Photo: Sunset at last night's Muckdogs game
Photo by Tim Motyka, head coach of the Batavia Minor League Red Sox, which was the youth baseball team last night to take the field with the Batavia Muckdogs.
Photo by Tim Motyka, head coach of the Batavia Minor League Red Sox, which was the youth baseball team last night to take the field with the Batavia Muckdogs.
Press release:
Today’s game between the Batavia Muckdogs and Lowell Spinners has been canceled due to wet and unsafe field conditions.
As the two teams do not meet again this season, this game will not be made up at any time during the season. Any person with tickets to today’s game can exchange their tickets for any other regular season game, subject to availability.
Alex Canty, who excelled in baseball at Batavia High School, through his senior season in 2016, announced on Twitter yesterday that he has committed to Southeast Missouri State.
That gives the infielder a shot at playing Division I baseball.
Canty played his 2017 season at Monroe Community College, where he hit .357, with eight home runs, 53 RBIs, 11 stolen bases and 18 walks. His on-base percentage was .418.
Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul and her husband, Bill, visited Batavia last night so they could attend a Batavia Muckdogs game together. Kathy threw out the first pitch and met with players from the Marlins in the Oakfield-Alabama Little League.
Catching Kathy's first pitch was Harrison White, from Laguna Beach, Calif., and a graduate of Yale University. He's a 2017 Miami Marlin's draft pick.
More than 2,000 fans enjoyed a 3-2 Muckdogs win over the Auburn Doubledays at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia on Tuesday night and then a July 4 fireworks display after the game.
Four Batavia pitchers scattered eight hits over nine innings. Kenny Koplove (1-1), pitching one and a third innings, got the win. Starter Alejandro Mateo went four and two-thirds innings, giving up four hits and a run and getting five strikeouts. Travis Neubeck tossed two innings and picked up his first save of the season.
Jhonny Santos had two hits. Samuel Castro and Marcos Rivera each had an RBI.
The Muckdogs are now 7-8 on the season and in fourth place, three games back in the Pinckney Division standings, behind the West Virginia Black Bears (10-5).
Batavia Muckdogs played a doubleheader this afternoon and split the wins with West Virginia, losing the first game 6-4 and winning the second game 4-1.
Muckdogs led 3-1 after the fifth inning until the eighth when the Black Bears had two men on base. Then Deon Stafford gave West Virginia a 5-4 lead and capped a three-run inning for the team. They added another run in the ninth to finish the game that was suspended yesterday.
In the second game, during the first inning both teams scored a run and remained tied. Bottom of the ninth bases loaded for Batavia, Marcos Rivera hit a walk-off three-run homer as the Batavia Muckdogs beat the West Virginia Black Bears 4-1.
Muckdogs' record improves to 4-3 and they are in a three-way tie for second place in the Pinckney Division with Mahoney and State College.
Next game is tomorrow night to finish the series with West Virginia, game time is 7:05 at Dwyer Stadium. There is a pre-game chicken wing eating contest sponsored by Batavia’s Original Pizza. Email Travis Sick at tsick@muckdogs.com before 4 p.m.
At 5:55 pm the line to get into Dwyer Stadium was out to the street and down the block. The gates to the park opened at 6 pm for the Muckdogs season opener. The fans were excited for the game and festivities to begin. I am sure they were not disappointed.
The Auburn Doubledays scored first with a single run in the third. The Muckdogs answered that run with 4 of their own in the bottom of the 3rd and were in control for the rest for the game. It was an action packed game with some good hits, a squeeze play and some impressive field work from this young team. The final score was Auburn 2 Batavia 8
John Kennedy Intermediate School 3rd and 4th graders sung the national anthem before the game with the Viet Nam War Veterans Color Guard presenting the Flag.
Western NY Skydiving put on a show by dropping in with the game ball.
The final field preparation and practice are underway as the Batavia Muckdogs prepare for their home opener tonight against the Auburn Doubledays.Gates open at 6 p.m., game starts at 7:05.The weather for the opener looks great with a predicted 75 degrees and light wind; no rain is in the forcast.This should allow for Western NY Skydiving to parachute in with the ball for the first pitch.
Press release:
The Batavia Muckdogs announced today that skydivers from Western New York Skydiving will deliver and throw the Ceremonial First Pitch on Opening Day, Monday, June 19th.
Prior to throwing out the first pitch, an elite group from Western New York Skydiving will perform an aerial show, including banners and smoke, before landing in centerfield. The jump and demonstration are weather dependent and Western New York Skydiving reserves the right to cancel the event if they feel conditions are unsafe for both the jumpers and spectators.
