Sports

The 17th annual Batavia Blue Devil Athletic Hall of Fame Dinner will be held at Terry Hills Restaurant and Banquet Facility on Saturday, Oct. 20.

This event is sponsored by the Batavia Coaches Association. Tickets are $30 per dinner and are available at the Athletic Directors Office at Batavia High School after Sept. 1.

Social Hour begins at 5 p.m., followed by dinner at 6 then the induction ceremony.

Here are this year's inductees:

• Coleen Tooley Oleski -- Class of 1965
• Steve Frieday -- Class of 1968
• Rich Anderson -- Class of 1976
• Michele Smith Jones -- Class of 1982
• Gerry Carmichael -- 1983-2018
• Jon Sanfratello -- Class of 1992
• Ice Devils Hockey Team -- 1994-1995

For more information, please call 343-2480, ext. 2003.

Batavia High School's football Head Coach Brennan Briggs ran a football camp last week and 40 young players turned out to learn more about the game. Current Blue Devils staff, along with former and current players, assisted with the camp.

Submitted photo.

Saturday was tractor pull day at the Genesee County Fair.

More than 90 children from age 4 to age 8 turned out at the Batavia Sports Park on Friday for Ricky Palermo's annual soccer clinic.

This was the 15th year Palermo hosted the clinic.

"It grows a little bit every year and that's exciting," Palermo said.

The clinic helps raise awareness about spinal injury, Palermo said, and shows the kids that even a person with a spinal injury can still do things.

Five runs that crossed the plate in the last two innings for Mahoning Valley would prove to be too much for the Muckdogs to overcome in a 7-3 loss to the division-leading Scrappers.

Mahoning Valley got an early jump on Humberto Mejia on Saturday. They picked up two runs in the first inning. Two of the first three batters came around to score. Tyler Freeman continued his tear of NYPL pitching with a triple after one out. He was scored by a Mitch Reeves' double, one of Reeves four hits in the game. Hosea Nelson, who had a home run in game one of the series drove in the second run to give the Scrappers a 2-0 cushion before Batavia even got to bat.

Batavia answered with their first runs of the game in the bottom of the second inning. Albert Guaimaro hit a triple with one out, his first of two in the game. Then a two-out single from Denis Karas scored him to cut the Scrappers’ lead in half after the second.

Both pitchers locked in a pitchers’ duel until the tie was broken in the eighth inning with bullpen pitchers on the mound. Batavia and Mahoning Valley scored two runs each in their half of the inning to bat. The Scrappers rally started with two outs in the top half of the frame. Reeves notched his fourth hit of the game and Nelson got on by reaching on a throwing error. Angel Lopez hit the clutch two-run single to make it a 4-1 game after the top of the inning.

The bottom of the eighth saw the Muckdogs answer with their two runs from an RBI single from Sean Reynolds. His base knock brought in one run, and the second came on a throwing error to the plate that cut the deficit to just one run.

The 4-3 lead in the ninth for the visitors swelled by three more runs, all coming with two outs. Jose Fermin singled home Michael Tinsley, and after a botched foul pop-up on a miscommunication, two more scored on a Freeman single and a wild pitch.

Batavia then went down in order in the bottom of the ninth, giving Mahoning Valley the game and the series W. The final game of the series before the league off day is today at 1:05.

Press release:

The Genesee County STOP-DWI and Youth Bureau are having their Annual Night at the Ballpark on Wednesday, July 25^th at Dwyer Stadium.

The first 250 youth under 16 can get in free if they contact the Youth Bureau at 344-3960 to reserve tickets for the event.

Youth can come to the Youth Bureau to pick the tickets up or we will take their information and they can pick them up at the box office.

There will also be free Muckbucks to the first 60 youth, and more than 500 prizes and giveaways on hand. There will also be two bikes from Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle given away, one for a boy and one for a girl.

There will be educational booths on hand, including one with the Genesee County Sheriff’s Office with child ID kits. A juggler will be on hand as well for the kids’ entertainment.

Genesee County’s #1 crime fighting K-9 will be there to assist with the first pitch!

