baseball

Press release:

Pembroke Dragons 10U secured the All-Star Championship Wednesday evening with a 7-6 victory over Pavilion.

The undefeated #1 seed held home-field advantage at Pembroke Town Park.

Pitchers Connor and Carter Lang split the game with three innings a piece.

Jackson Loggins hit a solo home run and Cooper Senko stole home, boosting the team’s offensive play.

Ryder Metz contributed defensively with a huge catch in left field and Lukey Windnagle played a solid game behind the plate.

Carter Lang locked in the win with a walk-off single sending Owen Williams home.

Pembroke’s All-Star team included Connor Lang, Carter Lang, Owen Williams, Lukey Windnagle, Cade Weatherbee, Cooper Senko, Chase Henskee, Harlan Campbell, Simeon Calderon, Michael Gorski, Ethan Fancher, Ryder Metz, Lincoln Metz and Jackson Loggins.

This year’s coaches included Daniel Lang, Troy Williams, Luke Windnagle and Lyndsay Weatherbee.

Submitted photo

Niagara Power unleashed seven runs in the top of the second inning Wednesday evening to establish a lead that would be tough for the Batavia Muckdogs to overcome.

In the third inning the Dogs scored two runs, Levis Agulia drove home Caleb Rodriguez with an RBI double and Tyler Cannoe drove Aguila home with a shot to left.  

Bottom of the fourth, Jerry Reinhart and Gavin Schrader each scored on an error by the catcher, which cut the Niagara lead to 3.  Another run scored by Brian Fry inched Batavia to its closest margin of the game, down by two, with Niagara leading 7-5.

in the top of the ninth, Niagara pulled the plug on Batavia, scoring four more runs and held on for a 11-5 win.

Elementary school teacher Kristina Clark was honored by throwing out the first pitch and for being nominated for "Teacher of the Game."

Muckdogs travel away to Oneonta for a double header starting at 5 p.m. Thursday, then back home Friday night against Geneva at 7 p.m.

Photos by Steve Ognibene.

After an early 1-0 lead by Geneva, the Muckdogs Gavin Schrader scores from an RBI single from Levis Aguila to tie the game at one in the bottom of the sixth inning. 

Bottom of the seventh, Schrader sends a ball just fair of third base line deep into the corner on a two-run RBI, of which Jerry Reinhart (pictured above) slid into home to give the Dogs a 3-1 lead.

Geneva ties the game in the bottom of the ninth inning to add an extra inning and score two more in the top of the tenth.  Schrader helped cut the lead to one but the Muckdogs fell 5-4.

The Knights of Columbus #325 council sponsored a bicycle raffle.  The girls bike was won by 5-year-old Brooklyn Burns and Mark Whitehair won the boys bike for his grandson.  All the proceeds were given to local organization All Babies Cherished in Batavia.

Post game fireworks were celebrated after the game in honor of Independence Day.

The Muckdogs travel away to Niagara today for a 1 p.m. start, and back home on Wednesday for $1.00 hotdog weenie night at Dwyer Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

To view or purchase photos, click here.

The Batavia Muckdogs dropped a home game Thursday to the Newark Pilots 7-5

Starting pitcher Tyler Prospero (3-1), from Batavia, took his first loss of the season.  He only surrendered one earned run but the Pilots scored three unearned runs on errors.  Prospero gave up six hits in 2 2/3 of an inning.  

Medina's Brian Fry continued to swing a hot stick, going 2-4 and scoring a run.  His season average is up to .419.

Mike DeStefano was 3-4 and Bryan Belo, hitting .342, was 2-4.

The Muckdogs are now 10-4 on the season, in second place in the West Division, two games behind UItica.

Top photo: Catcher Alex Maag snags an outside pitch.

Photos by Philip Casper

Dewey throwing out the first pitch, in honor of his birthday 

Brian Fry completing a double play.