The game between the Muckdogs and Auburn Doubledays will begin at 7:05 p.m. with the gates opening at 6 p.m. Opening Day tickets, as well as all season tickets and ticket packages, are all on sale now at the Dwyer Stadium box office, on Muckdogs.com or by calling 585-343-5454.
Press release:
Would you like to live with the next Matt Carpenter, Ryan Howard or Chase Utley?
The Batavia Muckdogs are again seeking local families to assist in housing players during the 2017 baseball season.
Anyone can help provide lodging for this year's Muckdogs by either providing space or renting a room, apartment, or home. While many host families come back year after year, the team is always looking to add to their list of availabilities for the players.
Host Families play a crucial role in helping young players feel comfortable in a new environment. Many who have hosted players in the past have had incredibly wonderful experiences. However, with players coming and going throughout the season, we have constant needs as far as housing.
The 2017 season runs from June 17 until Sept. 5 and players typically range from 18-23 years of age. Because of the players' schedule, they typically spend about 40 nights in their Host Family home. Host families are not required to provide meals or transportation for players.
Anyone in need of more information on becoming a Host Family is invited to contact the Muckdogs’ office at (585) 343-5454 or tsick@muckdogs.com. You can also call our housing coordinator Shirley Fanara directly at (585) 356-3411.
Press release:
The Section V Baseball Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony for longtime Batavia High School Baseball Coach Pep Johnson will take place before the Rochester Red Wings game at Frontier Field on Sunday, June 25. The game itself starts at 1:35 p.m. and a special induction ceremony will take place beforehand.
Here's the schedule for the day, provided by organizer Pat Mee.
The stadium gates will be open at 11:15 a.m. for admittance of the inductees, their guests, friends and supporters. There will be a table set up at the stadium entrance where these attendees can pick up their reserved tickets.
The program will begin in The Nest, which is beyond right field at 11:45 a.m. All of the inductees or their representatives will by introduced, and each will have a short time to speak if they would like to. Honorees will get a plaque permanently placed on a wall at Frontier Field, and a plaque will be given to each honoree to keep.
At 12:45 p.m., the group will proceed to the baseball field. The on-field ceremony will take place at 1:10. Dan Mason will read each inductee’s bio, and will present them with their plaque, once again, on the field. Each inductee will be throwing out a ceremonial first pitch.
After the ceremony, the honorees and their guests will return to The Nest for lunch. Members of this group are free to proceed to their seat and the Wings game at any time. Hopefully attendees will enjoy a Red Wing win!
Honorees and their invited guests will be the guests of the Section V Baseball Hall of Fame Committee for the afternoon. The cost for others who would like to attend the induction ceremony at The Nest will be $30 per person. Children under 4 are free and ages 5-12 are $18. This will include hot dogs, hamburgers, salad, soda, and a game ticket.
Please contact Pat Mee to make your reservations for the afternoon.
You can contact Pat by phoning (585) 704-3214, emailing to: omee@rochester.rr.com, or mailing to: Pat Mee, 295 Peck Road, Hilton, NY 14468
The committee would appreciate reservations by Saturday, June 10st. Checks should be made payable to Section V Baseball Hall of Fame and sent to the above address.
The committee is looking forward to honoring Pep Johnson for his extraordinary contributions to baseball. It will surely be a great afternoon!
Sincerely,
Ory Mee
The Section V Baseball of Hall of Fame Committee
Questions? Email: omee@rochester.rr.com
Press release:
Current summer baseball players ages 9 through 17 can extend their season through the fall with Team New Era Fall Elite Travel Teams.
Teams will participate in league and tournament play in September and October.
Tryouts will be held at their Depew training facility, 3950 Broadway, as follows:
Players need only attend one tryout.
For more information seewww.teamnewerabaseball.com or contact Rich Wozniak at 716-681-3001.
Submitted photo and press release:
Longtime Batavia High School Baseball Coach, Pep Johnson is being inducted into the Section V Baseball Hall of Fame on Sunday, June 25.
The ceremony will take place prior to the Rochester Red Wings game that begins at 1:35 p.m.. The on-field ceremony will take place at 1:10.
Pep is a 1959 graduate of BHS and was inducted into the Batavia Blue Devil Hall of Fame in 2004.
Pep Johnson ---Coaching statistics -----Batavia High School
The Oatkan Knights won Le Roy's first Section V championship in baseball since 1988 with a 4-3, eight-inning victory last night over Geneseo.
Reece Tresco had the game-winning RBI on a double to right center with two outs in the top of the seventh inning. He scored Cody Fitzsimmons.