All of this is made possible from our wonderful sponsors and contributors: GCASA, Genesee County Sheriff’s Association, Kiwanis Club of Batavia, United States Gypsum Co., Batavia Lions Club, City of Batavia Police Benevolent Association, The Original Red Osier Landmark Restaurant, Western New York Association of Chiefs of Police, Gerace Realty, Polish Falcons, Tops Friendly Markets, Adam Miller Toy and Bicycle, and Alex’s Place.

Gates open at 6 p.m. and the game starts at 7:05.

Photo of Batavia Downs state-of-the-art control room courtesy of Batavia Downs.

By Tim Bojarski for Batavia Downs

As the doors swing open for the start of the 72^nd season of live harness racing at Batavia Downs on Monday (July 23), patrons, horsemen and horsewomen will see a multitude of changes made by the track to improve the racing product and enhance the wagering value.

The 2018 racing session features 70 dates, including seven matinees that all start at 1:15 p.m. Monday and Wednesday evening post times are 5 p.m. with Friday and Saturday night races beginning at 6 o'clock. There are four twilight Saturday programs during the season on Sept. 8, Oct. 6, Nov.17 and Dec 15 with a 4:45 p.m. post.

Those racing at the Downs this year will be greeted by $600,000 worth of paddock improvements including a new barn that will house two additional races. It was constructed adjacent to the existing four-race paddock and across from the 16-stall wash barn and finished off with fresh blacktop. The new layout of the complex will allow for six races to be in the paddock at one time and provide uncluttered ease of bathing for horses that are done racing.

Fans viewing the races on the monitors in the stands or via simulcast will enjoy an enhanced video product thanks to a brand new audio/visual studio that will broadcast everything in full digital video. The state-of-the-art control room will make the Batavia Downs signal and programming the best the track has ever offered and make the races easier and more enjoyable to watch.

Another change that will be noticeable from both sides of the fence is the passing lane has been removed from the home stretch of the track. Batavia Downs has had a passing lane since 1989 and during that time the track has seen the bias toward inside posts go up dramatically. So in an attempt to create more early movement making outside posts more bettable and decrease the amount of winning favorites, this change was implemented.

“This year we’ve made some changes that we feel will help the horsemen and bettors alike,” said Todd Haight, director/general manager of Live Racing at Batavia Downs. “The new paddock will make the transition from race to race much easier for our participants and removing the passing lane should add some value for our gamblers. We look forward to getting underway and expect and exciting season of racing."

The schedule looks to provide some of the best competition the track has seen and the New York Sire Stakes (NYSS) will be the centerpiece of it. Eight divisions of state-breds will visit the Downs and there will be $800,000 (est.) up for grabs for the participating horses.

Then on Friday Sept. 21, all eight NYSS final consolation races will be held at the Downs with an additional $320,000 to be doled out.

That same night the Downs two signature races will be held. The $15,000 Brian Schroeder Memorial trot and $15,000 Duke Dranichek Memorial pace will feature some of the best Open talent around, including the richest pacer of all time.

Trainer Ron Burke has marked his calendar and said the $7.5 million-dollar man/100-win wonder, Foiled Again is scheduled to compete in the Dranichek pace. Foiled Again has won three $50,000 Kane Memorials in Batavia along with two Saturday night Opens. He likes the track and he’s coming back for a farewell appearance before his mandatory retirement at the end of the year.

"September 9th is the 30^th anniversary of Batavia Downs hosting the Breeders Crown and the card we have on tap for September 21 this year rivals that historic night for purses and competition," Haight said, "and to have Foiled Again here on top of it makes it a real draw for Western New York.” 

The very next night (Saturday Sept.22) the very popular racing under saddle or "RUS" will return for the third year with horses and riders from New York RUS. They will attempt to break the track record that was set in 2016 when they made their first appearance at the track.

The driving colony will be filled with familiar faces but with last year’s dash title winner Larry Stalbaum not returning, a new champion will be crowned in December.

