It's been a rarity these days, but the Batavia Muckdogs lost a game to a division rival on Monday, falling 4-3 to the Jamestown Tarp Skunks in extra innings.
Reliever Trey Bacon took the loss after coming on with one out in the 10th, getting a strikeout before giving up a single to Drew Garth, who would eventually come around to score an unearned run.
Giuseppe Arcuri stayed hot, going 2-3 with a run scored, a double, and a walk. Caleb Rodriguez went 2-4 with a run scored and a stolen base.
The Muckdogs are 19-9 with a two-game lead over Jamestown (15-9) in the West.
At 6:35 tonight (Tuesday), the Muckdogs take on Geneva to start a run of five consecutive home games, which includes games on Thursday, on July 13, July 14 (non-league game), July 15, and July 16.
In other Muckdogs news, Batavia's 2021 starting shortstop Charlie Szykown was taken in the ninth round of the MLB draft by the San Francisco Giants.
Muckdog's manager Joey Martinez promised at the start of the season that the 2023 edition of the hometown team would feature strong pitching.
Ryan Kinney is the latest Batavia starter to prove him right.
Kinney took a no-hitter into the ninth inning against top division rival Elmira at Dwyer Stadium on Saturday night to help the red-hot, division-leading Muckdogs notch its fourth-straight win, 4-2.
The right-hander from Winter Haven, Fla, is now 3-0 on the year with a 0.42 ERA after going 8 1/2, giving up two hits and two runs. He struck out nine Pioneers.
Rijnaldo Euson came on to get the final out for this third save.
The Muckdogs are now 19-8 after winning 10 of their past 12 games and are three games up on Elmira (15-10) in the Western Divison of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
The win was also Batavia's 15th straight win at home.
Adam Agresti raised his season average to .409 by going 3-4 with two RBIs and two doubles.
Giuseppe Arcuri went 2-3 with a run scored. Trey Bacon was 1-3 with two RBIs.
Attendance was 1,599.
Batavia is home again on Tuesday against Geneva. Game time is 6:35 p.m.
Le Roy's 12-U Little League team is the district champ and next plays in the sectional championship, which will determine the teams to play in the state tournament.
On Friday, Le Roy defeated Allegany 8-0 with two pitchers combining to throw a shutout.
Matthew McCulley went five innings striking out 12 batters, and Michael Warner came in in the 6th to shut the door and claim the title. The two pitchers gave up only three hits on the night.
Le Roy scored three runs in the first, two in the second, and three in the fourth, and gathered 15 hits in the game.
Catcher Eddie Lathan threw out two Allegany baserunners on attempted steals.
Hits were recorded by Sammy Bogue (3), Drew Beachel (3), Dalton Luke (2), Eddie Lathan (2), Carter McClurg, Ethan Rose, Matthew McCulley, Michael Warner, and Ryker Vangalio. Runs scored were Sammy Bogue (3), Drew Beachel, Dalton Luke, Carter McClurg, Michael Warner, and Ryan Crissy.
Team members include Sammy Bogue #24, Drew Beachel #13, Matthew McCulley #42, Michael Warner #5, Ryker Vangalio #2, Eddie Lathan #6, Blake Biracree #0, Ethan Rose #28, Dalton Luke #11, Carter McClurg #99, Ryan Crissy #8, and Carson Wetsell #23 (missing from photo)
Le Roy went 6-0 on district play, giving up only seven runs while scoring 56 runs.
When you're playing in the postseason, good defense helps win games, and Le Roy's 12-U Little League team didn't commit a single error on its way to a 10-0 victory on Wednesday against ECLV.
Drew Beachel tossed a complete game shutout. He went five innings and struck out 15 hitters, allowing only one hit.
Le Roy opened with four runs in the first inning with hits from Sammy Bogue and Michael Warner. Ethan Rose had an RBI ground out as well.
Warner and Dalton Luke each went deep in the game.
Overall, Le Roy had eight hits. Warner and Bogue had multi-hit games. Beachel, Eddie Lathan, Luke and Ryan Crissy all chipped in with one hit a piece. RBIs were recorded by Rose, Luke, Warner, and Beachel (2). Runs scored were recorded by Matthew McCulley, Beachel, Warner (2), Ryker Vangalio, Rose, Lathan, Carson Wetsell, Luke, and Carter McClurg.
Le Roy plays for the district championship at 6 p.m. on Friday.
