Sports

Above, Brad Jackson celebrates his win in the Downs' 39th annual Driver's Bicycle Race with a “flying leg” pose as he crosses the wire. 

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

The 39^th annual Batavia Downs Labor Day driver's bicycle race took place on Monday (Sept. 3) with a full field of eight local reinsmen lining up to compete. And with three previous race winners in the 2018 field, a first time victor emerged from the pack. 

The starting car picked up the field at the top of the far turn and let them go at the head of the stretch for the one-eighth mile dash.

Billy Davis Jr. took a quick early lead but he was soon joined by Drew Monti and Denny Bucceri who flanked him inside and out. Then halfway down the stretch Brad Jackson, who was hindered by post eight, was cruising in the middle of the stretch and got by everyone to win by two lengths. Jackson celebrated the win with a “flying leg” pose as he crossed the wire. 

After the race, the bikes were given away via random drawing to eight lucky fans who correctly selected Jackson to win before the event.

Also on Monday afternoon, drivers Billy Davis Jr. and Kevin Cummings had the hot hands during the live card of racing, winning four and three races respectively. Davis piloted Bad Glamour Girl ($6.10), Dark Horse ($4), Peter Pumpkineater ($15) and Cashco ($5.40) while Cummings steered Dwntwnskeeterbrown ($28.40), Montezuma Bluechip ($3.70) and Our Last Photo ($7.20). 

Racing resumes at Batavia Downs on Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 5) with the New York Sire Stakes 3-year-old pacing colts and geldings in the house.

Photos courtesy of Paul White.

Bottom photo: Harness racing drivers ride their bicycles down the stretch at Batavia Down's Monday afternoon.

On the final day of the season, the Batavia Muckdogs had a chance to play spoiler against their Thruway rivals, the Auburn Doubledays, but after falling behind 8-2 after three innings, the team couldn't crawl its way back and lost 8-5.

Starter Josh Roberson (1-1) was lifted after the second inning. He gave up four runs. Evan Estes gave up four runs in the third inning. Tyler Kolek came on and stopped the bleeding, giving up only one hit over three innings, striking out three.

The offense was led by Demetrius Sims, who was 2-4 with two doubles and two runs scored (seen in the top photo scoring in the fifth inning).

Sean Reynolds was 0-4 but finished the season as the league leader in home runs (17), RBIs (52), Runs (49) and walks (42). He's the team leader in stolen bases with 13 (also the highest success rate in the league). He is the only player in 2018 to play every inning of all 76 games. He also finishes with a batting average .193 and a new league record of 133 strikeouts.

With the win, Auburn becomes the wildcard team in the NYPL playoffs.

The Alabama Hunt Club, founded in 1946, will host a Public Fall Shoot the weekend of Sept. 29 and 30 at its Clubhouse and Range, located at 1857 Lewiston Road, Basom.

The Saturday shoot will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday's will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Traditional and inline muzzleloader matches available.

Shoot any projectile and any powder designed for muzzleloader shooting.

Many traditional and inline matches offered at 25- to 200-yard ranges, silhouette, too!

Shoot off hand or bench.

Lunch available for $5.

Registration fee is $10 / $1 per target.

Prize money awarded per match based on participation.

Note: Any match can be shot by a Junior -- age 12-16 -- and will be scored separately in "Junior" Class. Please inquire.

Any questions, call Sam DiSalvo at (585) 297-7747 or John Szumigala at (716) 714-5514.

Sean Reynolds doubled and tripled Sunday afternoon, driving in four runs, to lift the Batavia Muckdogs past the Auburn Doubledays 5-4 in the second-to-last game of the regular season at Dwyer Stadium.

Reynolds (shown swatting his triple in the third inning, second photo) now has 52 RBIs on the season to lead the league. He also struck out twice, extending his record-breaking K total to 131 (the previous NYPL record was 117 set in 1982 (previous story)).

Bryce Howe started and tossed the first four frames, giving up two runs and striking out seven. The win went to Elkin Alcala (4-2). Jameson McGrane got his third save despite giving up two runs in the ninth.

