Sports

Vincent Di Risio hit his first grand slam home run Saturday in a 10-and-under Little League All-Star game against Le Roy. Batavia won 12-1.

I saw this on Facebook and asked Leanna Di Risio for a copy so we could post it on The Batavian as well.

It was a take-me-out-to-the-ball-game kind of night at Dwyer Stadium. A nice night for a ball game and fireworks.

The hometown team, alas, didn't win. It's a shame.

As 1,782 fans watched, Batavia let first place in the Pinckney Division slip from its grasp, the mood in the stands was barely even dampened, even by a short rain delay in the eighth inning. There would be, after all, win or lose, an Independence Day fireworks show after the game.

Families were there with their children -- some seeing their first professional game -- and fans had the peanuts and Cracker Jacks (not to mention beer and sausage) to fall back on.

The evening started poorly for the home crew, and never really got better. The final, 7-1. The Muckdogs drop to 12-8 on the season. The Spikes are now 13-7.

In the first, starter Jorgan Cavanerio (1-1) sandwiched a walk between a pair of singles, giving up a run, and setting the tone for his fourth outing of the season.

Two singles and a walk in the second led to another run -- a run that scored an inning-ending double play, something you don't see often. The Spikes' Chase Raffield scored on a sacrafice fly to center, then a base running blunder led to Danny Diekroeger getting doubled up at second.

Cavanerio held the line in the third, but the Spikes blew the game open with four runs in the fourth. All four runs came with two outs. 

Jake Stone started the scoring procession with a home run, which could have been worse, if a lead-off walk hadn't been erased by a double play.

During Stone's at bat, there was a lot of griping on the home side about the inconsistant ball and strike calls of home plate umpire Anthony Perez. To partisan minds, Stone should have been out on strikes, and the inning over, on the pitch prior to the gopher ball.

After a team conference on the mound in which manager Angel Espada appeared to try and console his struggling hurler, Espada stood in front of home plate and jawed in the face of Perez for a good two minutes. Perez, stone-faced, just listened. Ejected, Espada walked to the dugout, handed his line-up card to his assistant, and trekked the 300 feet to the clubhouse cheered by fans along the third base line.

Cavanerio gave up 10 hits in four inning of work, walking four. The six earned runs raised his ERA through four starts to 7.71.

Offensively, the Muckdogs never really got anything going. Brian Anderson, Ryan Cranmer, Kevin Grove and Miles Williams each picked up singles for Batavia's only four hits on the night.

Anderson, a third-round draft choice out of Arkansas, has played 10 games at second and is hitting .317. 

Batavia's lone run came in the second, after first baseman Eric Fisher reached on a strikeout, eventually advancing to third and scoring on a double play. There were no hits in the inning.

The National Anthem and "God Bless America" during the seventh inning stretch were sung beautifully by Emily Helenbrook.

The Muckdogs are on the road tonight, traveling to Mahoning Valley. They return home Monday for a 7:05 p.m. game against the Jamestown Jammers.

Batavia and State College, who are battling for supremacy in the Pinckney Division, clash at Dwyer Stadium tonight.

The 7 p.m. game is followed by an Independence Day fireworks celebration.

The starters are Dan Poncedeleon (1-0, 2,25 ERA) for the Spikes and Jorgan Cavanerio (1-0, 6.65) for the Muckdogs.

The Batavia offense will be led by Mason Davis, who is among the league leaders with a .344 batting average.

The Muckdogs travel to Mahoning Valley tomorrow night.

The Pine Tar Incident. It's the most famous "illegal bat" issue in the history of baseball. A home run in 1983 by George Brett was wiped out by an umpire, but at least the league didn't strip the Kansas City Royals of all their wins that season.

Unfortunately for the 11- to 12-year-old Tri-Town Dodgers of the Seven Towns League, league officials are forcing them to enter the playoffs as a last place team, essentially erasing their eight regular season wins because a player used an illegal bat.

League rules state that if a player uses a bat not approved for Little League use, the hitter is ruled out and any runners on base cannot advance. There is no other punishment stipulated in the written rules.  

For the Tri-Town Dodgers, based in Alexander, the punishment has gone beyond the written rules. The team was dropped to last place, despite its 8-4 record, which at the time was third best in their division. The standings are important because they effect seedings for tournament play.