The Batavia Muckdogs continued their recent winning ways and padded their lead in the PGCBL Western Division by dominating their closest division rival, the Jamestown Tarp Skunks, for a 9-2 win at home on Wednesday.
Julian Pichardo, a University of Fort Lauderdale senior and in his third year with the Muckdogs, notched his 100 career strikeout in the game.
Pichardo got the win (3-0, 1.73) by going 6 2/3 innings, allowing only one run.
He now has K'd 103 batters in his PGCBL career.
It was also a big night for Josh Leadem. The U of R senior scored his 50th career run in the PGCBL, and with three runs scored in the game, now has 53. He was 2-4 with two doubles and two stolen bases.
Leadem is hitting .238 on the season but has drawn 11 walks. He has 21 stolen bases, 18 runs scored, 15 hits, seven RBIs, and one of the team's two home runs.
Adam Agresti went 2-3 with a run scored, a double, and two RBIs, along with a walk. Henry Daniels went 2-2 with an RBI.
The Muckdogs are now 17-8 on the season, and the Tarp Skunks fall to 13-8.
The attendance on Wednesday was 1,844.
Tonight (Thursday), the Muckdogs travel to Geneva to face the Red Wings. They're back home on Friday for a non-league game against Syracuse. Game time is 6:35 p.m. On Saturday, they face Elmira at home. Game time is 6:35 p.m.
The Batavia Muckdogs picked up their 16th win of the 2023 season on Tuesday in an Independence Day match-up in Niagara against the Power.
Tyrone Woods went 6 2/3 innings to pick up the win in the Muckdogs' 3-2 victory. He struck out four. The Alexander resident and GCC student is 2-1 on the season with a 2.91 ERA.
Rijnaldo Euson, who also has two wins on the season, picked up the save, his second.
The Muckdogs' offense:
Lucas Lopez went 2-4.
Adam Agresti went 2-3 with a double, a walk, a run, and a stolen base
Giuseppe Arcuri went 2-4 with two RBIs, a run scored, and a double.
With the win, the Muckdogs put another game between them and third-place Niagara (11-8) and remain a game ahead of second-place Jamestown (13-7), which is tonight's (Wednesday) opponent at Dwyer Stadium. Game time is 6:35 p.m.
The Muckdogs are 8-1 over their last nine official league games and 10-1 overall during that span.
With flags flying and fans anticipating a post-game fireworks show, the Batavia Muckdogs took to the field Monday night for a non-league game against Erie-Buffalo and won 8-7.
Giuseppe Archuri was named Player of the Game, going 3-3 and scoring two runs.
No box score is available for the game.
Arcuri, from Allentown, N.J., has become one of the team's most productive hitters, with 21 hits, an Avg. of .309, and 13 RBI.
Adam Agresti leads the team with an average of .375. He also has 21 hits to go along with 11 RBIs. He's eighth in the league in average.
Matt DeStefano, of Westbury, is hitting .333 (12 hits) with seven walks.
James Aselta is hitting .365 but doesn't have enough at-bats (22) to qualify among league leaders. Anthony Calabro has drawn 14 walks to go along with 11 RBIs with an average of .238. Infielder Lucas Lopez is hitting .300.
The next home game is Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. against the Jamestown Tarp Skunks.
Muckdogs player scoring a much needed run. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Muckdogs players pose in dugout. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Katie Muntz was nominated teacher of the game. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Some members of the Brantford bobcats 15U softball team was in the states for a tournament in Genesee County this weekend. They were also celebrating Canada day. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Muckdogs pitcher throwing another strike. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Muckdogs catcher making the out at home plate and turning to first base for a double play. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Turning two with a double play at first base. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Kids running the bases. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Extra hat for dad by his son during the game. Photo by Steve Ognibene
KMS Diamond Dance Team and Johnny Dog entertaining the crowd between innings. Photo by Steve Ognibene
Le Roy Little League 10-12 All-Stars pitcher throws another strike against Bolivar-Richburg Photo by Steve Ognibene
Le Roy Little League's 12U all-stars defeated Bolivar 10-0 after four innings due to mercy rule.
Le Roy opened up the game with six runs in the first inning. Matthew McCully and Eddie Lathan had two RBIs each in the first.
Drew Beachel went 2 and 2/3 innings allowing one hit and no runs while striking out six, walking none and tossing only 35 pitches.
In the third, Beachel and McCulley opened the inning with back-to-back home runs.
