Courtesy of the Niagara Gazette
By Doug Smith
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — The Niagara Power drilled the Olean Oilers 4-0 Friday night in Sal Maglie Stadium’s first midsummer playoff game since 1993.
Nearly 400 Bolt Nuts, summoned in a moment’s notice, watched pitcher Steve Beckham hang seven zeroes on the O’s, Steve Voyles stagger through a Halloweenish ninth and Cloutin’ Cowboy Chane Lynch perhaps save the day with a nearly incomprehensible double play in the seventh.
“I’m just so pleased to win this one for (team president) Cal Kern,” manager Garret Shivley said first thing post-game. “He, the whole organization, deserve this.”
The result puts the Power one-up on the Oilers in the New York Collegiate League’s three-game Western Division semi-final series. Game two is scheduled for 3 this afternoon at Olean’s unlit home, St. Bonaventure’s Handler Field. A third game, if necessary, would begin at 7 Sunday at the “Barber Shop.”
Niagara took a 4-0 lead into Friday’s ninth, not even a save situation for cool closer Scott Voyles. But even facing the dregs of the Oiler lineup, Voyles loaded the bases on a walk and two hit batsmen. Kyle Mann drove one deep over the head of rightfielder Adam Taylor who made one turn, dialed it in and dragged it down.
“Funny thing, baseball,” Taylor said. “That’s probably the hardest-hit ball of the game, and it ends it.” To a question he said, “yes, I’m sure glad they hit it to me.”
Beckham served six succulent innings, then faced a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the seventh. Mann drilled one to Lynch, who re-incarnated the great Gil Hodges with a scoop, run to the bag, then throw to home where Spencer Bowles slapped the tag on Pat Welch, no longer forced due to the out at first. For the third time in the game, it left Oiler slugger Jon Kemmer waiting on deck as an inning ended.
That was it for Beckham, whose outsweep had whiffed six Oilers. Three more outs resulted from Shivley’s “Rush to judgment shift,” stationing second-baseman Jaman Hammel on the left side of second for powerful right-handed pull hitter Brad Rush, who grounded out three times.
At 102 pitches, Beckman “would like to have finished it,” but turned it over to Matt Gibbs for a 1-2-3 eighth before Voyles’ excellent adventure.
Bowles busted the Power through in the second, an RBI single which produced another run when it eluded the centerfielder. Nick Linne drove in the other two runs, with a crafty ground ball in the fourth and a squeeze-bunt single in the sixth. Taylor had three hits, two doubles.
Niagara U prospect Jordan Schwartz is scheduled to get the ball Saturday.
POWER POINTS – Scouts and head-hunters filled the stands, including future Buffalo Hall of Famer Ron Leib, who helped build Olean’s contender… Tonawandan Mike Tolsma went the distance for Olean, often scratched but never pounded… Third-baseman Tyler Schweigert and Lynch teamed on a vital picture-book third-to-first to keep Olean off the board in the fifth… Fourth-seeded Geneva held off regular-season champ Hornell 6-5 Friday, enhancing the Power’s chances of extra home games.
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