There's no other rule violation that carries a penalty of team losing its standing in its division. That sort of punishment isn't contemplated in the written rules at all. The harshest written penalty for a player rule infraction is a three-game suspension for fighting.

Commissioner Brian Krawczyk has not responded to a pair of phone calls requesting comment.

In an e-mail discussion the league officials ruling sent to team manager Christopher Hausfelder, Krawczyk said the ruling was a safety issue "that would make everybody safer for years to come" and that Hausfelder should advise his players should buck up and to learn to accept that bad things happen life.

"I fully understand that it has really effected your team," Krawczyk said. "However, if handled properly, we can all learn something from this situation. Life brings adversity and how you handle that adversity can define who you are. If I was you, I would communicate to your players that they are still the same team that worked very hard and had a great season. Yes, the road to the final destination will be a little tougher. But, we have achieved great things as a team and as a team we will continue to work hard right up to the final out."

The illegal bat was used in the team's 10th game, June 12. Hausfelder said it was bought by the player and no coach noticed it until it was too late. It's the only illegal bat incident on Tri-Town's 11-12 team, though there was a prior, unrelated incident, with the 9-10 team.

For some third-party perspective, The Batavian called James "Beef" Soggs, well known in Batavia for his commitment to youth sports. Soggs serves on the Batavia Little League Board of Directors and is a Little League coach.

"I've got to say, it's ridiculous," Soggs said.

If this was more than a one-time issue with the same team, perhaps a harsh punishment would be an order, but for a one-time incident, he couldn't understand why the team would be knocked down to last place.

"That's really strict punishment for the whole team for something one player did," Soggs said. "That's pretty drastic to move a team from third place to last place."

For George Brett, the umpire was eventually overruled and he got his home run back. For the Tri-Town Dodgers, there is likely no reprieve. It's already the second round of playoff games tonight, with the Dodgers doing the best they can as the bottom seed.

Press release:

The Oakfield-Alabama Lions Club is sponsoring a children's fishing contest this Saturday, June 28, at Dewitt Recreation Area on Cedar Street in the City of Batavia. The Kendra Haacke Memorial Fishing Contest is free and open to children up to age 16 in Genesee County.

This is NYS DEC Free Fishing Weekend and no fishing license is required. Time is 9 a.m. to noon and children must be accompanied by an adult.

Grand Prize -- Heaviest Fish -- 2 winners (1 girl/1 boy)

Second-chance prizes -- All anglers who catch fish will be given a chance at several prizes.

"Come join us for a morning full of fishing fun at one of Genesee County's beautiful parks! All participants should bring their own fishing gear. Only anglers of fish caught at Dewitt Pond will be eligible for prizes."

Spend a little time with Bill Dougherty, you're likely to hear a baseball story. He's full of them.

After years of telling friends these stories, one friend with a bit of experience in writing books suggested he collect his stories about Batavia baseball into a single soft cover collection.

"Bill Kauffman kept saying, 'you've got a book, oh this is a book'," Dougherty said. "He kept after me to put a book together. So I did."

This month, Dougherty's book, "A View from the Bleachers: Batavia Baseball," hit a few local store shelves.

Now that the book is out, Kauffman, an Elba resident and himself the author of 10 books and a screenplay, is eager to promote the new book. He sent over this endorsement:

Irish names festoon the history of baseball in Batavia: Dwyer, Callahan, Doody, Gerrety, Ryan. Add to that illustrious list Bill Dougherty, whose Batavia Baseball: A View from the Bleachers is a deeply researched, often surprising, and thoroughly entertaining account of baseball as it has been played, watched, and argued over in Genesee County from the 19th Century until today. Every baseball fan in the Mother of Counties should own a copy!

A worthy endorsement for a worthy book.

It's more than a collection of stories, or a mere recitation of baseball glories past in Batavia. It's also a history of Batavia and Genesee County as well as a personal remembrance of a man who made baseball his life's passion.

Dougherty spent countless hours going through historical archives, particularly the dusty, printed pages of 120-year-old editions of the Batavia Daily News.

He also draws on his own recollections from a his youngest days playing sandlot ball and in the park leagues of Batavia.