Drew Monti, who is Western New York’s leading dash driver this year, will be in the mix along with Shawn Gray, Kevin Cummings, Ray Fisher Jr., Jim Morrill Jr., Billy Davis Jr. and John Cummings Jr. to name a few.

On the conditioning side, last year’s leading trainer Kim Asher will be back but with a reduced stable. That will open the door for the red hot James Clouser Jr. and three-time best Batavia conditioner JD Perrin to vie for top honors.

Also competing at the Downs this meet will be 18-year-old Riley Asher-Stalbaum who began her training career earlier this year. She has made an instant impact among area trainers with a sparkling Universal Training Rating (UTR) of .428.

Once again the fans will enjoy a plethora of promotions this year and as always, there will be something for everyone on tap.

As has been the norm for many years, racing programs will be free on opening night and the first Saturday of the meet to welcome back our racing fans and each program contains a valuable free play coupon redeemable on the gaming floor.

Sunday July 29 and every Sunday in August is Dollar Days at the Downs. Fans can enjoy dollar drafts, sodas and hot dogs on the apron.

On Saturday Aug. 4, 10 lucky fans will win a stay at the beautiful new Batavia Downs Hotel which is connected to the race track and gaming floor.

One lucky fan will win a $3,000 diamond pendant on Saturday Aug. 11 during a jewelry night giveaway sponsored by TAG Jewelers.

On Saturday Aug.25, 10 lucky patrons will win $100 gift certificates to the Spa at Artemis in Downtown Batavia.

Family Fun Days and the Wiener Dog Races will return on Sunday Aug. 26. The day includes free activities of all kinds for the kids. Then after the live racing is finished, the wiener dogs will hit the track for the main event. Genesee Feeds of Batavia is the official sponsor of this event.

The traditional Driver’s Bike Race will return for the 40^th year on Labor Day (Sept. 3). Eight of the Down’s favorite drivers will be pedaling bicycles from the top of the turn to the wire. Eight fans who select the winning driver will win the bikes used in the race. Labor Day also features the annual chicken barbecue.

For information on racing or promotions log onto www.bataviadownsgaming.com .

Bottom photo, courtesy of Batavia Downs: New paddocks are part of the improvements made at Batavia Downs this year.

Photo: Top golfers in the Arc of Genesee Orleans 42^nd Annual Lullo Memorial Tournament include, from left, Mark State, Tina Lambert, Bruce Briggs, Karen Percarsi and Bill Kusmierski. Not pictured is winner Paul Barton, who scored 81.

Submitted photos and press release:

Golfers, tennis players and bocce players were urged to stay hydrated as Arc of Genesee Orleans 42^nd Annual Lullo Memorial Tournament kicked off Monday at Stafford Country Club.

“It was one of our hottest days ever – just sweltering,” said Arc’s Sandy Konfederath, who has helped coordinate the tournament since 1993. “The biggest challenge was keeping our beverages iced at four key areas at the course. Our volunteers are amazing!”

The 2018 charity event included 102 golfers, with 39 people playing bocce and 12 in the tennis division.

GOLF

In golf play, Paul Barton’s 81 earned him top honors in the low gross category followed by Mark State with 82 and Jan Witkowski, 83. Tina Lambert, a longtime tournament supporter, shot a 93 winning low gross for women.

In low net, Bruce Briggs placed first with a 62. Also placing were Paul Mayer, 65; Greg Strauss, 66 and Terry Sprow, 67. Low net for women went to Karen Percarsi, 72 and Bill Kusmierski won with 71 in the blind bogey classification.

This year’s hole-in-one prize on 8 was a 2019 Jeep Cherokee Limited, courtesy of Castilone Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram. Unfortunately, no one shot an ace to drive away with the vehicle.

In other on the course contests, Jesse Luxon won longest drive on 7 and Bob Gorenflo, closest to the line on 15. In the closest to the pin contests, Nathan Schreib won a golf bag, courtesy of C.H. Wright on 8 (7’4”); Sam Serpe earned first prize on 12 (3’ 3 ½”) with Zach Fuller second (5’ 11”) and Ed Shultz third (11’8”). Greg Strauss won a Schwinn bicycle, donated by Adam Miller Toy & Bike in the top prize on 14 (13’1”).