Davis Bradshaw, an 11th-round pick from Missouri, who has been batting leadoff and hitting .333 since joining the team three weeks ago, had two hits and scored a run.

The Muckdogs close out the season tomorrow with a Labor Day game that starts at 1:05 p.m.

Top Photo: Bradshaw singles safe after trying to score from third on a groundball to short. Home plate umpire Roberto Pattison disagreed with Bradshaw's assessment of the play, ruling that Doubledays catcher Wilmer Perez applied the tag in time.

Bryce Howe

Bradshaw in the first inning stroked a ground ball down the third base line for a double.

Ronal Reynoso with a sacrifice bunt.

Bubba Hollins

Reynolds at first.

Reynoso

The Fighting Irish battled the heat, their own mistakes, a good Canisteo-Greenwood, and to some partisan eyes, some questionable penalty calls but in the end the home team came out top.

Notre Dame beat the Redskins 31-25, scoring the winning touchdown on a five-yard reception by Zach Cocking (top photo) with 30 seconds left on the clock.

"We persevered and one thing I've been telling these kids all year is to believe in themselves," said Head Coach Joe Zambito, who notched his first win in his first official game at the helm. "It was something in previous years that they would get down and they would hang their hat and they just would quit. Today, they wouldn't quit and they kept coming back and they kept coming back and you know a lot of things didn't go our way today. But at the end of the day, we had the ball last and we were the last team to score and we made it happen."

Zambito said it was a team effort and many ways it was but Gabe McDonald had a special game, going for 210 yards on 23 carries leading to two touchdowns.

Tim Klotzbach was 12-21 and 147 yards at QB, tossing two TDs. He also had three interceptions.

His favorite target was Cocking, who had seven catches for 82 yards and that game-winning reception in the end zone.

The defense was lead by Lucas Calarco and Dakota Sica, who had nine tackles each. McDonald had seven and one interceptions.

There was little scoring in the first half and the Irish took an 8-0 lead into the locker room at the half. After the Redskins scored to make it 8-6, Zambito sensed his team was playing a little flat. He mentioned to a coach at that point that here they were with the lead but the team looked like they were losing.

"Bad habits are hard to break," Zambito said. "They've had two wins in two years and they're just not used to being the dominating team on the field. They're not used to being ahead. They're used to playing from way behind. I think that played a role in it but as the game went on I think they realized that we had a shot."

Zambito would like to keep the momentum going but Notre Dame gets an usual bye next week because Oakfield-Alabam/Elab dropped out of 11-man football just before the season started, leaving a hole in the schedule (O-A/Elba elected to play eight-man football). His team, he believes, that with day-by-day improvement, they do indeed have a shot at post-season play.

"Yeah, I think we've got a shot to get to sectionals," Zambito said. "I mean this Canisteo-Greenwood team is a good football team and obviously Alexander is just phenomenal. But I think we have a shot to get to sectionals and we know what do we have to do. We have to limit our turnovers we have to limit our penalties. Our mistakes. We have to play mistake-free football but then again we didn't do that today at all and we still managed to come out of here with a win. And it's all because they persevered."

To purchase prints, click here.

Press release:

The Genesee County YMCA was chosen as one of 151 Make a Splash Local Partner programs in the United States to receive grant funding from the USA Swimming Foundation in 2018. The awarded money will go toward Genesee County YMCA’s continued efforts to provide free or reduced cost swim lessons to underserved communities.

The USA Swimming Foundation awarded a total of $702,819 to programs across the country that will help provide swim lessons to an estimated 27,239 children, the most distributed since Make a Splash’s inception in 2007.  

 “We are excited and honored to be chosen for this grant,” said Aquatics coordinator Megan Boring. “The funding we received will be put toward our goal of reaching 50 new kids from within our community to have them be a part of the YMCA’s Learn to Swim Program.

"We are specifically reaching out to children in our community who may not be able to afford swim lessons, and therefore have not learned how to swim. We feel this is a great opportunity to introduce kids on how to be safe around water and learn the basics of swimming.”

The Genesee County YMCA will be working with the Genesee County Youth Bureau to identify participants who would most benefit from free or reduced-cost swim lessons.