There was baseball in Batavia in the 19th Century, with a short-lived professional team setting up camp in town in 1897, but it would be in the following decade that the game began to flourish locally.

Every town had a team and rivalries were fierce, especially between Batavia and Le Roy. Dougherty covers some of the scraps between these teams.

In 1939, the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York (PONY) League was founded in Batavia, with one of the original franchises set up in a new ballpark at MacArthur Park (the present site of Dwyer Stadium). 

Even with the arrival of a professional team affiliated with a major league club, and into the 1960s, semi-pro teams flourished throughout Genesee County.

Dougherty talks about more than just the teams and the games. He gets into the personalities and biographies of some the players who were from here or just passed through.

Among them, Joe Dailey, whom Dougherty admits becoming obsessed with.

"As you start picking out stuff, you can't wait to see where they lived, who they knew, where they died," Dougherty said, but Dailey was a particularly perplexing subject.

He died at age 37, and even though he came from a prominent local family, the Daily News gave his death notice a scant four lines. Dougherty had a heck of a time finding out more about him.

"It seemed like somebody was out there hiding everything," Dougherty said. "Then when I find something, I'm like, 'wow.' He led a short life, but it certainly was interesting."

Dailey was born in Batavia in 1876. He played on the 1897 professional team and when the team relocated mid-season to Geneva, he initially went with the team, but then didn't finish the season and returned home. He went to work in the family's furniture store and funeral parlor until his death from acute nephritis in 1914.

Dougherty covers quite a bit of the family's history, which is also a part of Batavia's history. An example of how this is more than a baseball book.

We also learn about Maud Nelson, who wasn't from Batavia, but played a bit of ball here. Billed as "champion lady pitcher of the world" at the turn of the century, Nelson barnstormed around the country, playing whatever semi-pro teams were up for the challenge.

In those early days, a bit of important baseball history had a Batavia angle. In 1912, after Ty Cobb was suspended for fighting with a fan, the rest of the Detroit team decided to go on strike.  Replacement players were brought in for one game. Among them was a kid from Batavia who played shortstop, Vincent Maney.

For decades, box scores credited Pat Meany as the shortstop that day, but Dougherty -- who is a member of the Society of American Baseball Research -- was able to gather enough convincing evidence that Maney is now correctly credited as the shortstop in that game.

A resident of Stafford, Dougherty made a career in heating and air conditioning (retiring in 2000), but he's made a lifetime of baseball. He's been secretary/director of the Genesee County Baseball Club (owners of the Muckdogs), is a member of the Rochester Baseball Historical Society and SABR.

Assisting in production of the book were Dougherty's son, Brian, (the publisher), his grandson Christopher (graphic design), Kathy Frank, typesetting, and Kauffman, editor.

The book also covers every big name baseball player who ever came through town, from Warran Spann, who pitched three times against Batavia when he was first starting his career, to Wade Boggs and Robin Young, who each played a few games at MacArthur Park.

In the book you can learn about Gene Baker (the first black manager with a major league-affiliated club) along with local sensations Walter Loos, Dick Kokos, Eddie Howard, Dick Raymond and Jackie Kelley.

In the late 1940s, when Dougherty was a teen, he became part of a serious sandlot ball team, the A.C. Shafters. The team played other sandlot clubs throughout the region and Dougherty devotes a chapter to the team.

There was a time locally when every park had a ball field and every field had a team and fields rarely were without a game.

Kibbe Park once had a ballpark with stands and dugouts. Today, there's just a softball field with a couple of benches. When Dougherty was out at the field Monday, mounds of dirt were piled on the infield. Dougherty just shook his head. "There was a time when that would never happen," he said. "There would be kids out here playing games all day."

Are there ever any games at Kibbe now?

Things started to change in the 1950s. The sandlot teams began to die off. The semi-pro teams started to disappear, too. From the early 1900s until the 1950s, nearly every city or village of any size in Western New York had a minor league baseball team, and as leagues folded, so did the teams.

Dougherty thinks kids today miss something with fewer teams around.

"I made lifelong friends from every step I played," Dougherty said. "Not every kid on every team. Not all nine or 12 or 15, but some guys I played with are still good friends."

The book is available in the front office of the Batavia Muckdogs, the Holland Land Office Museum and at Dougherty Heating on School Street, Batavia.