Le Roy had five total hits on the day: McCulley, two, Eddie Lathan, Ryan Crissy, and Drew Beachel each with one, and RBIs were recorded by Blake Biracree, Drew Beachel, Matthew McCulley, two, Eddie Lathan, three.
Scoring runs were Sammy Bogue, Drew Beachel, Matthew McCulley, two, Michael Warner, Ryker Vangalio, Ethan Rose, Eddie Lathan, two, and Dalton Luke.
Le Roy is now 2-0 in the Little League All-Stars series
The Batavia Muckdogs ran their win streak to seven games on Thursday in an unusual fashion: A walk-off interference call.
With the score tied 3-3 in the 10th inning against Niagara Power, an umpire ruled Power's third baseman Andrew Fairbrother interfered with the Muckdog's runner, Anthony Calabro, while Calabro was advancing to third on a wild pitch. Calabro was awarded home plate and the winning run.
Garrett Beaver, who pitched the final two frames and didn't give up a hit or a run while striking out two, got the win. Starter Julian Pichardo went six innings, giving up four hits, two runs (one earned) and striking out six.
Earlier in the evening, the Muckdogs picked up a win against Niagara by completing a game the two teams started on Tuesday, which was suspended in the bottom of the ninth.
At the time of the suspension, the Muckdogs trailed 5-4 with one out and Caleb Rodriguez at the plate on a 3-2 count. Matt DeStefano was on third base.
When the game resumed, Rodriquez singled, driving in DeStefano.
Rashad Robinson then reached on an error, putting runners at first and second. Rodriguez then scored the winning run on a single by Lucas Lopez.
Garrett Beaver got the win in relief. Adam Agresti went 3-3.
The Muckdogs are now 15-7 on the season and a game ahead of Jamestown (12-6) in the Western Division and two games ahead of Elmira (11-7).
Tonight (Friday), the Muckdogs are on the road for a game against Niagara Power. They return to Dwyer on Saturday to start a three-game homestand. First up, Queen City at 6:35 p.m. On Sunday, the game time is 4:05 p.m. against Elimra, and on Monday, with a 4th of July Fireworks celebration to follow, the Muckdogs play Erie Buffalo at 6:35 p.m.
At the game on Monday, be sure to visit The Batavian's booth.
The Batavia Muckdogs picked up their fourth straight win at home on Saturday, beating Elmira 9-2.
At 12-7, the Muckdogs are tied for first place in the Western Division, percentage points behind Niagara Power, 9-4. Amsterdam leads the Eastern Division at 17-1.
Jack Keeler (2-0, 3.21) got the win, going five innings, giving up three hits and two runs (neither were earned), while walking two and striking out two.
Ben Weber picked up his first save, going two innings and striking out four.
Matt DeStefano (Avg. .347) reached base in all four plate appearances, going 2-2 with two Walks, an RBI and a run scored. Victor Alongi went 2-4 with three RBIs. Anthony Calabro scored two runs.
The Muckdogs host Geneva today (Sunday) at 4:05 p.m.
Catcher Zach Kasperowicz carries the Muckdog's mascot Dewey on his shoulders to greet members of the home team as they walk to the dugout before Monday's game while batboy Kegan Fisher snaps a photo.. Photo by Howard Owens.
The Batavia Muckdogs battled back on Monday from a three-run first-inning deficit to beat Newark at Dwyer Stadium 6-5 behind the 3-3, four RBI performance of catcher Adam Agresti.
Garrett Beaver worked a scoreless eight to pick up the win, and Trey Bacon retired all three batters he faced in the ninth, fanning Pilots to pick up his fifth save.
Starter Tyler Henshaw surrendered four runs over three innings, giving up six hits and two walks. He struck out three.
Ryan Kinney pitched four innings, walked one and collected seven strikeouts.
At 8-5, the Muckdogs are in third place in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League's Western Division, a half-game behind Niagara and Elmira.
Reported attendance: 1,432
The next home game is June 22 against Jamestown.
Photos by Howard Owens. For more and to purchase prints, click here.
Newark's Frankie DiMartino was caught in a run-down involving third baseman Giuseppe Arcuri for the third out of the first inning. Photo by Howard Owens.
Left fielder Rashad Robinson Photo by Howard Owens.
Giuseppe Arcuri squares to bunt before taking the pitch. Photo by Howard Owens.
Members of the KMS Dance Team. Photo by Howard Owens.