The YMCA’s Learn to Swim Program has been around for more than 100 years. At the Genesee County YMCA, we offer swim lesson classes to all ages and abilities.

  The USA Swimming Foundation vetted more than 200 applications through a competitive annual review process and chose 151 programs to receive funding, many of whom are first time Make a Splash grant recipients.

“We are thrilled to be awarding this funding and so proud that it will be used to create a valuable swimming experience for thousands of children who may not have had the opportunity to learn how to swim,” USA Swimming Foundation Executive Director Debbie Hesse said.

“These exciting and lifesaving opportunities would not be possible without the support of our USA Swimming Foundation partners and donors, who continue to help us make a difference across this country.”

More than 850 Make a Splash Local Partners in all 50 states promote water safety education in their communities and provide scholarships and transportation for children to participate in their swim lesson programs.

For more information on the Make a Splash grants distributed, visit www.USASwimmingFoundation.org.

For more information on swim lessons at the GLOW YMCA contact the YMCA at 585-344-1664, or visit www.glowymca.org.

The Batavia Blue Devils have a message for the rest of Section V Class B: We're coming for the block.

They delivered that message loud and clear last night to #2 ranked Hornell (Batavia is ranked #1), the team that took the block (the Section V sectional trophy) from them in 2017, with a convincing 48-14 win at home.

The Blue Devils relished the win against a perennial Class B rival and Southern Tier powerhouse.

"It means a lot," said senior QB Ethan Biscaro. "To lose last year (in the Section V title game) and have them open up here at home, it couldn’t have been any better."

The message the rest of the class might want to heed is the 2018 Blue Devils are more than their two-time All-Greater-Rochester star Ray Leach. This team has weapons in players like Biscaro, Alex Rood, and Cody Burns who can also chew up yards and put points on the board.

Batavia had 379 total yards on the ground. Rood carried the ball 13 times for 168 yards and a TD. Burns had five carries for 95 yards and a TD. And Leach ran 14 times for 88 yards and two TDs.

Biscaro was also 3-5 passing for 32 yards and a TD. Burns had the TD reception.

Head Coach Brennan Briggs can't deny he's excited by the talent on the team but he also pointed out, it's one game, it's early in the season, the team still has a lot to learn and improve on and if they don't improve every week they won't be able to handle the rigors of post-season play.

"I'm never going to get complacent with where we are I can guarantee that," Briggs said. "I'll be watching film tonight. I'll be watching it tomorrow morning. I'll be going down watching Lavonia a couple hours away tomorrow. So we'll we'll have his team ready to go next week and we'll fix our mistakes and hopefully get better every day."

Briggs is never going to come into a game expecting his team to lose, even against a team like Hornell, but he did not predict a blow-out win.

"I still don't know if the score tells the true story," Briggs said. "You know, as the season goes on we'll see. This is a great win. But you know it's going to be more important if we see them in the sectionals, sometime in the sectional tournament, to see if we play our best game against them."

Rood and Leach, along with Briggs, gave all the credit to the offensive line for the team's dominant performance offensively.

"They did a fantastic job and we're tough on them," Briggs said. "We're as tough on them as any of the positions on the team because we told them, 'hey you know you win or lose games up front.' They take pride in it. They're a brotherhood."

For Burns, a junior, this was a break-out game. At 5'6", he's one of the smallest players on the field but he plays big. And he's fast. He scored his TD on a busted play where the offensive line pushed left and he ran right. By the time the Hornell defense realized it was following the line and not the ball, it was too late. Burns was gone. Nobody could catch him. He streaked more than 60 yards untouched for a TD.

On defense, he started at linebacker. Yes, at 150 pounds, linebacker.

"On defense, he plays tough," Briggs said. "He's not big at all but he'll bring it. He's ready to go bust the wedge on kickoff or knock their teeth in."

This season was also a test for the home team. They had to show they could overcome off-season turmoil and focus on football.

A month ago, Leach and teammate Antwan Odom got into a fight on Ross Street. Odom is accused of pulling out a pocket knife and stabbing Leach at least 10 times, leaving him with eight wounds that required stitches.

Briggs said his players did a good job of keeping the off-field antics out of the locker room and off the practice field.