Tyler Prospero

Levis Aguila Jr

Josh Leadem

Henry Hank Robert, 9 years old, playing the national anthem

The Batavia pitching staff surrendered 13 hits to Niagara Power at Dwyer Stadium on Monday evening but the Muckdogs managed to escape with a 5-0 win.

At 9-2, the Muckdogs are in first place, a half-game ahead of the Utica Blue Sox, in the PGCBL Western Division.

They're home again tomorrow evening, 7 p.m., against Watertown.

Joe Tobia, from Buffalo, and a sophomore at the University of Albany, started and went 4 1/3 innings giving up seven hits.  He's 1-0 with a 0.000 ERA, tied for the league lead.

Levis Aguila, Jr. a junior at Felician University, was 2-3, scoring a run and getting a walk. 

Medina's Brian Fry picked up another hit in three plate appearances.  He's hitting .400 on the season, fourth-best in the league. His OBP is .560 and his OPS is 1.160.

The Muckdogs scored once in the second inning, three in the third (two runs were unearned), and one in the fifth.

Top photo: Niagara Power catcher Jadyn Lobliner waits with ball in glove as Levis Aguila, Jr. attempts to score in the bottom of the third inning.

Photos by Howard Owens

Shortstop Bryan Belo completes a double play in the fourth inning.

Brian Fry completes a double play in the third inning.

Levis Aguila Jr.

Alec Maag scores in the second inning

Brian Fry with a hit in the third inning.

Tyler Cannoe with a hit in the third.

Brian Fry scores in the third inning.

Mike DeStefano pops up from a slide into second base in the third inning after a throwing error by shortstop Mason Kulpa that allowed two runs to score with two outs.

Starting pitcher Joe Tobia

Le Roy Little League completed its 70th season last week with the Yankees winning the Scanlan Cup Trophy.

The Yankees won the best of three championship series two games to zero.

Team members are Jude Christ, Austyn Silvernail, Anthony Warner, Michael Warner, Ryan O’Geen, Blake Biracree, Wyatt Whipple, Lucas Miller, Blake Fetzer, and Aiden Weise. Coaches were Jeremy Warner, Barry Christ, Dan O’Geen, and Marty Biracree

Information and photo submitted by Jeremy Warner

The Muckdogs kept their early-season success going on Monday night at Dwyer Stadium with a 10-7 win over Syracuse.

The Muckdogs are now 7-2 on the season and play home again on Monday.

Stats for last night's game have not been posted.

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

The Batavia Muckdogs (3-1) plated an eight-inning run to break a 5-5 tie with the Auburn Doubledays at Dwyer Stadium on Monday in a game that was delayed a couple of times due to rain.

In the eighth, Brian Fry doubled to open the frame, advancing later in the inning on a double steal after Daniel Burroway had reached base on an error.  Fry scored on a sacrifice fly from Alec Maag.

Fry was named player of the game after going 4-4, scoring twice and knocking in a run. The sophomore at the University of Toledo and from Medina is now hitting .533 on the season.

Tyler Cannoe had a hit and two RBIs and Burroway had two RBIs.

The winning pitcher was Trey Bacon. The Santa Fe College sophomore started in left field but took the mound in the seventh inning and gave up only one hit, striking out four, over three innings.

Joshua Milleville, from Lockport and attending Fairleigh Dickinson University, made his first start of the season. Milleville escaped a tough spot in the opening frame. He hit two hit batters, gave up a single and a sacrifice fly to score one run before he recorded his first out.  He only gave up one more run in 3 2/3 innings of work, striking out three while surrendering seven hits. Batavia's Alex Hale came on in relief and gave up four hits, two runs and walked two over 2 1/3 innings.

Eddie Rives took the loss for Auburn.

Top photo: Brian Fry with a stolen base in the first inning.

Photos by Howard Owens

Auburn shortstop Cooper Erickson scores the first run of the game in the first inning while Batavia catcher Alec Maag waves off a throw to the plate.

Third baseman Jerry Reinhart.