Tim McMullen and Josh Laurie combined for the win on the mound
Knights go to 13-9 on the season and ill play C2 Champ Avon Tuesday at Dwyer Stadium. Game time, 4:30 p.m.
Photos and info submitted by Tim McArdle.
Press release:
The Batavia Muckdogs, Genesee County’s only professional sports franchise and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, are excited to announce the release of their promotional schedule for the 2017 season. This year’s schedule will once again feature fireworks, giveaways, special events and daily promotions.
This year’s promotional schedule is jam packed with fun and amazing values. Throughout the 2017 season, the Muckdogs will feature six fireworks shows, eight giveaway nights, Bark in the Park and the annual post-game helicopter candy drop. This year will also feature a “Turn Back the Clock” game where all tickets are just $5 and hot dogs and soda that night will cost just $1.
Highlights of the 2017 Promotional Schedule include:
Opening Day/Magnet Schedule Giveaway
Monday, June 19th
Pre-Game Chicken Wing Eating Contest
Monday, June 26th
Independence Day Celebration Fireworks
Tuesday, July 4th
T-Shirts Etc. 20th Anniversary Night & T-Shirt Giveaway
Saturday, July 15th
Irish Night
Thursday, July 20th
Downtown Batavia Night
Thursday, July 27th
Former Buffalo Bills LB Ray Bentley Autograph Appearance & Book Giveaway
Saturday, July 29th
Muckdogs Note Pad Giveaway
Saturday, Aug. 5th
Post-Game Helicopter Candy Drop
Sunday, Aug. 6th
Batavia Lions Club Bike Raffle
Monday, Aug. 7th
Turn Back the Clock Night
Thursday, Aug. 17th
Team Photo Giveaway
Saturday, Aug. 19th & 26th
Bark in the Park
Sunday, Aug. 20th
Fireworks Nights will be as follows: July 4th, July 14th, July 21st, July 28th, Aug. 4th and Aug. 18th.
The Muckdogs will once again offer fans a daily menu of money-saving promotions available throughout the season.
The Muckdogs daily promotions lineup is as follows:
For a complete promotional schedule, go to www.muckdogs.com or call the Muckdogs office at (585)343-5454.
The Muckdogs open their 2017 home schedule on Monday, June 19th vs. the Auburn Doubledays at 7:05 p.m. Muckdogs’ season tickets, coupon books, group tickets and ticket packages are on sale now. Individual tickets went on sale Monday.
There was no rain today, but there were a few tears. There were also memories and smiles as Coach Dan Gilbert was honored by his former colleagues and players in a ceremony on the field where he won games and molded men for more than a decade.
The ballpark will now be known as the Daniel Gilbert Memorial Field.
Gilbert passed away March 1 at the age of 47.
"It’s with mixed emotion that I say I’m the varsity baseball coach here at Oakfield-Alabama this year," said Nathan Klos, who took over the varsity team this season after Gilbert's passing. "On one hand, it’s a dream come true for me to come home to the program that built me and that has a great tradition in this community. On the other hand, Dan and I were supposed to coach these boys together this year."
The stories Klos told during his remarks were the stories that perhaps encapsulate the impact Gilbert had on the community. Gilbert became his P.E. coach when Klos was in the first grade and taught him sports and fitness until fifth grade. Klos spent his middle school years looking for ways to impress Gilbert, hoping it might serve him well when his turn came to play varsity baseball.
Gilbert put him on the varsity squad just before the end of the regular season in Nate's sophomore year and it was Klos who came to bat in a Section V playoff game with the game on the line, down by one run, runners on first and second, and on a 3-2 pitch, Klos delivered the decisive base hit and won another Section V championship for the Hornets.
Klos said it was the biggest highlight of his baseball life, and one made possible, because he knew, he said, that Gilbert believed in him.
Klos, Brandon Hall, and James Patrick all said Gilbert was the kind of coach who made great players better and elevated the lesser athletes into top contributors. He had a way of making every player believe that he believed in him.
"He got the very best out of every single us one of us," Hall said. "He focused hard and had more determination than any player actually on the field."
Patrick said Gilbert taught him how to be a family man and how to be a coach.
"One thing that is always in our lives that shows today is the support we have for each other because of an amazing man," Patrick said. "He was a loyal, hard-working guy who believes what is right is right and what wrong is wrong and he always treated kids fairly."
Gilbert was a 1987 graduate of O-A and returned to the school after college to be a teacher's aide and Special Ed instructor. After a stint in another job, he returned and became a teacher and coach.
He loved baseball and his former players described a man who knew the game better than anybody they've met. That passion, they said, came through.