"Everybody really put it behind them," Briggs said. "It's an unfortunate thing, but you know we're here now and we're living in the moment and moving forward."

Leach said he's feeling much better and came into the game ready for the season.

"I just had to stay positive and lean on my teammates," Leach said. "My teammates picked me up and I just had to work hard and practice on whatever little things I can do."

Also in Genesee County football on Friday: 

• Alexander beat York-Pavilion 50 to 12. Chris McClinic had 11 carries for 149 yards and 1 TD run and 1 kick return for TD. Terrez Smith rushed five times for 146 yards and three touchdowns. Ty Woods hauled in three passes for 64 yards and a TD. QB Dylan Busch was 6-7 for 81 yards and a TD. Jake Jasen had 19 tackles. He also rushed three times for 15 yards and TD late in the game.
• Geneseo beat Pembroke 30-9.
• Le Roy beat Avon 47-13. Le Roy's offense rolled up 413 total yards. Cineque Robinson had 11 carries for 113 yards and a touchdown, Jake Hill had eight rushes for 93 yards and two TDs, Kyler LaCarte picked up 62 yards on 13 touches and scored twice. Hill was 5-10 passing for  60 yards and TD. Anthony Leitte led the team with seven tackles.

Top Photo: Biscaro (#8) and Burns (#12) celebrate after Burns scored a TD on a busted play.

Alex Rood

Ethan Biscaro scores.

Ray Leach just about to cross the goal line on the second of his two TDs.

Rood with a tackle in the backfield. He had eight tackles to lead the team Friday.

Rood breaks away for another TD.

Cody Burns

To purchase prints for photos, click here.

By Tim Bojarski, for Batavia Downs

A full card of harness racing action, food specials and a driver’s bicycle race are all on tap as part of the annual Labor Day activities at Batavia Downs on Monday (Sept. 3). 

The live harness racing action kicks off at 1:15 p.m. with 10 exciting races. But there will also be something for the whole family to enjoy all day long and no one will go hungry for sure. 

The featured meal is a $10.95 chicken barbecue provided by the Center Street Smoke House from noon to 3 p.m. in the clubhouse. The smell of the on-site prepared barbecue chicken with “all the fixin’s” will permeate the grandstand and come with built in value. Every meal purchased comes with $10 in Batavia Downs Gaming Free-play to be used on the gaming floor after earning one base-point. 

If chicken is not to your liking, there will also be $1 Sahlen’s hot dogs, $1 draft beer and $1 soda available on the track apron outlets from noon until the last race. 

Then after the seventh race, Batavia Downs will present the annual Driver’s Bicycle Race sponsored by Crazy Cheap Cars of Oakfield. This race features eight of the top drivers at the Downs competing in a race on bicycles that will then be given away to the fans who correctly picked the winner of the race. 

Our live guests may place an entry in the box of the driver that they think is going to win from noon to 2:30 p.m. There will be eight names chosen from the winning driver’s box after the bike race is completed and each name drawn will receive one of the bikes used in the race. There is no purchase necessary, you must be 18-years-old or older to enter and you must be present to win. 

This year’s competing drivers include (in post-position order) are John Cummings Jr., Rock Vinci, Billy Davis Jr., Denny Bucceri, Shawn McDonough, Drew Monti, Jim McNeight Jr. and Brad Jackson. 

Monti, Vinci and Bucceri have all won this race and bragging rights will be on the line Labor Day for the next 12 months.

Right now, it looks like there will be professional baseball in Batavia in 2019, according to General Manager Dave Chase.

As the team heads into its final week of the 2018 season (barring a playoff appearance), Chase said last night that he's pretty confident the team will be back -- he gave it a 90 to 95 percent chance -- and he said he's getting good signals from league officials.

“We do have a draft of the 2019 schedule and we’re on it, so I’ll take that as a sign we’re playing," Chase said.

The NYPL took over ownership of the Muckdogs early in 2018 and hired Chase, with decades of experience in Minor League baseball, to run the team. He promised to improve on-field playing conditions and in-stands fan experience. He thinks both goals were achieved.