Starter Tyler Henshaw Photo by Howard Owens.
James Aselta Photo by Howard Owens
Giuseppe Arcuri with a base hit in the third.base hit Photo by Howard Owens.
Henry Daniels with a groundout in the fourth. Photo by Howard Owens.
Giuseppe Arcuri scores the Giuseppe Arcuri run in the fifth after a base loaded double Adam Agresti doubled to drive in three runs and give the Muckdogs the lead, 5-4. Photo by Howard Owens
Before the bottom of the fifth, children 12-and-under attending the game run around the infield. Photo by Howard Owens.
After sweeping the Auburn Doubledays in a double header at home on Friday, the Batavia Muckdogs split a twin bill at Falcon Field in Auburn on Saturday.
The Muckdogs took the first game 3-1, and lost the second game 3-0.
Batavia is now 7-4 on the season.
Jack Keeler went six innings giving up on earned run to pick up the win, his first W of the season.
Trey Bacon pitched a scoreless seventh for his fourth save.
Anthony Calabro hit a triple, his one hit of the game, scored a run and picked up an RBI.
In the second game, Preston Prince, from Hilton, lasted four innings, giving up three runs, two earned, and only two hits, but yielded four walks. He struck out three. He was tagged with his first loss in three appearances.
The Muckdogs are back home on Monday to play Newark. Game time is 6:35 p.m.
Rick Ruhlman, a fixture at Dwyer Stadium for decades, was recognized before the Batavia Muckdog's second game of a twin bill on Friday against Auburn.
He threw out the first pitch, and PA announcer Paul Spiotta read the following statement:
Rick Ruhlman, BHS Class of 1976, is an essential and beloved figure in the history of Batavia sports.
Whether on the sidelines, in the locker room, from the press box, or in the stands, Rick has enriched and encouraged Batavia athletes in countless ways over the past half century. For his labors of love, Rick was inducted into the Blue Devils Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.
Tonight, the Batavia Blue Devils and the Batavia Muckdogs would like to thank Rick Ruhlman for a lifetime of service. Rick, you have made Batavia a better place.
The Muckdogs won the first game 9-0. Ty Woods, from Alexander and a student at GCC, tossed six innings of shutout ball, yielding a single hit, walking one, and striking out three. Woods picked up his first win in two starts with an ERA on the season of 0.75.
The team collected 11 hits, with Kyle Hetherington and Zach Kasperowicz getting two hits apiece. Nine different players scored once and only once, and Kasperowicz was the only player who didn't cross the plate in the game. He had one RBI.
Batavia won the second game 1-0. Julian Pichardo went the distance (seven innings) to pick up his second win and a complete-game shutout. He scattered three hits and one walk, striking out nine.
Muckdogs owner Robbie Nichols helps clean Dwyer Stadium on May 30 during a scrimmage game before the start of the 2023 season. General Manager Marc Witt on the left. Pis hoto by Howard Owens
It took a few minutes for Batavia Muckdogs owner Robbie Nichols to answer the phone Tuesday, which is understandable.
Not only does he plan for special events, network and take care of finances for the business, but also the minor details of minor league baseball.
“I was just moving garbage cans around the ballpark,” he said. "Whatever needs to be done."
Nichols had recently made a request that $4,000 originally granted to GO ART! for Picnic in the Park be instead given to Batavia Muckdogs for a Fourth of July fireworks display after the July 3 ball game. City Council approved the request during its business meeting Monday, and The Batavian called Nichols for comment.
“We're glad that it was approved, and we're just gonna give it back to the city and the show. So we're excited about that. We do have fireworks on that night, it's going to be more grandiose, like a big city fireworks show sponsored by the city,” he said. “And so obviously, this will be a much larger show. And thank you to the city. And like we said, we'll get tickets out to those people that could use them.”
Fireworks at Dwyer Stadium in 2018. Photo by Howard Owens.
In his letter requesting the additional funds, Nichols pledged to donate 100 tickets for families in need. On Tuesday, he said it would likely be more than 100 tickets, as he wanted to make it possible for any families that couldn’t otherwise afford to attend to be able to also enjoy the Fourth of July festivities.
“We enjoy being part of the community, and we enjoy being involved in as many events as possible in Batavia,” he said in his letter to council.
Julia Rogers, coordinator of the Batavia City Community Schools program, will be referring families for the tickets, City Manager Rachael Tabelski said.
