Courtesy of the Niagara Gazette
By Doug Smith
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — As they say in London, let the Games continue.
And here were the medal winners Sunday night as a roaring throng of 407 watched the Power evaporate the Olean Oilers 14-7 and advance to tonight’s final round of the New York Collegiate Baseball League’s Western Division championship.
The gold – Shakeel Newton, evoking memories of Kirk Gibson as he limped to the plate in the second inning and drove a two-run homer over the leftfield fence.
The silver – Pitcher RC Hubbard, running through more raindrops than a tropical storm, striking out five, leaving the game in the sixth inning with an 8-1 lead.
The bronze – Neil DeCook, five times on base, five steals and then, in centerfield, an all-the-way-to-the-wall catch, robbing home run king Jon Kemmer and men on and the Oilers threatening.
The Bolts greet the Geneva Twins at 7 Monday night in Sal Maglie Stadium, a three-game set in what amounts to the league’s semi-final.
Stung in the scorebook and on the sidelines in Saturday’s 12-5 loss at Olean, the Power broke away with five runs, their best first inning of the year. The highlight play resulted from manager Garret “Go-for-It” Shivley’s derring-do, starting two runners on first and second, then waving them both home and Olean threw the ball away not once, but twice.
Olean left 15 stranded, nine on Hubbard’s watch, right from the start when an atypical Power error led to an Oiler run. Then Thomas Richards greeted the Power reliever with a three-run homer, making it 8-4.
From there it resembled a heavyweight fight – every time Olean rallied, Niagara rallied back, once with DeCook’s two-RBI single, another time with humble RBI outs by Adam Taylor and Tyler Schweigert and finally Ryan Keisel’s deft tap through a drawn-in infield for another pair.
Although virtually unannounced, the game drew the third-largest crowd of the season. Geneva, Monday night’s opponent, knocked off regular-season winner Hornell two straight.
POWER POINTS: Power pitchers struck out nine, including the 27th out, and another that led to a key hitter’s ejection…Except for closer Scott Voyles’ loss of direction, Friday’s game at the “Barber Shop” would have finished in less than two hours.
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