By Lori Chase
@LChase_RA
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Pick any New York Collegiate Baseball League batting statistic, and you’ll likely find an Olean player among the league leaders.
The Oilers’ heavy hitters were in action again on Sunday afternoon at Fred Handler Park, and by the time they were done, Olean owned a 6-5 victory over Rochester-based Athletes in Action.
The Tacoma Community College duo of Seth Heck (4-for-5, 2 RBIs) and Stephan Adams (2-3, 2 RBIs) led the way, with designated hitter Heck – batting a gaudy .476, second in the league by a mere one-thousandth of a point – cracking a two-RBI triple to put the Oilers ahead for good in the sixth inning, then scored the eventual game-winner on a groundout by Jon Kemmer (Clarion).
Adams and Kemmer also drilled triples against AIA starter Gail Gooding in a three-run Olean first inning, with Kemmer adding to his league-leading RBI total before Adams drove him home. The Rochester team tied it in the top of the third on RBIs from Jonathan Burkhardt (East Texas Baptist), Frank Dreslinski (Rend Lake College) and Joel Belk (Azusa Pacific), and then inched back to within a run on a two-run shot by Nick Flanagan (Martin Methodist College), who finished the day 3-for-3, in the top of the seventh.
But when AIA threatened in the bottom of the eighth, putting runners on second and third, reliever Brandon Nemeti (Erie CC) coaxed a comebacker to the mound to get out of trouble, then worked a scoreless ninth to pick up the save. Starter David Spaeder (Gannon) picked up his first win of the season, scattering seven hits and striking out six in seven innings of work.
With the win, Olean improved to 10-6, good for sole possession of second place in the NYCBL West behind idle Hornell (11-5), which hosts Wellsville on Monday. Meanwhile, the Oilers return to Fred Handler Park at 5 p.m. for the first half of a home-and-home series against the Geneva Twins (8-9), with the return visit slated for a 7 p.m. start on Tuesday evening.
At St. Bonaventure:
AIA –– 0 0 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 – 5 9 0
Olean – 3 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 x – 6 13 0
Gooding (L,)(3 SO, 5 BB) Patrick (7)(2 SO, 1 BB), Porretta (8)(1 SO) and Cunniff
Spaeder (W,)(6 SO, 3 BB), Nemeti (8)(3 SO, 1 BB) and Booth
HR: Flanagan (AIA)
3B: Heck 2, Kemmer, Adams (O)
2B: Doherty (AIA); Pantano, Heck, Adams (O)
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