BOCCE

In bocce, Tracy Sutherland, Lucine Kauffman and Fran Porpiglia, the only three-person team beat nine other four-person teams to come out on top.

TENNIS

On the tennis courts, first place team honors went to Steve Clemm and Jerry Reinhart. Second place team went to Steve Rumery and Marjorie Fulmer. Jerry Reinhart also earned top score in the tennis division.

SPONSORS

Gold sponsors were Turnbull Heating & Air-Conditioning, Graham Corporation, MTE Turf Equipment Solutions/Tom & Lynn Houseknecht, Relph Benefit Advisors and Tompkins Bank of Castile /Insurance Agencies/ Financial Advisors. Silver sponsors were: The Batavia Daily News, Yasses Trucking & Construction. The Bonadio Group, Alan & Cathy Barcomb, Hoffman, Hanafin & Associates, In Memory of Ralph Houseknecht Sr., Castilone Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram, Parkview Health Services, Genesee Valley PennySaver and The Insurance Center.

Also supporting the event were nine golf sponsors, three tennis sponsors, six bocce sponsors, five cart sponsors and nine friend of Arc sponsors.

Door prizes, silent auction and basket raffle items were donated by dozens of area businesses and community members. The winner of the $1,000 cash drawing was Ken Degnan with ticket number 11853.

Funds raised benefit programs and services for people with disabilities served by Arc of Genesee Orleans. The tournament is named in memory of Danny Lullo, a local businessman who came up with the idea to hold a tournament to benefit Arc programs and services for people with disabilities in our community. The tournament is the longest-running charity event at the local private country club.

CHAIRS

Ed Carney is the event chairman. Deb Fischer chairs bocce and Peggy Lamb chairs tennis.

Below photo below: The only three-person bocce team won in the Arc of Genesee Orleans 42^nd Annual Lullo Memorial Tournament. From left, Tracy Sutherland, Lucine Kauffman and Fran Porpiglia beat out nine other four-person teams to win the bocce tournament.

It's been a busy football summer for Mason Randall, who will be a junior at Notre Dame High School this year.

He's established himself as a legitimate contender for a Division 1 roster spot.

Last month, he was number one, with the highest score of all lineman, participating at the sections 5 and 6 NYS High School Football Coaches Association Combine held at Fairport High School.

That earned him an invitation to the “Elite Showcase,” held at Ithaca College this past weekend, where he showed off his skills along with 250 of the state's best high school football players.

His father, Doug Randall, said the combine went really well:

The coaches from the colleges and high schools were very positive and offered a lot of tips and advice to the young men including the importance of their high school grades. 

The participants were broken up into smaller specialty groups to work with various college coaches. They were warmed up and given instruction and demonstration in proper technique and then they put those instructions to use in someone on one competition.

At the end of the showcase, the students were given the opportunity to meet one on one with all the coaches and ask questions about the different programs and schools in hopes of cultivating an invitation to play for them. 

Notre Dame's incoming Head Coach Joe Zambito said he's very fortunate to be taking over a team with a player like Mason on it, along with a group of linemen who are all impressive in size and ability.

"We have a really good line coming back Mason is a great student-athlete," Zambito said. "He’s unbelievable to coach and I’m lucky enough that in my first year I get to coach guys like him."

He said Mason's showing at the combines is really impressive.

"He beat some guys who already have Division I scholarships," Zambito said. "It goes to show you how hard he’s worked in the off-season to get himself in shape and in place to become an elite lineman, not only in GR but in New York State.

Mason said it feels great to get the recognition he's received and earning a D1 scholarship is one of his football dreams.

"Division I highest level," Mason said. "I’ve always loved football. My dad’s always loved football and everybody else in my family. Nobody in my family has ever gone D1. I had a couple of grandfathers go D2, but it would be so great to be able to go D1."

Aaron Leone, a sophomore at Le Roy High School, is now one of the top clay target shooters in the nation after finishing 73 among 1,331 competitors this weekend at the USA HS Clay Target League Championships. He shot 194 of 200. He finished sixth out of 49 competitors from New York. The competition was held in Mason, Mich.