Nichols and staff were glad that the money was awarded to them, he said, and they have no plans to keep it, treating it in the same vein as they do Dwyer Stadium: “This is a city facility. It’s not our facility. We’re just the holders of the keys,” he said.
“You know, we're really excited. We put a lot of hard work into Batavia. (General Manager) Marc Witt does a great job with all the groups and people that he brings here. This Friday is Batavia Blue Devil night, and it's gonna be a large crowd, and Monday's game got rained out, and we already had a large crowd coming Monday night, so Friday should be another sold-out game, and we're really happy,” he said. “We had three sell-outs in our first four (games). So we're pretty happy, and we know we're going to sell out this next one. So the crowds keep coming out. We're just happy. They like our product and like what we do here.
“And we want people to enjoy it. You know, every weekend, people don't know we have baseball games, from morning to night. GLOW uses our field every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday,” he said. “So if the Dogs aren't playing, we have youth baseball being played from eight in the morning ’til eight at night almost every Friday, Saturday, Sunday.”
That was enough talk. He had other tasks to do.
“We get a lot of trash,” he said.
Fireworks at Dwyer Stadium in 2018. Photo by Howard Owens.
Muckdogs first baseman Henry Daniels picks a throw out of the dirt in the first inning of Tuesday's game against Niagara Power for a putout. Photo by Howard Owens.
The leaders of Minor League Baseball, and, by extension, Major League Baseball, didn't think Batavia could support a professional baseball team, and those Lords of the game looked for years for an opportunity to relocate the New York-Penn League's founding member to another city.
That search for new ownership and a new venue lasted until MLB just got tired of the entire MiLB structure and shut down the historic NYPL.
Author William Bardenwerper "The players aren't as gifted, but you could make the argument that games are a lot more fun to watch." Bardenwerper’s book on baseball, which will feature the Batavia Muckdogs, is about 3/4 finished and he expects it to be on store shelves in the fall of 2024. Submitted photo.
MLB and MiLB leaders blamed the fans of Batavia, the region, and Dwyer Stadium itself for the lack of fan interest in the teams they were putting on the field.
After all, they were bringing "prospects" to Batavia; young men with at least some slim chance of getting in a few major league innings before they moved on to other careers. And once in a while, if you came to Dwyer Stadium often enough, you might get to see a future star pass through. That should be enough, was the seeming assumption of baseball executives.
Turns out, maybe the problem wasn't the fans after all. Nor the facility. Maybe the problem was that assumption.
Maybe the men and women brought in to run the team, the leaders of the leagues, and the management of the MLB affiliates, which included, in recent years, the Cardinals and the Marlins, just didn't do the right things to generate fan interest in the game.
After head groundskeeper Cooper Thomson turned the turf of Dwyer Stadium into an All-Star Game-worthy surface, it still wasn't enough to keep the team in Batavia, and fans seemed to know it. They continued to only attend home games sporadically. A night of 1,000 people in the stands was a good night. It usually took Friday night fireworks to pack in more than 1,500 people.
On Tuesday night, 2,877 baseball fans held tickets for a Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League between two teams with rosters filled with young players who are far less likely, on average, to ever play a professional game, let alone reach the major leagues.
On Sunday, attendance was 2,808.
For the home opener on Saturday, attendance was perhaps a record for organized baseball in Batavia: 3,711.
Perhaps Rob Manfred, the commissioner of Major League Baseball, who oversaw the destruction of the minor league system, should talk without Robbie and Nellie Nichols, the current owners of the Muckdogs, about how to promote baseball in a small town.
The main difference between the affiliated Muckdogs and the collegiate Muckdogs, William Bardenwerper told The Batavian before Tuesday's game, is the collegiate players are fan-friendly. They're out in the community. They talk with fans at games. They're friendly with the kids, always.
And that's by design. From the day he arrived in Batavia in 2021, Robbie Nichols has talked about wanting players on his team who are willing to make themselves part of the community for the two summer months they're in Batavia.
Manager Joey Martinez wants to recruit the best baseball talent he can, and he thinks he and his staff have built a special and talented team for 2023, but he told The Batavian in a pre-season interview that character is also part of the recruiting evaluation.
"We try to just get guys that are going to come into this community and be a part of it," Martinez said. "(We want them to) represent the Muckdogs name everywhere and every day."
Bardenwerper said that community commitment is obvious and it's paying dividends.