"The team has played much better," Chase said. "We don’t win a lot at home but we’re usually in it in 7th, 8th, and 9th inning and we believe if you’re not going to win them, at least be in them, and then when people go home, they’ll forget whether you won or lost, they’ll just know they had something to cheer about late in the game."

Attendance continues to be a concern but Chase said some of the attendance problems can be blamed on the late start he and the rest of the front office got on preparing for 2018. Tickets sales, including season ticket sales, started later than normal and there was no time to push group sales. While support from the local business community was very good this year, Chase said, the staff needs more time than they had in 2018 to work on obtaining sponsorships.

The biggest improvement has been on the field, especially the infield. In April, the infield was laser-leveled with the help of Batavia Turf and DuraEdge and the infield dirt was replaced with the same mixed by the Miami Marlins on their home field. Joe Mogavero took care of the field for more than the first half of the season and then Cooper Thomson finally got his visa to fly in from Australia and become the new head groundskeeper at Dwyer Stadium.

The improvements have been noticeable by players, coaches, and the front office, especially since Cooper Thomson joined the staff.

"Cooper was by far a step in the right direction," Chase said. "He has a vision. He knows what he wants. The question will be whether I can afford it but we are talking about him coming back in April.

That's well in advance of the 2019 season, but not as soon as Chase would like to get him to come back to Batavia.

"I tried to get him to come in March but he said his heart would break if he had to look at a baseball field covered in snow," Chase said.

Manager Mike Jacobs took over the team in 2017 and returned in 2018. He said the improvements on the field and off have been welcome by both him and the players.

"It’s been great, just even on the field, new dirt, finally got our regular head grounds crew guy and he’s been great, Cooper," Jacobs said. "Since he's been here, the surface has played extremely well compared to what it was last year. They’ve made improvements inside the clubhouses on both sides. There are still things to touch up but overall I can’t complain. It’s been great."

The field is also getting high marks from the players, especially those who played on it in 2017 and came back in 2018. Both Demetrius Sims and Sean Reynolds said the improvement was noticeable on the first day of the season and the field has only gotten better as the season has gone along.

"We always looked forward to playing on the road last year but with the improvements from last year to this year, it’s been a lot better with the surface and all the upgrades to the field," Sims said.

Reynolds said he's impressed with the work Thomson has done since he joined the team.

"(He) has done an unbelievable job making sure the field is in shape every night," Reynolds said. "The surface itself is 10 times better than it was last year. Last year it was like, you didn’t know if you were going to be playing on gravel or sand every night. That’s been great."

While Chase is also pretty confident the Marlins will be the Major League parent of the Muckdogs again in 2019, that decision won't be made until the middle of September or later.

Jacobs said he thinks the Marlins should come back to Batavia and neither Sims nor Reynolds expressed any reservations about the team returning.

The one thing they all want to see is more fan support.

"We don’t have the biggest crowds," Jacobs said. "I would say this year we’ve had bigger crowds then what had in the past and that’s a testament to the front office here in Batavia, whether through advertising or whatever to get fans in the stadium. You look at a night like tonight and it was pretty filled up for a Tuesday.  I know they’re trying and I would like to see us be able to come back."

Reynolds said if Batavians want to keep professional baseball in Batavia, they probably need to come to more games.

"Obviously, places like State College and Mahoning Valley, Tri-City, wherever else, they have a pretty cool set up compared to this," Reynolds said. "I think it’s just a matter of people getting out to the game. I know every year there’s kind of deal where it’s like nobody wants baseball in Batavia to leave because it’s a staple of minor league baseball but at the same time if you don’t want it to leave then, you know, you’ve got to show a little bit of support."

The fan support, he said, matters to the players. There should be more games like the July 3 match against West Virginia when Dwyer was packed.

"There was, what, 2,500 people (ed. a little over 2,300) here, I think, and that was incredible because they were all cheering and they were chanting for us to win," Reynolds said. "That’s what real baseball should feel like."

If asked by a prospect just starting out his career next year whether Batavia was a good place to play ball, Sim said he would say yes, but with a caveat.

"It depends on where you’re from," Sims said. "If you’re a big city guy, then you’ve kind of got to adapt to the area and what’s around, but it’s been more than welcoming to be back here."

