thomas Roefaro (Oneonta) got the start for Utica. While the right hander started strong, the fourth inning saw him allow three hits and five runs. With five walks and three strikeouts, he was pulled after 3 ⅓ innings.
The breakthrough run for Amsterdam in the fourth inning came with the bases loaded when Jalen DeBose (Florida Atlantic) was hit by a pitch, sending Bryce Hubbard (Mississippi State) home. After that, a couple of more walks to Carlos Martinez (Pittsburgh) and Gage Miller (Bishop State CC) sent in Utah teammates Dakota Duffalo and Cam Gurney to make it 3-0. A wild pitch allowed Jalen DeBose to score and another walk, this time to Zach Eldred (Brockport), brought Carlos Martinez in for a fifth run.
Harry Williams (Florida A&M) replaced Roefaro on the rubber for Utica in the fourth. The Florida native struggled out of the bullpen, failing to record an out while walking three and conceding two runs. Those two runs came from a double off the left field wall by Luke Longo (NJIT) that scored Gage Miller from third and Bruer Webster (Utah) from second.
With the score 7-0, Mason Roy (Roanoke) became the third pitcher of the inning for the Blue Sox.
Joe Gold (Boston College) entered the game for the Mohawks in the fifth, making his second appearance this season. That’s when Utica got on the board thanks to a solo home run to right field by Josh Skowronski (Kentucky). That marked the first hit of the game for the Blue Sox. Gold finished out the fifth for Amsterdam, allowing two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
In that same inning, the Mohawks added three more runs. The first two came from a double by Gage Miller that drove in Cam Gurney from third and Eddy Leon (Marshall) from second. That double was Miller’s first of the season and 17th with Amsterdam, passing Ed Charlton (NJIT) and Josh Nethaway (UAlbany) and tying former teammate Brett Coker (Mid Tennessee St.) for the sixth most doubles in Mohawks history. Additionally, with three runs batted in on the night, Miller moved up to eight on the season and 45 with Amsterdam, putting him past Maxwell Costes (Maryland) for the eighth most RBI in Mohawks history.
Amsterdam struck again when a groundout from Bruer Webster allowed Jalen DeBose to come home from third.
Roy went 1 ⅔ innings for Utica, finishing out the fifth and giving up four hits while allowing a walk and recording a strikeout.
Jack Seppings (Brown) was the fourth pitcher of the game for Amsterdam, allowing just one hit and striking out one in a scoreless sixth inning.
Utica’s Greg Levin (Colby) came in for the sixth inning and conceded two runs on four hits while managing one strikeout. Luke Longo notched his second double in as many at-bats and crossed home on a Dakota Duffalo single. Then, a single from Jalen DeBose brought home Dakota Duffalo for a 12th run.
In the seventh inning, Jack Brodsky (Tampa) made his Mohawk debut and closed the door with a couple of strikeouts and no hits allowed as Amsterdam won 12-1 in seven innings as the run rule came into effect for the second straight night.
Von Baker was credited with the win while Thomas Roefaro suffered the loss, dropping him to 1-1 after a win against Mohawk Valley on opening day. The Blue Sox dropped to 2-4 with Thursday’s result.
The Mohawks had seven players tally an RBI in the 11-run win as they improved to 6-0. After an off day on Thursday Amsterdam returns to action on Friday with a trip to Booneville against the Lumberjacks. First pitch is slated for 6:45.
From uticabluesox.net
By Connor Stalker, Blue Sox Staff Writer
Amsterdam, N.Y.– The Utica Blue Sox struggled mightily on the road against the Amsterdam Mohawks, losing their fourth game of the season 12-1. The game started off competitively, as Blue Sox starting pitcher Tom Roefaro kept the Mohawks’ bats in check. For the Mohawks, Carson Cotugno started the game on the mound and struggled walking 3 batters in 2 innings of work. Despite dealing with control issues, Cotugno still kept the Blue Sox scoreless.
In the 3rd inning, the Mohawks turned to Von Baker, an imposing righthander. Baker kept the Blue Sox bats off balance striking out 2 in 2 innings of work.
The Mohawks exploded for 7 runs in the bottom of the 4th, headlined by a double by NJIT product Luke Longo that scored 2. The Blue Sox pitching struggled with control throughout the inning walking home 3 batters and hitting another with a pitch to score a run. Harry Williams replaced Roefaro halfway through the inning, though he was quickly pulled because he could not find the zone. Mason Roy was called into the game to try and clean up the mess and did so after allowing the Longo double.
Utica’s first run of the game came on a big fly by Josh Skowronski whose raw power was on full display as the ball easily cleared the right-field fence. Unfortunately, this did not ignite the rest of the Blue Sox lineup as this would be their only run of the ballgame.
Last year’s player of the year in the PGCBL, Gage Miller, responded accordingly smoking a one-hop double off the left field fence scoring Utah’s Cam Gurney and Marshall’s Eddy Leon. Shortstop Bruer Webster tacked on another run for the Mohawks on a chopper to the shortstop making it 10-1 Mohawks.
Greg Levin out of Colby College replaced Roy in the bottom of the 6th. Luke Longo came to the plate and hit a towering fly ball that Utica’s right fielder lost in the lights resulting in an easy double. Levin quickly got Mississippi State catcher Bryce Hubbard to flyout, before another Utah prospect, Dakota Duffalo, lined a double to center field to increase the Mohawks’ lead to double digits. A single later in the inning by center fielder Jalen DeBose put Amsterdam ahead 12-1.
Utica failed to string together any runs in the top of the 7th meaning the mercy rule went into effect, ending the game.
It was a tough loss for the Blue Sox as they fell to 2-4 on the season and continue to struggle. Amsterdam improved to 6-0 on the season and appears to be a juggernaut with both strong offense, as well as pitching. The Mohawks have outscored opponents 59-7 thus far and appear to be an early championship favorite in the PGCBL.
Tom Roefaro earned his first loss of the season after giving up 5 earned runs on 3 hits and 5 walks. Von Baker improves to 1-0 after a solid relief outing of 2 innings. The Blue Sox struggled to hit the Mohawks’ pitching compiling only 3 hits including the home run by Skowronski, a single up the middle by Easton Brenner, and a line drive rip by Greg Kopp. Norris McClure and Wyatt Jensen also contributed with 1 steal apiece.
Mohawks’ Cam Gurney led all hitters with a 3 for 3 performance improving his batting average to .857 in the early season. Luke Longo, Dakota Duffalo, and Jalen DeBose all had 2 hits, with Longo getting his 3rd and 4th doubles of the season. Gage Miller led all bats with 3 RBIs increasing his season total to 8.
The Blue Sox play again tomorrow, June 7th, as they take on the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs for the 2nd time in the past week. They will look to come back from tonight’s tough loss and reawaken their bats much like they did on opening night.