The 2014 edition of the Batavia Muckdogs, at least so far, isn't a team with a lot of pop, but they've shown they can put runs on the board.

In nine games this season, the Muckdogs have scored at least five runs six times. At 7-2, they have the best record in the Pinckney Division and are tied with Brooklyn for the best record in the NYPL.

In nine games, only reserve shortstop Brian Anderson has any home runs, with two in eight at bats, but five starters are hitting over .300.

The Muckdogs lead the league in hitting with a .245 team batting average.

The hitting has made up for a subpar contribution from the hurlers so far. The staff ERA is near the bottom of the league at 3.22.

Saturday night, Batavia had its biggest offensive game yet, scoring 10 runs on 14 hits for a 10-6 victory over the Mahoning Valley Scrappers (3-6). Jorgan Cavanerio tossed six innings, giving up four runs, to notch his first win of the season.

The offensive was led by catcher Brad Haynal, a San Diego State product making his professional debut. Taken by the Miami Marlins in the 18th round of the 2014 draft, Haynal was 2-4 with a double and three RBI.

With three hits apiece were DH Carlos Duran and 2B Mason Davis. Duran, a Dominican in his fourth professional season who is hitting .320, had two RBI. Davis, the leadoff hitter, from Georgia, had a triple and his hitting .321 on the season. 

Outfielder Kevin Grove, who went to high school in Los Angeles and college in New York City (St. John's), also had two hits, with a double and RBI. An undrafted free agent, Grove is hitting .324 in his first professional season through eight starts. 

Ryan Aper, a centerfielder from Lincoln, Ill., taken in the sixth round by the Marlins in 2013, had two hits and scored two runs. Aaron Blanton, from Texas, a ninth-round pick in 2013, also had two hits. Blanton is the starting shortstop.

The Muckdogs are home again this evening against State College. Game time is 5:05 p.m. It's Irish Night, sponsored by O'Lacys. Also, the first 100 seniors 60 and over will receive a voucher for a free hot dog, soda/coffee and snack item. The Muckdogs and State College meet again at 7:05 p.m., Monday.

Oftentimes, young boys can be seen playing with Matchbox cars or Tonka trucks, building roads and ramps in playground or backyard sandboxes during the summer. As they get older, remote-control cars and trucks get tested on homemade ramps, curbs or other obstacles boys deem interesting. On rare occasions, one may find a young boy who races stock cars. Now we’re not talking modified stock cars to fit a growing boy’s frame, these cars are full-size NASCAR-style vehicles, equipped with all safety modifications required of NASCAR. 

Meet 12-year-old Dante Mancuso, of Batavia. The seventh-grader is currently ranked number one in the Bandit Class division at Raceway 5 at the Genesee County Fairgrounds. The 12- to 18-year-olds, race on an oval dirt track and can reach speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.

“There’s no chance of me going anywhere because I’m so locked in there,” Mancuso said. “I can only move to shift and steer.” 

Backtracking just a bit, just how did this young lad become interested in racing?

“On my first birthday my dad got me one of those little four-wheelers,” Mancuso said. “I have loved driving ever since.”

Racing does seem to run in the family. Mancuso’s grandfather, Steven Popovich, was a stock car driver in the '50s, driving on both dirt and asphalt tracks. He raced at Lancaster National Speedway when it was still a dirt track under the nickname “The Royal Rebel,” driving car number 30. Additionally, family friends, Larry Richmond and Larry Corp, would also take Dante to the races.

Yet the real beginning was when Mancuso started racing RC (radio-controlled) cars competitively at the age of 9 at the KRZ Raceway and Hobby, Batavia.

“The more I competed, the more I wanted to try and race with something I can sit in and drive,” Mancuso said.

The 1988 Ford Mustang LXT Mancuso drives is a standard six-speed, sporting a number one on the door and “Elvis” where the license plate is normally found. 

“The safety precautions,” David Mancuso, Dante’s father, said, “they’ve taken the NASCAR safety features and applied them to the cars these boys drive.”

“I hit the wall in a recent race,” Dante said, “and it felt more like a tap because I’m so strapped in.”  