Top photo: Manager Mike Jacobs in the dugout on opening night.

Muckdogs Manager Mike Jacobs says Sean Reynolds, is, without a doubt, his most valuable player in 2018.

That might surprise anybody who knows that Reynold's has one of the lowest batting averages in the NY-Penn League (.192, fourth lowest of qualifying players) and has already broken the league's single-season record for most strikeouts (currently, 121, with nine games to go, breaking the previous record of 117 set in 1982).

But Reynolds also leads the league in home runs (16), RBIs, (47), Runs scored (47), base on balls (40) and leads his team in stolen bases (13). He's also the only player in the NYPL to play every inning of every game (70 so far).

"Without a doubt, he’s having a great year," Jacobs said. "It’s fun to watch. It’s fun to watch the progression of watching him continue to get better every day."

This is the second season in Batavia for the 20-year-old Southern Californian who was a fourth-round draft pick right out of Redondo Union High School for the Marlins in 2016.

The Marlins will be patient with their young power bat, Jacobs said. 

"What he can bring to the table you just can’t find that every day," Jacobs said. "I think the more he plays, the more games he plays, he will cut down on his strikeouts. I think he will put the ball in play more, and ultimately if he just does that, all those numbers are going to continue to rise."

Reynolds is well aware of his strike out record and his average but he's also pleased with his progress and believes he will continue to improve the more he plays.

"Obviously, that’s the thing going forward in my career that’s going to be the focal point, being able to put the ball in play more," Reynolds said. "Personally, I don’t see any reason why I can’t improve because it’s all about getting at-bats. This is my first full year in a sense of playing over 70 games and getting 300-plus plate appearances."

At 6'7", Reynolds invites comparisons to Dave Kingman, AKA "King Kong," who hit 442 major league home runs over 16 seasons starting in 1971. He also struck out in prodigious numbers (153 times in 1975, when he hit 36 homers for the Mets, and 138 times in 1979 when he hit 48 homers for the Cubs). He finished with .236 career average.

Whether Reynolds makes contact more often, time will tell, but he is arguably already better than Kingman in one key aspect of baseball: Defense. 

Where Kingman was atrocious in the field (career .895 fielding percentage including 3B and outfield) Reynolds is already doing better (.983) and has improved throughout the season.

"A lot of people may not realize it but he’s played outstanding first base for us," Jacobs said.

Jacobs knows a thing or two about hitting the ball hard at the major league level (100 career homers, including 32 for the Marlins in 2008) and Reynolds credits Jacobs for helping him get better.

"Jakes is a big the influence on me, him and Jesus Merchan, our hitting coach," Reynolds said. "He’s been able to help me with things I wouldn’t even think about because he’s played and been around the game for 20-plus years now. He’s been in the big leagues and able to have a lot of success in the big leagues for the time he was there. When I’m not going good, he knows what to say and how to help me out without saying too much, and then when I'm going good, it's a high five when I’m going around third base and that’s all I need."

Reynolds knows he's getting better and he's obviously playing with more confidence.

"It’s funny we should talk about this right now because this was probably my best series of the year," Reynolds said (he had five hits, three homers, six RBIs). "I was more consistently putting bat to ball and making loud outs even if I wasn’t getting on base, so that was good to feel but obviously for every success and every home run there’s been a lot of struggle."

If Reynolds were hitting .250 instead of .192, he would probably already be holding down first base in Greensboro or Jacksonville. As it is, State College last night showed enough respect for his bat that they used a defensive shift on the left-handed hitter, something you rarely if ever see in short-season Class A ball.  

He was also a member of the NYPL's 2018 All-Star Team.

"You look at where he was last year and you look at even where he was in spring training and the improvement is 10 fold," Jacobs said. "He didn’t hit one homer in spring training and he played in a lot of games down there and obviously you see the numbers he’s putting up and, really, the batting average, it is what it is. He has a lot of swing-and-miss but there’s also a lot of damage that’s in that bat."

Photos: File photos by Howard Owens.