Fry singles in the first inning.

Starting pitcher Joshua Milleville

Second baseman Fry fielding a ground in the first.

Jerry Reinhart fouls off a pitch in the second inning.

Josh Leadem, attending the University of Rochester, grounds out to third in the second inning.

Extra hitter Liam Ward, from Albion and attending Niagara University, fouls off a pitch in the second inning.

Reinhart, Caleb Rodriguez, and Fry during the National Anthem.

Before a packed house at Dwyer Stadium, during their 2022 home opener, the Batavia Muckdogs picked up their second win in two games on Saturday, beating the Elmira Pioneers 6-4.

Chris Isaac, a right-hander from Monroe North Carolina, pitched the sixth and seventh innings, giving up three hits but no runs, to pick up the win.

The starter was Batavia's Tyler Prospero. who's attending Niagara University.  He tossed three innings, giving up two hits, no runs, and striking out three.

Batavian Jerry Reinhart, returning to third base for the Muckdogs this season, collected two hits and an RBI.

Gavin Schrader, another Batavia native, and also attending Niagara Unversity, drove in two runs while going 1-2 and collecting a walk.

Batavia's two-game win streak came to an end Sunday afternoon when the Muckdogs lost to Niagara Power 9-8.

The Muckdogs are back home tomorrow at 7 p.m. against Auburn.

Top photo: Batavia's Gavin Schraeder.

Photos by Mike Janes.

Daniel Burroway #10 first hit of the game.

Daniel Burroway collected the first hit of the game.

Alec Maag

Second baseman Brian Fry

Julian Pichardo

Batavia's Alex Hale

Shortstop Caleb Rodriguez

The Hornets continued to dominate the area baseball landscape on Thursday with a 14-6 win over Letchworth in a battle of Class C champions to see which team will represent Section V in the regional championship game.

Kyle Porter, Bodie Hyde, and Brayden Smith each picked up three hits.  Hyde had three RBIs and scored three runs. Smith scored three times and drove in a pair of runners. Getting two hits apiece were Colton Yasses, Aiden Warner, and Cooper Colantonio, who also drove in three runs.

Yasses picked up the win, tossing  6 1/3 innings, giving up five earned runs (of six) and striking out eight.

Photos by Kristin Smith.  For more, click here.

As the collegiate-level Batavia Muckdogs enter their second season in the Perfect Game League, head coach Joey Martinez likes what he sees of his team.

"The roster was looking pretty good," Martinez told The Batavian on Thursday evening during a Chamber of Commerce event at Batavia Downs. " I definitely believe it's probably a lot more talented roster than last year. And we had a pretty good roster last year but this year is all I can say is we're super excited about our pitching staff."

Coming off a season in which the freshman PGCBL came up just short of a post-season birth, returning manager Martinez said he's excited about the squad he will field this year.

"In the first week these guys are buying in and our hitters are gonna come through," Martinez said. "It's gonna be hard to write a lineup every day. That's how much talent we got. We're excited about it, but Batavia should be excited about this roster."

There are key players returning from last season, most notably local prospects Tyler Prospero and Jerry Reinhardt, and their leadership will help the team, Martinez said.

"We have depth," he said. "We have leadership. We have these guys that have returners and I think in any organization it is crucial to have returners with leadership ability. So we have guys like Tyler Prospero and Jerry Reinhardt. These guys that are returning, they're upperclassmen. These guys are seasoned collegiate players. They've played here. They know what this is about here. This is their hometown. They know what culture we have. So having those guys around with depth, pitching, and leadership, I mean, it's a pretty, pretty good recipe we have going on right now."

The Muckdog's home opener is 7 p.m. Saturday at Dwyer Stadium. For the full season schedule, click here.

Photo: Assistant Coach Thomas Easton and Head Coach Joey Martinez.

Photo by Howard Owens.

Oakfield-Alabama was able to hold off Notre Dame in an 8-7 battle to win the Class C Section V title in baseball on Tuesday.

