By Paul Gotham
GENEVA, NY – Olean’s Oilers came to McDonough Park with first place in hand. The New York Collegiate Baseball League’s top team left with that title intact, but they missed out on an opportunity to increase their lead.
A trio of Twins hurlers scattered seven hits in the opener for a 3-2 triumph, and a fresh face helped Olean to a 4-1 win in the night cap on Senator Mike Nozzolio Night.
Recently signed Blair Lakso (Erie CC) allowed one run on two hits and a walk over five innings of work for the game two win.
After giving up a run in the second, the right-hander retired the next seven in order.
“Blair’s a new guy; we just picked him up this week,” noted Olean head coach Bobby Bell. “We’re definitely excited to see him come out and throw hard.”
Lakso struck out the side in order in the first and went on to fan eight in the game.
“We heard he had a pretty good slider,” Bell added. “That thing was gross. He was right on cue and getting after it.”
“I just had to command the fastball for strikes and let the slider work,” Lakso explained. “I’m most comfortable with the slider, even more so than the fastball. It’s nice to be able to throw it 3-2.”
With Lakso holding the Geneva bats in check, Olean’s offense, as they have so many times this season, strung together hits timely hits for the win.
Austin Johnson (Tacoma CC) batting out of the six hole led the fifth with a double to right center and moved to third on a fly ball by Casey Gibson (Nova Southeastern). Julien Plana (Nova Southeastern) gave the Oilers a 2-1 edge with an RBI double to center which barely eluded the glove of a diving Eric Alcantara (Arkansas-Pine Bluff).
Despite a team batting average of .237 the Oilers know how to hit in bunches.
“They’re a good team,” said Geneva head coach Nick Callahan. “A tough team to beat twice, they do everything right. They have a lot of good at bats up and down their lineup. You don’t get to the seven hole and think they’re going to go down one, two, three. You get to their seven, eight, nine guys and they’re still going to hit you.”
Olean added insurance runs in the ninth. Gibson worked a one out walk. Plana chase Geneva reliever Jonah van Bemmelen (Arcadia) with a base hit through the left side of the infield and the table was set.
Kyle Mann (California U of Penn) greeted Casey MacClaren (Cazenovia) with an RBI single to left. Brad Smith (Bloomsburg) doubled home a run, and Olean led 4-1.
MacClaren escaped further damage with a strike out and line out to end the inning with runners on second and third.
“We wanted to get two, but we knew they we’re going to be good,” Bell commented. “We knew we needed a split at least.”
Olean scored a run in the first. Smith singled and moved to second on an error to start the game. He moved to third on a Lee Grosscup (Mt. Union) sacrifice bunt. Joe Chittester (Brewton Parker) brought home the run with ground out to the right side of the infield.
Geneva responded in the second. Alacantara walked and stole second to start the stanza. Zac Nadolny (St. Mary’s of Maryland) delivered with one of his three hits in the game.
The Twins scored two in the bottom of the fifth for a come-from-behind win in game one.
John Lynn (Wagner) started the decisive inning with a walk. Mike Roman (St. John Fisher) moved the runner with a sacrifice bunt, and Andrew Goldstick (Washington U) greeted Derek Vail (Santa Fe CC) out of the bullpen with a single to put runners on the corners. Lynn came home when Daniel Iturrey (Emory) reached on an error, and Trey West (Le Moyne) brought home Goldstick with a ground out.
Dan Sharpe (Stillman) pitched two innings for the win. The right-hander is 2-1 on the season.
Zach Verner (John Caroll) retired the side in order for his third save of the season. The right-hander has a win and two saves in his last three appearances and has not allowed a run in the last seven times he has taken the mound, a stretch covering eight and two-thirds innings.
Jesus Vasquez (Odessa) started and threw four shutout frames.
Vail took the loss. He is 4-2 with four saves for the campaign.
Geneva took the lead in the third. Kirby Campbell (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) walked and advanced on a wild pitch. Josh Cassidy (Arkansas-Pine Bluff) plated the run with a two-out base hit.
Olean grabbed a short-lived lead in the top of the fifth. Grosscup and Chittester delivered back-to back RBI hits giving the first-place Oilers a 2-1 advantage.
The Oilers had a chance to stretch their lead in the standings as the second-place Syracuse Jr. Chiefs split a doubleheader with Sherrill.
With less than two weeks remaining in the regular season, Olean stands atop the standings with a two-game difference between first and second.
“We were hoping to get two, but any time you can get a split on the road especially coming up here is a good thing,” Bell noted. “We’re in playoff mode. These guys are hungry. We keep grinding out those one runs games, but they want that one seed really bad.”
Olean gets a day off before hosting the Hornell Dodgers on Saturday.
The Twins have a double dip on Friday against their ballpark rivals, the Geneva Red Wings. First game of the doubleheader pits two of the best pitchers in the league as Tommy Bergjans (2-0 0.58 ERA) toes the rubber for the Red Wings while the Twins counter with Nick Hedge (1-1 4.56 ERA). Both of the hurlers boast a 14-strikeout performance earlier this season.
A 5 p.m. first pitch is slated at McDonough Park.
Leave a Reply