By Dan Lonky (@danlonky)
ONEONTA, NY – A crowd of 4,417 Oneonta faithful were on hand Thursday night to see the Oneonta Outlaws (12-8) top the Geneva Twins (8-13) 5-1, as well as watch the post-game fireworks show.
The Twins got their lone run off Outlaws starter Malcolm Purdy (Grand Canyon) in the first on a Zach Fowler (Alabama Southern CC) RBI single, but after that Purdy was dominant. The right-hander tossed seven innings, allowing one run on four hits while striking out five, walking one, and inducing three ground ball double plays.
In his second win of the season Purdy stayed consistent, as he matched his exact pitching line from his last start a few weeks ago, which was a win over the Geneva Red Wings.
Outlaws outfielder Brian Kraft (Grand Canyon) had yet another great game at the dish, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a triple, a run scored, and three runs batted in. The Idaho native, who was recently named an NYCBL All-Star as well as a Home Run Derby participant, is now hitting .333 with 10 extra-base hits and 18 RBI on the season.
“I just look fastball and wherever the pitch is I try to hit it that way, if it’s inside I’ll hit it that way and if it’s outside I’ll hit it the other way,” Kraft said of his approach at the plate.
Oneonta did a great job executing the little things Thursday night, bunting and playing hit-and-run while turning several double plays in the field, satisfying head coach Joe Hughes.
“Brian Kraft had a monster day for us and really hit the ball well. We were trying to manufacture some runs and do the little things. We’re trying to do what we can to score and put pressure on people, so we’ll hit and run a little bit, we’ll bunt when we have to, and the kids played well offensively. Not to mention Malcolm Purdy pitched a great game,” Coach Hughes said of his team’s big victory over Geneva.
Playing hit and run was instrumental for the Outlaws when scoring in the fifth inning. Running from first base on the pitch, Kraft was able to advance to third on a Heath Holder (Georgia) base knock, making it that much easier for him to score on Brandon Stephens’ (Georgia) following single to left field. Playing hit and run put Oneonta base runners that much closer to home plate, and it the end it was key to getting those runs in.
With the Outlaws Independence Day victory they’re now 12-8 on the season, giving them sole possession of second place while trailing the Olean Oilers by just 2.5 games.
The Outlaws hit the road tomorrow, July fifth, as they’ll play a double header against the Syracuse Salt Cats (11-9) at LeMoyne College.
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