Photos and info submitted by Tim McArdle.

Batavia was six outs away from a no-hitter at BB&T Ballpark in Williamsport, Pa., on Tuesday night. However, you would never have guessed that by looking at the box score. The game against the Crosscutters went to extra innings and ended up being a 7-5 victory for the Muckdogs in the 10th.

Chris Vallimont was the starter for Batavia, he went three innings in his third pro start. He issued three walks but did not allow any hits for the first time in his career. Manuel Rodriguez was the piggyback reliever for Batavia, as he had been since Vallimont’s arrival. Rodriguez had a career day as well; he went four innings of perfect baseball. He did not allow any hits or walks and struck out five batters in that time.

Batavia’s offense got it going early in the ballgame. They jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a two-run double from JD Osborne to give the Muckdogs the lead. The Muckdogs would tack on one more run in the seventh inning when Albert Guaimaro hit a triple to the right-field wall, he would score on a passed ball.

Batavia went to the bullpen in the eighth inning and that is when the Crosscutters would get their first hit. Zach Wolf was on the mound for the Muckdogs, he hit the first batter he faced with a pitch. Jesse Wilkening left the game in place for Rafael Merchan. He would come around the score on the first hit of the game for Williamsport with an RBI double from Seth Lancaster in the next at-bat. After breaking up the no-hitter, Lancaster himself would come in to score from an RBI single from Madison Stokes later in the inning to make it a 3-2 ballgame.

The game was taking another turn in the ninth inning with Elkin Alcala on the mound. Danny Mayer led off the ending with a walk, he would eventually come around to score after the Crosscutters loaded the bases and a single from Jonathan Guseman brought him in to tie the game at 3-3.

After losing the no-hit bid, Batavia had to focus on winning the game. The Muckdogs unloaded for four runs in the top of the 10th. Osborne started the inning on second base, he was bunted over on a bunt single from Guaimaro. Guaimaro advanced to second on a wild pitch, forcing the infield in against Bubba Hollins. He lined a ball to right field for a two-run single. Denis Karas, the next batter, sent a ball inside the right-field foul pole for a two-run homer to give the Muckdogs a 7-3 in the 10th.

Williamsport would not go down as easy, a leadoff double from Madison Stokes scored the starting runner at second, Ben Aklinski. Stokes himself would eventually score on a single from Danny Mayer to cut Batavia’s lead to 7-5. Alcala would be able to finish the game from there to give Batavia the win. Batavia snapped a four-game losing streak with the victory, and will go for the series win on Wednesday at 7:05 p.m. from BB&T Ballpark at Historic Bowman Field.

When 8-year-old Gunnar came to his father and said he didn't want to play tackle football anymore, Otis Thomas listened. He also remembered a commercial for a youth flag football program sponsored by the NFL that he had seen during the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.

Thomas talked with Kevin Rogers and they agreed to apply to the NFL to set up a league in Batavia.

It was a very easy process, they said. The NFL provides a step-by-step guide and the staff is helpful and friendly, they said.

So, Batavia will have an NFL-sponsored flag football program for children ages 5 to 14 this fall; "no contact, 6 on 6."

Thomas said it's not his goal to take anything away from the Batavia Bulldawgs, the local tackle football program, but he believes there are a lot of parents in the community who want to give their children a fun activity and see them learn the sport but don't want to strap a heavy helmet on their heads.

"I don’t want to pull away from anything the Bulldawgs organization has done around Batavia," Thomas said. "I coached for two years. It was good for me. It was good for my son but it’s also good to see other opportunities for other kids that aren’t ready to play contact football."

Both Thomas and Rogers are aware, of course, about the growing concern parents have about football, concussions, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. 

"I just wanted my son to play all the sports that I never had a chance to," said Rogers, who didn't come from a football family and didn't play the sport as a child. "Now, as a parent, you sort of see where my parents were coming from growing up, where it’s a little bit more violent of a sport than we’re used to, especially for young kids, ages 5 to 14. Their bodies are still developing. We wanted to start something to give the kids options who want to learn the sport."