Press release:

Come explore the active and adventurous sport of orienteering at the Genesee County Park & Forest! Learn how to find your way without batteries or a cell phone signal, by using a map and compass. All materials provided, no experience necessary! Orienteering is a family friendly sport for people of all ages and ability levels.

Join us for the Orienteering Event with the Rochester Orienteering Club on Saturday, Sept. 15th, from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. This program is FREE.

Meet at the Interpretive Nature Center at the Genesee County Park & Forest. Beginner class and basic training will be given from 9 to 10 a.m. Orienteering start is open 10 a.m. to noon.

All courses close at 1:30 p.m. Perfect for individuals and families who love the outdoors!

Come have some fun and find your way in New York State’s First County Forest. More information on the sport of orienteering and the Rochester Orienteering Club can be found here.

Please preregister online here or by calling 585-344-1122.

For additional information on programs at the Genesee County Parks visit our website here, or contact Shannon Lyaski at Shannon.Lyaski@co.genesee.ny.us or 344-1122.

With six games left in the season, including three-straight day games at home, the Batavia Muckdogs are contending for a post-season playoff berth.

They could get there by making up a four-and-a-half-game deficit behind division-leading Mahoning Valley, their next opponent on the road, and three and a half behind Brooklyn in the wildcard race. Any combination of two Muckdog losses or two Mahoning Valley wins would eliminate Batavia in the division (in other words, the Muckdogs must sweep the Scrappers) and in the wild-card race, the magic number is four.

That means, the hometown team can't really afford to lose any of their final six games.

Fortunately, they're the hottest team in the NYPL right now with four straight wins and a 7-3 record over the last 10 games.

"Our fate is in our hands," said manager Mike Jacobs after last night's 8-1 win over State College, completing a three-game sweep of their division rival. "The step coming in and taking care of business these last three games like we have. If continue to play the way we’re playing, it may go down to the very last game and it’s exciting."

Last night, the Muckdogs scored early and scored often, taking a 2-0 lead by the bottom of the first and piling on six more runs in the third.

The first two runs came on a home run by third baseman Bubba Hollins, an undrafted signee of the Marlins from Orchard Park who played college ball at St. Bonaventure University. Hollins is on his second stint with the Muckdogs, after a cup of tea with the team in 2017. This was his first home run with Batavia.

With one out in the third, Hollins drew a walk, setting the table for Sean Reynolds, who whacked his league-leading 16th homer of the season over the right-field wall. 

The rest of the scoring came on walks to Albert Guaimaro and Igor Baez, a double by Ricardo Cespedes, a Luke Jarvis single, and ground out by Davis Bradshaw.

Josh Roberson, from North Carolina, worked five innings, giving up only one run and picking up his first NYPL win on a 1.80 ERA.

Big Texan Tyler Kolek (top photo and second photo) worked two scoreless innings, whiffing three, and Panamanian Humberto Mejia came on for the final two frames and also K'd at trio of Spikes.

The next home game, the final homestand of the season, is Saturday at 1:05 p.m. against Auburn.

Brayan Hernandez

Luke Jarvis

Demetrius Sims

Demetrius Sims at short.

Albert Guaimaro

Press release:

In the wake of the Supreme Court’s May 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA, which freed states to legalize sports betting, U.S. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today released a new proposal to establish a desperately-needed federal framework to protect consumers and the integrity of sports.

Senator Schumer’s proposal, Protecting the Games We Love After Murphy v. NCAA: A Federal Framework for Consumer Protection and Sports Integrity, is centered around three core principles: protecting young people and those suffering from gambling addiction, protecting the integrity of the game, and protecting consumers and individuals placing bets.

Specifically, the federal framework, which Senator Schumer hopes will be taken under consideration as state legislatures across the country begin efforts to develop legislation in the coming weeks and months, includes proposals to prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from betting, require that official league data be used to determine betting outcomes, require agreement between the league or appropriate governing body and those entities taking bets on what types of bets will be permitted, and much more.

“As a New York sports fan – especially my Yankees and Giants – and a senator, my priority in the wake of the Murphy v. NCAA decision is making sure the integrity of the games we love is preserved, that young people and those suffering from gambling addiction are not taken advantage of, and that consumers that choose to engage in sports betting are appropriately protected,” Senator Schumer said.