“When he hit the wall, he hit the tires first and bounced back a bit before actually hitting the concrete wall and that slowed the impact,” the older Mancuso said. “Even with all the safety features my wife still can’t watch. She puts her head in my lap during the race.”

The aforementioned tires are ones that line the concrete barricade for just such incidents. It’s a safety feature built into the track.

Although the young Mancuso participates in what most would consider an adult sport, he is still a kid and school takes precedence over racing. 

“After school I’d do my homework and if I can, I work on my car,” said the Batavia native. “But Saturdays are the best day because I get to do my favorite thing -- other than spending time with my family -- and that’s working on my car.”

The deal with his parents is this: “If I fail a class, I don’t get to race."

“I’m really excited about summer,” Dante said, “because I also play football.” 

Last year, Mancuso played for the Batavia Bulldogs, the Batavia town league. This first stringer played many different positions on the defensive line.

“I like to say he’s got the ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ ” the elder Mancuso said. “He likes to win.”

“When you lose, you learn something. When you lose, you lose with pride,” Dante said. “I learn something when I lose. As the racing saying goes ‘Don’t let your head get too big.' In other words, don’t get overconfident in yourself. Learn something from every race.” 

While the middle-schooler prepares himself to go further in racing -- having his eye on the Winston Cup or the Daytona 500 -- right now he says he wants to be the best he can be “in life, in racing, in general. Just to be the best I can be.

“Racing is a team sport. It’s no use getting angry at losing, just learn something for the next race, because you never know, you could take first in your heat and then win.”

Mancuso races against six to 10 other drivers. There are two races on race night: the heat, then the feature.

“To qualify in a heat, you need to finish the heat,” Dante said. “Depending on where you finish, that places you for the feature.”

Racing is a point system from both the heat and the feature races. Each placement -- first, second and so on -- garners points and position. With races held every weekend, weather permitting, he never really knows what’s in store for him.

“Before I even get out on the track I take 10 seconds to just breathe and clear my mind,” the boy said. “When I get on the track I focus on the track and nothing else. I’m focused on winning.

“Most important of all, other than my mom and dad’s support, if I didn’t have (the support of) fellow racer Jason Babbitt (Babbitt Racing) and Larry Corp (chief mechanic at Mancuso Limo),” Mancuso continued. “I wouldn’t be able to race.”

More often than not, Mancuso works alongside his crew to learn not only the basics of car mechanics but the more intricate details of owning a car.

“They teach me the mechanics as I go along,” Dante said. “I’ve learned how to change racks and transmissions and things like that.”

Mancuso’s sponsors include his dad, David Mancuso of Mancuso Limo and Buses of WNY, Batavia; Nate Mancuso of Caesar Auto and Truck, Bergen; and James Gayton of The Detail Shop, Batavia.

When asked why he is involved in a potentially dangerous sport: “It’s my passion. I love to do it.”

A seven-run eighth inning propelled the Batavia Muckdogs to victory in the team's 2014 home opener in front of 1,400 fans.

A three-run double by Miles Williams broke the eighth wide open after the Muckdogs trailed Auburn throughout the game 2-0.

Alexander Carreras got the win, tossing three scoreless innings. Starter Jose Adames went five innings, giving up the two runs on two walks and five hits. He fanned five.

The Muckdogs were held to only six hits on the evening, with second baseman Rony Cabrera collecting two hits.

Batavia is 1-1 on the season and meet up with Auburn again today at 2:05 p.m. at Dwyer Stadium. Next home game is Monday at 7:05 p.m.

Photos by Mike Janes.

Top photo: Shortstop Aaron Blanton slides home safely during the team's seven-run eighth inning.

Manager Angel Espada is introduced before the season opener.

Shortstop Aaron Blanton poses for a photo with Ann Gavenda after she threw out the ceremonial first pitch; Gavenda was in attendance during the 1939 opener.

First baseman Scott Carcaise tags Jose Marmalejos-Diaz on a pickoff attempt, however Diaz was called safe.

Catcher Rodrigo Vigil at bat.

Two young fans participating in the three-legged race in between innings.

Young fan gets to hit Muckdogs General Manager Travis Sick in the face with a pie after answering a trivia question correctly.

Relief pitcher Alexander Carreras, the game's winning pitcher.