"Robbie and Nellie, the owners, as well as Joey Martinez, as manager, have fostered a community spirit," Bardenwerper said. "It's part of their responsibility in the summer to do everything they can to be there for the community, to support the community.”
Bardenwerper is a non-fiction writer who is working on a book that will look at the demise of the New York Penn-League through the lens of the Batavia Muckdogs.
He spent a good deal of time in Batavia last season, attending games, interviewing fans, and getting to know the community and its love of baseball. He wasn't around in the affiliated-Muckdogs days, but he's seen the community embrace the collegiate Muckdogs.
He said professional minor league players tend to be more distant. They quickly grow accustomed to playing before larger crowds, so they're less engaged with the fans.
"These players (the current Muckdogs) love interacting with the fans," Bardenwerper said. "They're often from smaller schools where they might get 100 people in the stands. Now they're playing in front of thousands of people.”
There's no doubt, Bardenwerper said, the quality of play isn't the same. There are fewer pitchers throwing 95 mph, fewer home runs, and more errors, but collegiate baseball at this level has its advantages for baseball fans, as well, the writer noted.
"Joe Maddon (former major league manager) wrote that 35 percent of the at-bats in major league games these days, you do not need anybody on the field except a pitcher, a catcher and a batter (because 35 percent of at-bats now end in a strikeout or a home run), and until this year, because of the pitch clock, baseball became slow," Bardenwerper said. "This baseball, the kind you see at these games, is like a throwback to what you used to see at games. You see steals. You see hit-and-runs. You see more extra-base hits.
Joey Martinez is an aggressive manager. There's more action on the basepaths. There's nobody with statistics, a spreadsheet, and a computer telling the manager every decision he should make. This is more like going back and watching a baseball game in the 1980s. The players aren't as gifted, but you could make the argument that games are a lot more fun to watch."
If not for the pandemic, Bardenwerper wouldn't be writing about the Muckdogs. In 2019, he pitched his publisher on writing a book about the Appalachian League. He was going to visit all those small towns in 2020, get to know them and their teams, and chronicle small-town baseball through that lens. But the 2020 season got canceled by COVID, and by 2021, neither the Appalachian League nor the New York-Penn League existed.
Eliminating those leagues, at least according to the explanations given by MLB leaders, Bardenwerper said, made little sense. The excuse given was MLB wanted to protect their precious and expensive talent from 12-hour bus trips and substandard stadiums. While those might be valid complaints in leagues out west, it wasn't true of leagues in the Northeast. For the most part, even in the NYPL, which had expanded its boundaries in recent years, teams were within a few hours of each other, and with a couple of exceptions in the Appalachian League, playing conditions were good.
"The reasons offered for contraction were disingenuous and not consistent with the teams that were contracted," Bardenwerper said.
But what has become MLB's loss has become Batavia's gain, especially for young fans who are made more a part of the atmosphere at Dwyer Stadium. Kids can get autographs, baseballs, and batting gloves from players at any time, even while there's action on the field. Young fans are never told not to bother players in the dugouts and bullpens. The players never act like they don't hear the kids, turn a cold shoulder and walk away.
And that's an important part of the connection with the community, Bardenwerper said.
"The kids don't know the difference between these college kids and the next Bryce Harper," Bardenwerper said. "They just see these guys in cool uniforms signing autographs."
Given the fan-friendly atmosphere at Dwyer these days, it's doubtful many fans walked away from Tuesday's game dissatisfied, even though the home team fell to 2-2 on the young season with a loss to Niagara Power, 3-1.
Photos by Howard Owens. For more photos and to purchase prints, click here.
Third baseman Giuseppe Arcuri is unable to come up with a hot smash off the bat of Brett Johnson in the second inning. The hit went for double and scored Powers' first run. Photo by Howard Owens.
Alexander High School grad Ty Woods, now a GCC student, started and gave up only one run and four hits in six innings of work. He fanned three hitters but didn't factor in the decision. Photo by Howard Owens.
Second baseman Lucas Lopez with an assist in the second inning.
Giuseppe Arcuri was hit by a pitch in the second inning. Photos by Howard Owens
Catcher Brice Mortillaro snags a strike from Ty Woods. Photo by Howard Owens.
Rashad Robinson with a stolen base in the fourth inning. Photo by Howard Owens
Rashad Robinson on third base after his second SB of the fourth inning, with Manager Joey Martinez. Photo by Howard Owens