The field dimensions are smaller, 30 yards by 70 yards, which will allow the new league to play as many as five games at one time on the varsity football field at Notre Dame High School off of Union Avenue.

The games consist of two 15-minute halves between teams of six players each. They will be played on Sunday mornings so parents can get home in time to watch the Bills. There will be one practice a week -- one hour on Wednesday nights. Each child who signs up, for $65, will get a replica NFL jersey and a pair of flags with their team's logo on it.

There are no helmets.

"I don’t really agree with putting a 5- or a six-year-old or a 7- or 8-year-old in a helmet," said Thomas, who played in Batavia Youth Football as a kid, played in high school, and played semi-pro ball.

"We teach them, 'don’t use your head' but you put that helmet on, it’s a weight. You can see it. Go to any little Pop Warner game and you see a kid running by himself for a touchdown he’s leaning to the left but his body is really wanting to go to the right."

Rogers said he and Thomas have talked to 30 or 40 parents and gotten a lot of positive feedback on the idea, so they're expecting plenty of children to sign up.

They think even though there is no contact, young players will learn key fundamentals of the game that will help them if they decide to play high school football, including the vocabulary of the game, the rules and how plays are run.

The safety aspect of flag football is why Thomas thinks the sport will catch on in the community, though he said it is an individual decision for each parent on whether to sign their kids up for contact football or flag football.

"I love the game but I love the safety and I value my kid's life a little bit more," Thomas said.

The co-ed league is open to boys and girls age 5 to 13 from throughout the area, with divisions for ages 5, 6 and 7, 8 and 9, 10 and 11, and 12 and 14.

Please contact Otis Thomas at (585) 993-0244 or Kevin Rogers at (716) 860-4551 with any questions.

(Thomas and Rogers said they are not aware of any other NFL flag football leagues in WNY. They think the next closest one is in Ohio. They hope other parents will start leagues in neighboring counties.)

There will be registration sessions at:

• Dick's Sporting Goods on Veterans Memorial Drive -- this Saturday, July 21, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Tuesday, July 24, 4 to 7 p.m.;
• Batavia City Centre --  tomorrow, Thursday, July 19, and Thursday, July 26, 4 to 7:30 p.m. both days;
• T.F. Brown's restaurant -- this Saturday, July 21 and the folllowing Saturday, July 28, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. both days.

"A Knight's Journey" is a book meant to carry its readers on a trip through the history of Le Roy Oatkan Knights football but in writing it, the authors, Jim Bonacquisti and John Mangefrida, traveled their own path of discovery, going deeper and learning more about a subject they had known their whole lives.

It was meaningful to Bonacquisti to learn more about some of the great Knights' coaches of the past, such as Edward Refsteck, Ed Walsh and Jimmy Brown, but the learning more about two former Knights who gave their lives for others really touched him.

"John Aramino and Gary Scott, those two stories, I mean I knew of both of them, but when you start to do the research about what heroes they were, I really thought it was important, specifically those two, for our young, not even just football players, but our young kids of this community to know about them because it's so long ago," Bonacquisti said. "It's 50, 60 years and these were selfless acts that these two did. It's incredible. The common bond is they were both Knight football players."

Aramino was still in school when he and some friends went out to target shoot around Buttermilk Falls in May 1961. A couple of the boys were on the tracks when a train came along, surprising the boys. A younger boy tried to run from the train and Aramino jump on him, forcing him to the ground between the rails and covered him with his body. Aramino was killed instantly.

After graduating from Syracuse, Gary Scott, who was Knights' team captain in 1962 and the second graduate to win the John Aramino Award, joined the Army and volunteered for the infantry, thinking combat was the quickest route to promotion, and as an African-American he felt blacks were underrepresented in leadership roles in the military. He was killed in action in 1968, saving a fellow soldier's life when their platoon was ambushed and winning the Silver Star as a result.

For Mangefrida the discovery of Reginald D. Root and his story and accomplishments was a gem to research. 