Bodie Hyde was 2-3 with a walk and two runs scored for the Hornets. David Schnaufer knocked in three runs on one hit and Brayden Smith scored twice while collecting one hit and one walk.

For Notre Dame, Bryceton Berry was 3-3 with three RBIs and a run scored. Gavin Schrader had two hits and scored three times. Cody Henry was 2-3 with two RBIs. 

Photos by Kristin Smith.  For more photos, click here.

The Batavia Blue Devils played last evening against the #1 seed in Class B1 Palmayra Macedeon but came up short 6-1 at the end. 

Batavia jumped to an early 1-0 lead off a solo homerun by Cole Grazioplene in the first inning.  Pal-Mac scored two runs in the same inning and jumped out to a bigger lead after the third.

Batavia had difficulty hitting versus the Red Raiders top pitcher but stood strong effort the entire game.

The photo above is Batavia senior Vincent Grazioplene looking on the final out of his high school career.

Photos by Steve Ognibene

To view or purchase prints, click here.

Brayden Smith's five RBIs and home run keyed Oakfield-Alabama's semi-final Section V playoff win over Warsaw on Saturday, helping the Hornets to a 16-8 win.

Smith had four hits and scored twice.

Bodie Hyde had three hits, an RBI and scored three times. Cooper Colantino had two hits, an RBI and scored twice. David Schnaufer was 2-2 with two walks and scored twice. 

The winning pitcher was Kyle porter. He gave up three hits, three runs and struck out 10 over 5 2/3 innings.

Notre Dame and O-A will play for the sectional crown in Class C on Tuesday.

Photos by Kristin Smith.  For more, click here.

The Hornets went into their Class C sectional quarterfinals game against Cuba-Rushford today with their hitting shoes on.

The final score in their favor was 21-1.

Oakfield-Alabama knocked out 19 hits in the lopsided victory.

Aiden Warner had four hits and scored three times. Brayden Smith knocked in five runs on three hits and scored three times.  Kyle Porter also collected three hits along wth two RBIs and two runs scored.

Notching two hits each were Bodie Hyde, Cooper Colantonio, Gaige Armbrewster, and David Schnaufer.

Porter picked up the win.  He threw for 3 1/3 innings giving up one unearned run, no hits, walking four and striking out eight.

O-A plays Warsaw next.

In other sectional baseball games:

• Norte Dame beat York 4-0 to advance in Class C.
• Alexander lost to Letchworth 6-1 in Class C.
• Batavia beat Geneva 16-2 in Class B.

Photos by Kristin Smith. For more, click here.

The Blue Devils jumped to an early lead; Notre Dame came charging back but could never pull ahead, leading to a 10-9 victory and the 2022 Rotary Tournament trophy at Dwyer Stadium on Saturday night.

The Fighting Irish were down 8-0 after 2 1/2 frames, then scored two runs in the third, five in the fourth (after Batavia tacked on two more in each of their half of the middle innings to reach 10 runs), one in the fifth, and one in the seventh.

Vincent Graziolplene and Mekhi Fortes each picked up two hits for Batavia. Graziolplene also had two RBIs as did Dan Dombrowski.  Cole Grazioplene scored three runs and Fortes scored twice.

Jesse Reinhart tossed 3 2/3 innings, giving up three hits and seven runs (four earned) and striking out five to pick up the win. 

For Notre Dame, Jay Antinore had three hits and scored twice. Vincent DiRisio was 1-4 with two runs scored and two RBIs. Gavin Schrader scored two runs and had a hit.  Ryan Fitzpatrick scored twice.

Fitzpatrick was the starting pitcher for Notre Dame and took the loss, giving up four hits and seven runs (three earned). 

Photos by Pete Welker

Vince Grazioplene was selected tournament MVP.

Press release:

The Annual Batavia Rotary Club High School Tournament will take place today at Dwyer Stadium.