 Outfielder Ryan Aper leads the celebration after the Muckdogs defeated Auburn 7-2.

Things really didn't go Notre Dame's way in what turned out to be the baseball team's final game of the season.

Nobody wanted it to end this way, with a 7-1 loss to Smithtown Christian in the Class D semi-final game for the state championship, but Coach Mike Rapone said he told his players to hold their heads high.

"I tried to joke with them that if I told you the first day of practice that, 'you know what, we're going to lose in the state semi's,' I think you might have signed up for it," Rapone said.

Starting pitcher Alec Covel agreed. Clearly pained by the loss, he said he still recognized the Fighting Irish accomplished a lot this year, more than they might have thought possible at the start of the season.

"It's been fun," Covel said, not at all sounding like it has been fun. "I'm going to tell my kids about it someday. It's something to look back to."

Covel clearly had a reason to be disappointed. The ace of the staff, and a big reason Notre Dame made it this far, Covel struggled with his control all afternoon.

He walked the first two batters he faced. Both would score, because of throwing errors, even as Covel recorded all three outs in the inning on Ks.

"I was battling the whole time, pitching from behind and it showed," Covel said.

After the top of the first, Covel went with a coach into the bullpen to throw more.

"I was working on a drill to get over my front side," Covel said. "The mound was flatter than usual and I couldn't get over my front side and I was leaving pitches up."

Catcher Andrew Mullen said he thought Smithtown's hitters did a good job of not letting Covel establish a rhythm.

"The took their time in there, like any good team would," Mullen said. "I think that shook him up and then after that, things really didn't go our way, so he couldn't get comfortable."

Mullen thought Smithtown's starter, Jack Palma, who threw a complete game, threw harder than pitchers Notre Dame has faced recently, but he wasn't unhittable.

In fact, Notre Dame put a lot of balls into play, just not too many of them were hit hard or turned into hits.

"Anything in the infield they would chew up and it was an out for them," Mullen said. "That definitely helped them."

Rapone said Palma wasn't at all overpowering.

"All he threw was a fastball and a change up, but he was keeping us off balance," Rapone said. "We only hit the ball hard but a few times, so you've got to give him credit. Whatever he was doing was working."

Even though Covel walked four, he struck out six and Rapone said he pitched well enough that Smithtown should not have been able to put seven runs on the board.

"If we made some plays behind him, it's a lot closer game," Rapone said. "But they're a good baseball team. They didn't make too many mistakes. They were patient at the plate. They didn't help us out with anything, and we threw the ball around a little bit, misplayed a ball in the outfield we probably should have caught, and that's what happens. When you get to this level, the team that executes better wins. They executed better, so they won."

A team that has been relaxed all year may have found it a little harder to get loose for such a big game, Rapone said.

"I was surprised that, as loose a group as this has been all year, they were a little tight before the game, and then they started playing that way," Rapone said. "I think if we could have gotten out of the first inning, as we probably should have, without giving up anything, maybe we would have relaxed a little bit."

Mullen agreed with Rapone's assessment.

"We were a little nervous coming into this," Mullen said. "It was a lot of pressure on us. We had been really relaxed to this point, but I think being in the final four finally caught up to us. I think a little bit of nerves got to us, and he (Palma) was a good pitcher."

In the final, Smithtown beat Hancock 7-3 to take the state's Class D title.

We'll have a slideshow of more photos available in the morning.

Notre Dame supporters, reminder, it would be a big help with the expense of this coverage if you joined The Batavian Club.

Smithtown Christian celebrated a first-round victory over the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame this afternoon at Broome Community College in Binghamton. Smithtown won 7-1, eliminating Notre Dame from the state championship series.

We'll have a game story and photos later (long drive back to Batavia before I can work on it).

Notre Dame High School held a rally this morning in support of its baseball team before the team left for Binghamton and a shot at a state championship.

Tomorrow, in a final four match, the Fighting Irish play Smithtown Christian High School. The winner will play either Hancock or Heuvelton Central. The Batavian will bring you full coverage or ND's run at the title. This is only the second time in the school's history that the baseball team has played for a state championship.

Photos submitted by Joseph Scanlan.

New Muckdogs -- and some returning -- have been arriving in Batavia this week and starting workouts with their new teammates.