Root was a 1920 graduate of Le Roy. He won a scholarship to Yale where he excelled academically and was a standout at football and lacrosse. After graduation, he was selected by the U.S. ambassador to Mexico to travel to the University of Mexico and start an American-style football team. He coached that team for two years before returning to Yale to become the freshman football head coach. In 1933, he became varsity head coach but his 4-4 record disappointed alumni and he was replaced before the start of the 1934 season. 

He stayed on at Yale for eight more years as a coach and instructor. After Yale, he became athletic director at Hillhouse High School, where mentored a young football player by the name of Levi Jackson. Jackson would become Yale's first African-American football player and eventually Ford Motor Company's first African-American executive.

"I had no idea about what an influence Reggie Root was," Mangefrida said. "Not only was he a good player here. He was an all-star student. ... He was just an outstanding individual and I never knew anything about him."

"A Knight's Journey" was inspired by a book about Cal-Mum's program but the authors wanted to go deeper, telling the stories of the young men and coaches who passed through the program, Bonacquisti. 

The stories come together to weave a tale of Oatkan Knights' football from its beginning in 1897 through today.

"The other thing which was really cool was to listen to what former players had to say about their coaches," Bonacquisti said. "There are some funny stories but maybe more important is how prominent they (the coaches) were in their lives, even if it was only two years, three years, four years; what a positive effect that the coaches here had on young man's life. That's pretty cool."

To make arrangements to purchase a copy of the book, email Bonacquisti at jbona2333@yahoo.com.

Press release:

Orchard Park native Bubba Hollins was assigned to the Batavia Muckdogs on Monday, July 16th. Hollins played his high school baseball at Orchard Park.

Hollins was originally drafted out of high school by the Detroit Tigers in the 35th round of the 2014 MLB Draft. He then went to St. Petersburg Community College before signing to go to St. Bonaventure University in Olean.

Hollins, a third baseman, will be entering his second stint with the Muckdogs on Monday.

Last year, Hollins hit .214 in 12 games for Batavia. He started the 2018 season with the Miami Marlins Class A-Advanced affiliate, the Jupiter Hammerheads. For the Hammerheads, Hollins hit .167 with a double and a home run in the 21 games he played in the Florida State League. 

His father, Dave Hollins, was a 12-year MLB veteran who played with the Philadelphia Phillies, the Boston Red Sox, the Minnesota Twins, the Seattle Mariners, the Los Angeles Angels, the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians. Dave Hollins was also the hitting coach for Muckdogs’ manager Mike Jacobs in 2005 with the Binghamton Mets.

The Muckdogs dropped the fifth of their last seven games on Sunday afternoon to the Lowell Spinners. It was a back-and-forth affair until the seventh inning. The Muckdogs and Spinners traded runs through the first six innings.

Lowell got on the board first in the bottom of the second inning when Tyler Esplin would reach base on a ball that skipped on Gunnar Schubert. Two singles later, he would come around to score thanks to Grant Williams RBI base knock.

In the bottom of the fourth, Jerar Encarnacion got his first hit since returning to the lineup. His triple to the right-center wall set the Muckdogs to score with a runner on third with one out. Two batters later, Denis Karas doubled him home to tie the game up at one. Karas has brought in three batters in the last two games.

Batavia went to the bullpen in the fifth and would yield one run in that inning. Kroby Batesole was hit by a pitch from Martin Anderson to start the inning. A double from Williams followed it up to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. A sacrifice fly from Dylan Hardy put the Spinners back in the lead 2-1.

Michael Donadio led Batavia off in the sixth, and he would tie the game by hitting an opposite-field home run to left to knot the game again 2-2 in the sixth. Donadio tallied his second homer of the year, and both of them have been sent to the opposite field.

Batavia and Lowell were still tied going into the seventh inning, but that would change soon after. The first three batters of the inning would come around to score, and four in total would. Two of the runs came to score on a double from Kole Cottam, and another on a bases-loaded walk. Batavia would face bases-loaded situations multiple times. At the end of the inning, Lowell led 6-2, and that would be the final.