Sue Gilbert said the family will always be grateful for the day in his honor and the field that will carry on his memory.
"Our hope is that all who knew Dan will remember the passion he had for life," Sue Gilbert said. "Whether he was teaching his students, coaching his players or loving and caring for our children, he stayed true to what he believed -- the belief that every child had the potential to be great. Dan had a passion for helping each child become just that, through hard work, determination and drive. His students and athletes overcame obstacles and learned to believe in themselves."
Such a humble man, Superintendent Mark Alexander suggested, might not expect a day like today.
"I’m not sure how Dan would feel about the celebration here today, but he’s earned it and it’s well deserved," Alexander said.
Hall, who played for Gilbert from 1989 through 2003, thought maybe Gilbert was looking down on the day and making sure just this one time, rain didn't ruin something good.
"There’s only two times in all the years I played for him where I seen him upset," Hall said. "That was my freshman year after we lost in a torrential downpour. We had a stellar team and we would have went to states that year. The second time was my senior year, the day we got rained out at states. We were fired up and he was more fired up than anybody. I was watching the weather forecast this week and saw it was going to rain and I thought, ‘you know what, there ain’t no way he’s going to let that happen.' The two times I seen him the saddest was then. He ain't going to let that happen to us today and sure enough," he said as he held his palm skyward, "look."
Mark Alexander, superintendent
Jeff Schlagenhauf, athletic director
Brandon Hall presented Sue Gilbert with a plaque he made to commemorate the day.
James Patrick
Sue Gilbert
Press release:
The Batavia Rotary Club 19th Annual High School Baseball Tournament scheduled for Saturday, May 6, has been canceled due to unplayable conditions caused by this week’s rain.
Due to scheduling conflicts the tournament, which features Batavia, Notre Dame, Oakfield-Alabama and Attica high schools, could not be rescheduled this season. This is third time in the tournament’s 19-year history that weather has forced cancellation with no games played in 2004 and 2014.
The Oakfield-Alabama Little League kicked off its 2017 season today with a parade down Main Street in the Village of Oakfield.
Opening ceremonies also commemorated the lives of Dan Gilbert, James "Beef" Soggs, and Brayden Salvaterra.
Gilbert, baseball coach at Oakfield-Alabama High School and longtime active supporter of Little League, passed away March 1.
Soggs, dedicated to youth sports in Genesee County and a coach in Batavia, was also remembered as part of the moment of silence before the first game.
Brayden was just two weeks shy of his 6th birthday when he died unexpectedly and of a cause that has never been determined. He loved baseball and he and his dad were the third in line for Little League sign-ups for this season.
His coach -- he played on the Washington Nationals each of the past two seasons -- Normand Fluet, purchased a bench and the Town of Oakfield installed it overlooking one of the T-ball fields with a commemorative plaque.
"The final product is full of memories and certainly ensure that Brayden’s memory is going to live on forever," said League President Andy Merkel.
"One of the things that is great about the Oakfield and Alabama communities is that Little League is a big part of it," Merkel added. "I grew up playing in the Little League program, most of the coaches grew up in the Little League program, most of the parents grew up in the Little League program, and it’s great to see the people from throughout the community who maybe don’t have a connection any longer, don’t have a child or relative playing, but they still come out to support our program, have a hot dog and watch a baseball game. It means a lot to have that community support."
Press release:
U.S. Baseball Academy is pleased to announce the return of Spring Training 2017 to its Batavia location. We have been in business for over 20 years, operating hundreds of camps around the country.
Our Spring Training 2017 program will be directed by Skip Sherman, head coach, Genesee Community College, with help from a staff of the top coaches in this area. Proceeds from the program benefit amateur baseball in Batavia.
U.S. Baseball Academy is a national training program operating at nearly 220 locations across the United States. You can see our complete schedule at www.USBaseballAcademy.com. We generally draw from a 40-mile radius around each site, so this should be newsworthy throughout your circulation area.
The release below refers readers to our web site for further details and registration forms. Our registration process is handled online.
U.S. Baseball Academy
Midwest Baseball Academy Inc.
866-622-4487 x101
www.USBaseballAcademy.com
Press release:
Team New Era will hold an open tryout to fill one, or potentially as many as two, roster spots on its 12U, 14U and 16U teams.
Interested players at those ages are welcome to attend either of the following free tryouts: 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25th, and 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29th, at our Depew location training facility -- 3950 Broadway, Depew. For more information contact Rich Wozniak at email@newerapark.com or 716-681-3001 or see www.teamnewerabaseball.com.
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