Le Roy will play Notre Dame in the first game at 10 a.m., followed by Attica vs. Batavia at 1 p.m. The consolation game is scheduled for 4 p.m. with the championship game played under the lights starting at 7 p.m.

Admission is $5 for an adult all-day pass and $3 for a student or senior all-day pass.  All proceeds from the tournament will help benefit Batavia Rotary Club charities.

Oakfield-Alabama (10-2) beat Webber High School on Wednesday, 8-3.

Colton Yasses pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up three earned runs and striking out 12, to pick up the win.

He also had two hits, scored a run and drove in a run.

Kyle Porter had two hits in two ABs and a walk, also scoring once and driving in a run.

Brayden Smith was 2-3 and scored twice.

Photos by Kristin Smith.  For more, click here.

It would be nice to say, "come rain or shine" there will be baseball at Dwyer Stadium this weekend.

But Batavia Rotary Club's annual baseball tournament has never had that luxury. If there's rain on Saturday, there is no tournament.

The inaugural tournament was in 1999, and on the intervening 23 years, there have been 18 tournaments played.  Three years were lost to rain and two to COVID.

"The reason the rain-out happens is that it's so late in the season for these teams, and they have sectionals, and they have to qualify to have enough games in for sectionals, so it's been almost impossible to have a rain date for the tournament," said Tom Turnbull, tournament organizer of Rotary since 2004. "So if it doesn't get played on Saturday, chances are it won't be played at all."

The good news is, there is only a chance of scattered rain on Saturday.  Turnbull expects all four games scheduled that day to be played.

The first game is at 10 a.m. and pits Le Roy (9-4) against Notre Dame (11-0).  At 1 p.m., Attica (7-4) takes on Batavia (8-6). The consolation game is at 4 p.m. and the championship game is 7 p.m.

"The teams that are playing are all very good teams," said Notre Dame Coach Rick Rapone. "They've all got very good records. They all play baseball the right way and the way you're supposed to play. And most importantly, it's good to just be back doing it. The two years with COVID had been very, very, very tough on the boys."

All four coaches told Rotary members on Wednesday that their players were excited about the tournament. 

"It's exciting to play at the Dwyer facility to play against the teams that are there," said Attica Coach Shawn Fromwiller. "Good competition only gets you better. It only gets us ready for sectionals playing against the teams that are in a tournament. I know the guys are excited about it. They've been asking, 'what time are we playing? And who are we playing?'"

Le Roy's head coach, Leon Koukides, thinks so highly of the tournament that he wrote a letter to Rotary asking that his team be invited this year.

"I really wanted to be a part of this," Koukides said. "We've not been able to be a part of it for many years, and I just wanted to give my athletes an opportunity to be in this forum, to play at Dwyer Stadium and get recognized by some of the other community members."

James Patric played in the first two tournament games in 1999 and 2000 as a member of The Batavia Squad.  Now he's the team's head coach, and between coaching in Oakfield and in Batavia, he's been a part of the tournament every year except 2001, 02, 03, and 04.

"It's a great tournament, great competition," he said. "It's always exciting."

Top Photo: Ty Strollo, Le Roy, Jesse Reinhart, Batavia, Gavin Schrader, Notre Dame, and Dan Bialek, Batavia.

Photos by Howard Owens

All of the seniors from the four teams that attended the Rotary meeting.

Oakfield-Alabama beat Royalton on Saturday 15-8.

Colton Yasses went 4-5, driving in four runs and scoring twice.  Bodie Hyde was 3-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored.  Kyle Porter had two hits in five ABs and scored twice.  Brenden Westcott collected three hits in five ABs and drove in four runs.

Porter was the winning pitcher, going 6 1/3 innings, giving up five hits and seven runs, but only three were earned. He struck out 8.  Yasses finished out the game with an inning and two-thirds work giving up three hits and an unearned run.  He K'd two.

In other baseball action: Elba Lancers lose to Northstar, 10-3

Photos by Kristin Smith.