The Muckdogs have now dropped five of their last seven games, and have one more game against Lowell before going back on the road to play the Williamsport Crosscutters in Central Pennsylvania.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

Batavia Cross-country team is having a car wash fundraiser today from 10 a.m - 2 p.m. at Empire Tractor, 5072 E. Main Street Road, Batavia.

All proceeds help toward their New York City trip this fall.

In another close game, Batavia came out on top on Thursday night by a 4-3 margin. The Connecticut Tigers were dressed as the Norwich Navigators as part of a Throwback Thursday promotion to honor the former New York Yankees Eastern League affiliate of the early 2000’s. There was a short back-and-forth in the first four innings, but afterward, the game would be deadlocked until the ninth.

Chris Vallimont made his second professional start in the game. His low pitch count limited him to throwing just two innings. Two runs scored in the bottom of the first from an RBI single from Nick Ames, and a sac fly two batters later from Darwin Alvarado to make it 2-0 after one.

Batavia would come back in a big way in the top of the fourth when Denis Karas came up with two on and two outs, he then unloaded on one to straightaway center field that cleared the 401’ wall in center to put the Muckdogs in front 3-2 going to the bottom of the fourth.

A pair of errors for Batavia in the bottom part of the frame would put Eric De La Rosa on third base with no outs. The first was a throwing error on a tough play by Demetrius Sims that put De La Rosa on second, then a low throw on a pickoff attempt by Manuel Rodriguez sent him to third. Alvarado was the next batter up. His single allowed De La Rosa to walk to home plate to score to knot the game at three.

The bullpens locked the game down after the fourth. John O’Loughlin struck out seven batters in his three and two-thirds innings of work to keep Batavia scoreless. Both games in the series have now seen Batavia strike out at least 13 times in each game. A combination of CJ Carter and Elkin Alcala were able to shut out the Navigators in the last three innings to seal the win.      

Game three and the rubber match of the series takes place on Friday night from Dodd Stadium, it will be a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. Batavia then returns home to take on the Lowell Spinners (Boston) for a three-game set.

Batavia’s bats were kept to season-low numbers on Wednesday night. It was evident from early in the ballgame that hits would be few and far between for the Muckdogs. Chance Kirby was making his New York-Penn League debut with the Connecticut Tigers. Kirby, a strikeout artist in high school and in the GCL, had a career day for the Detroit affiliate.

Through the first five innings of the game, Kirby struck out a total of 12 batters. Only three outs were recorded by something other than a strikeout. He was nearly unhittable. Batavia was able to sneak one hit in, a Luke Jarvis single to center field in the third inning. Kirby struck out the side in the fourth and fifth to make for his highest streak of six Ks in a row. The 12 strikeouts that he recorded are the most that any opposing pitcher has recorded in a start this season against the Muckdogs.

The Tigers opened up the scoring in the second inning with a solo shot from Nick Ames that cleared the deep right field wall. Humberto Mejia worked himself into a bases-loaded jam after that but was able to escape it to keep the deficit to just one.

The third inning would yield more runs for the Tigers. After Mejia retired the first two batters of the frame, Ames ripped a two-out double for his second extra-base hit of the game. Then a walk to Eric De La Rosa set up Darwin Alvarado for a two-run double to make the score 3-0 after three. From then on, the Muckdogs’ bullpen would only give up one more hit in the game.

The offense, however, did not get their start until the seventh once Kirby had left the game. The Muckdogs only got one runner to first base (the Jarvis single). Michael Donadio started things off in the seventh for Batavia with a leadoff walk. After two quick outs, JD Osborne came back to the dish for his first game since June 28^th. He smacked an RBI double over the right-fielder’s head to put the Muckdogs on the board, and help Batavia avoid a second straight shutout. After that spot in the game though, the ‘dogs only pushed one more runner on base thanks to a walk. The Muckdogs set a season low for hits in the game with just three.

The second game of the series takes place on Thursday, a 7:05 p.m. first pitch from Dodd Stadium. Chris Vallimont, the Marlins’ fifth-round pick is expected to make his second career start for the Muckdogs.