By Paul Casey Gotham
WEBSTER, N.Y. – Webster’s Yankees went from the penthouse to the outhouse. Less than twenty-four hours after knocking off NYCBL West Division leading Hornell Dodgers at Maple City Park, the Yankees submitted to the cellar-dwelling Niagara Power.
A quartet of Webster pitchers issued 15 free passes, and Power batters rapped 14 hits as Niagara trounced Webster 17-6 in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at “The Basket.”
Niagara took advantage of a walk, two errors and a passed ball to score four runs in the second. The Power put the game away in the sixth. Webster pitchers handed out four base on balls and hit two batters as the Power plated eight in the frame. Niagara left two on base and needed just four hits for the tallies.
Webster looked poised to make a come back in the fifth. Down 5-1, Monte Marocco (UMass-Lowell) and Tyler Grogg (Toledo) led with back-to back base hits. Marocco scored on a fielder’s choice, but the pinstripes managed just one run in the inning and left two on base.
Chase Grissom (UNC Pembroke) led the offense with three hits. Grogg, Matt Delewski (Toledo) and Wes Winkle (Ball State) chipped in two hits each.
But Webster hitters left 12 runners on base. A night after combining timely hitting with spectacular defense to beat one of the best teams in the NYCBL, the Yanks looked lifeless. Webster had three two-out hits to score six runs in the fourth inning at Hornell. Winkle’s spectacular catch and subsequent triple play was just one of the many outstanding plays turned in by the inspired Webster defense on Tuesday.
“We have to compete every night,” said head coach Dave Brust. “I feel bad for them (Niagara). They came all this way, and we didn’t compete. We need to turn the page on this one.
With the loss, Webster falls to 12-11 and find themselves deadlocked with Allegany County in third place. The second-place Elmira Pioneers visit “The Basket” tonight. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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