The first home game of the season is at 7 p.m., Saturday, at Dwyer.

Manager Angel Espada, in his second season in Batavia, said the staff will have some good young arms and pitching should be a team strength during the 2014 campaign.

"At this level the most important thing is you help them develop," Espada said. "Pitching and defense (are) going to dictate, at any level, but especially at this level.

"I think our pitching should be solid," he added.

Leading the staff, at least out of the gate, will be Gabriel Castellanos, Jorgan Cavanerio, Jose Adames.

Position players to watch include Aaron Blanton, Kevin Grove and Ryan Aper.

The Muckdogs are an affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

Yesterday's workout was cut short by a cloudburst.

For the full season schedule, click here.

The lore of the ace is the guy who can take the big game on his shoulders and simply dominate. Once again, Notre Dame's Alec Covel showed he's that kind of guy.

He struck out eight of the first nine batters he faced in today's regional championship game in Jamestown against North Collins. If not for some mental lapses in the 4th -- when the Eagles scored two runs without a hit or even a knock into the outfield -- Covel would have completed the game with a one-hit shutout.

Instead, the Fighting Irish advance to the state championship games at Broome Community College next Saturday with a 9-2 win over the Section VI champs.

"I knew he'd pitch a strong game for us," Head Coach Mike Rapone said. "I didn't know it would be that strong. He was really overpowering.

"He was vintage Covel today, that's for sure," Rapone added. "This is what you expect of a big time player in a big time situation and he came through."

The Eagles looked in over their head against Covel from the start of the game. They couldn't catch up with his fastball, and Covel knew it, and curve after curve caused knees to buckle.

"I was feeling really good (during the first three innings)," Covel said. "Everything was working. They weren't catching them, so I just kept throwing fastballs and blowing it past them."

The fourth inning got a little weird and it became easy to imagine the team that looked so dominate minutes earlier could let things get away from them.

Covel hit the first batter he faced in the 4th. The next hitter drew a walk on four pitches.

Catcher Andrew Mullen tried a pick-off play at first and the ball sailed wide of the bag. First baseman Tyler Stroud snagged the errant throw. The Eagle base runner on second was already half way to third and Stroud tried to make the throw. It skipped past Louis Reynolds and North Collins picked up its first run.

Rapone thought Stroud should have just eaten the ball and let the runner advance.

The second run came on a throwing error by Reynolds (Reynolds did not make the throw) off a grounder from the next North Collins hitter.

"Alec's going to get you out of it," Rapone said. "Instead we threw the ball around and allowed those two guys to score."

With the threat of the wheels coming off and North Collins putting together a big inning, Rapone gathered his team on the mound.

"These guys don't get down, but I was afraid they would get a little rattled," said Rapone, who has more than 600 wins as a basketball coach. "It's a little like a timeout in basketball after the other team goes on a little run. You take a timeout and say 'hey, boys, slow down. We've got this. Relax. Take a deep breath.' "

The team got the message and Mullen ended the inning -- a bit of poetic justice -- with a pick-off at first.

Mullen -- who nearly came out of his shoes trying to hit the ball all the way back to Batavia on his first two swings in his next at bat -- would also help tie the game with a bases loaded single, giving Notre Dame a lead, at 4-2, it wouldn't relinquish.

The Irish were confident they could hit the North Collins starter, who had little velocity. His big side-arm curve was easy to pick up and dropped across the plate in a consistent groove. They hit him hard in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings before driving him from the game.

Cal Tygart sparked the Irish offense, leading off in three separate innings and scoring all three times. He was 3-5.

"Cal's been strong for us all year long," Rapone said. "He kind of gets lost in the shuffle with the other guys that we have, but he's really done well for us."

Tygart said it was all about having fun and backing the ace.

"We just needed to give Covel the room he needed to work," Tygart said. "He was pitching really well so we needed to come out and give it our all and give him the room to work with."

Covel finished with 11 strikeouts and only one hit allowed.

The most unusual stat of the game was the eight hit batters on the Notre Dame side. Stroud was hit four times.

Notre Dame's state semi-final championship game will be against Smithtown Christian, from Long Island. The winner of the 10 a.m. game Saturday will advance to the final at 4 p.m. in Binghampton.

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