“With the Supreme Court’s ruling, it’s incumbent on the federal government to take a leadership role and provide the necessary guidance to prevent uncertainty and confusion for the leagues, state governments, consumers and fans alike.” 

Senator Schumer continued, “The stakes are too high -- legal sports betting laws must be crafted and executed in a careful and thoughtful way. As state legislatures develop new legislation in the weeks and months ahead, I hope they will take these principles under consideration. I also support the efforts in the Congress to debate and develop bipartisan federal legislation that would adhere to these principles. The integrity of sports is too precious to not protect as best we can.”

Senator Schumer’s full proposal, “Protecting the Games We Love After Murphy v. NCAA: A Federal Framework for Consumer Protection and Sports Integrity,” can be found here and the key components of the proposal are follows: 

1. Protecting young people and those suffering from gambling addiction: Senator Schumer believes minors should not be encouraged to participate in sports gambling, and adequate resources must be provided to support those struggling with gambling addiction. To this end, Senator Schumer’s federal framework proposes to:

a. Prohibit anyone under the age of 21 from betting.

b. Prohibit advertising targeted at young people and otherwise require responsible advertising.

c. Require that information be provided by any entity taking bets about the dangers of addiction and available resources to help encourage responsible betting.

2. Protecting the integrity of the game. In order to protect the integrity of professional and collegiate sports a strong framework must be provided for coordination and enforcement. Therefore, Senator Schumer proposes the following:

a. Require that any entity accepting bets share appropriate information in a timely fashion with the league or governing body of the sport in question as well as relevant state, federal, and tribal law enforcement or other appropriate oversight bodies. This data should be scrubbed so that personal and sensitive information has been removed but must be sufficiently detailed so as to provide the league or governing body with a basis by which to identify problematic trends.

b. Require that all parties involved, including sports leagues, entities accepting bets, and state and tribal law oversight agencies where appropriate coordinate enforcement actions and notify each other of suspicious or abnormal activity or any other conduct that corrupts a betting outcome of a sporting event.

c. All leagues and sports should have effective tools to protect their own game and that includes strong limitations and prohibitions on any athlete, coach, official, team, or league representative from taking a financial stake in any wager.

​3. Protecting consumers and individuals placing bets. As sports betting becomes legal it is important that those choosing to place bets are able to avail themselves of the same protections afforded to other consumers. To that end, Senator Schumer would:

a. Require that official league data be used to determine betting outcomes.

b. Require agreement between the league or appropriate governing body and those entities taking bets on what types of bets will be permitted.

c. Provide appropriate consumer protections and requirements that deter unfair or deceptive practices, and provide safeguards against financial crimes and predatory tactics. Furthermore, consumers should have a mechanism for appropriate redress should they be unfairly harmed by some betting activity or fraudulent scheme.

d. Provide a pathway for legal online and mobile betting so that sports betting can come out of the shadows and we can further remove the competitive advantage of illegitimate online sports books.

Legendary local sports broadcaster Wayne Fuller was honored before Saturday night's Batavia Muckdogs game. Last week, Fuller was inducted into the NYPL Hall of Fame and the league provided the team a plaque that will be placed in the press box at Dwyer Stadium.

Accepting the plaque on behalf of his friends, colleagues, and family were Martha Bailey and Paul Spiotta. Representing the Muckdogs, Brendan Kelly, assistant general manager, left, and Dave Chase, general manager.

The Muckdogs beat Williamsport 4-2, scoring all four runs in the second inning with two outs. Tanner Andrews (2-0) got the win and C.J. Carter picked up the third save.

Batavia is home again this afternoon, starting the final home three-game series of the season, against State College. Game time is 4:05 p.m.

Bill Hayes, with his grandchildren Joshua Prong, William Hayes Prindle, and Matthew Robert Prindle Jr., threw out the first pitch.

The Genesee Chorale sang the National Anthem.

Starting pitcher Chris Vallimont.

Bubba Hollins, third base, hops as each pitch is delivered.

Michael Donadio

Sean Reynolds lead off the 2nd with a double. He was later thrown out in a play at the plate.