WELLSVILLE, NY – Who says lightning can’t strike twice?
Offense erupted for 31 runs on 32 hits and a new league standard was established as the Olean Oilers outdistanced the Wellsville Nitros, 16-15 in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Wellsville Central Schools.
Max Beerman (Villanova) drilled a one-out grand slam in the top of the ninth as Olean erased a 10-run deficit and grabbed first place with their ninth win of the season.
After falling behind 12-2, the Oilers tacked four runs on the scoreboard in each of the fifth, eighth and ninth innings while scoring two more in the sixth for the improbable comeback.
Austin Johnson (Tacoma CC) ignited the rally when he cleared the bases with a two-out double in the fifth cutting Wellsville’s lead to six at 12-6.
Olean plated two more in the sixth. Joe Chittester (Brewton Parker) connected on one of five hits for the game a one-out single scoring Casey Gibson. Lee Grosscup (Mt. Union) followed with a bases loaded walk, and the Oilers were within a touchdown of the lead at 13-8.
Like in the fifth, Austin Johnson did two-out damage in the eighth with a grand slam reducing the once insurmountable Wellsville bulge to the smallest of margins at 13-12.
Olean took the lead for the first time since the opening stanza with Beerman’s blast – the third grand slam hit in the game.
But the game and the scoring were not finished.
Aaron Brill (Felician) and David DeWolfe (Francis Marion) reached on back-to-back errors to start the bottom of the ninth. With runners on the corners, a Shane Barley (St. John Fisher) ground ball to short brought home a run.
One out later, Cameron Friess (Texas St. U) singled home DeWolfe to pull the Nitros within one. But that was as close as Wellsville would get. Kyle McLain (Washington and Jefferson) came on to retire the side.
Brill highlighted a six-run second for the Nitros with a grand slam of his own. The senior from Lodi, New Jersey followed Scott De Jong (Felician), Thaddeus Johnson (St. Bonaventure) and Adam Lucey (Fisher College) around the base paths.
Thaddeus Johnson started the scoring in the second with a base hit to score Clint Scarborough (Wabash). Barley scored an unearned run on a single by Dominic Zaher (Fisher College) to cap the inning.
The combined three grand slams in one game established an NYCBL standard.
Olean trailed Wellsville 15-2 on June 30th of the 2012 season before rallying for a 21-17 triumph. On that day, Pat Welsh (Marist) and Mike Scarcello (U of Buffalo) each had four hits, and Stephan Adams (Tacoma CC) drove in six to lead the Oilers.
Austin Johnson led all on Friday with seven RBI.
Chittester went five-for-six with to RBI and three runs scored.
Beerman drove in five.
Five different Nitros collected two hits apiece.
Both teams get a day off before meeting again on Sunday. First pitch at Wellsville Central is slated for 5 p.m.
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