By Taylor Nigrelli
NIAGAR FALLS, NY — After 12 days, eight losses and plenty of stress and worry in Niagara County, it finally happened: the Niagara Power won a game. The Power (10-17) snapped a losing streak that spanned over one-fifth of the scheduled season by defeating the Oneonta Outlaws (16-11) 9-8 in a Friday-night thriller at Sal Maglie Stadium in New York Collegiate Baseball League action.
Niagara Head Coach Josh Rebandt was all smiles at the end of the game, visibly relieved after the team’s first home win in 15 days.
“It feels great,” Rebandt said. “I want to keep it short and sweet because a win’s a win but now we can move forward. The monkey is off our back.”
The game was one of the most tightly-contested of the season featuring an early lead by the Power and a relentless effort from Oneonta.
The Power wasted no time getting on the board, scoring five in the first inning. After Oneonta pitcher Jacob Cryts walked the bases loaded, catcher Jimmy Landes (Baylor) poked a single into left field. Oneonta outfielder Brian Kraft (Grand Canyon) then overthrew home plate which allowed Buddy McCoy (University of Texas at Tyler) to score and the Power to take a 3-0 lead.
Rebandt felt the early success could be credited to the team feeding off the energy of the largest home crowd of the season (575).
“That first inning was great; it felt really good,” Rebandt said. “When you come home, in front of a nice crowd and we put up five runs, we felt the energy we haven’t felt in a week. That’s what carried us through.”
After a Matt Brooks (Hanover) walk put a second runner on, Michael Kerr (Houghton) hit a ball to the wall. He hit two runners in but attempted to stretch his triple into an inside-the-park home run and was tagged out. Nevertheless, the Power took a 5-0 lead into the second inning.
The Power walked four times in the first inning and 10 times total. Rebandt believes this patience was the driving force behind the offense’s success.
“I was looking at the hit count and I think they had 14 hits and we had eight,” Rebandt said. “So walks definitely helped. Then, in the first inning, the throwing error over the catcher’s head; that was a big part of the game too.”
The offense then stalled between the second and fifth innings while the Outlaws scored one run each in the third, fourth and fifth innings.
The Power countered with three runs in the bottom of the sixth to take an 8-3. That lead soon evaporated when the Outlaws roughed up starting pitcher Hunter Lewis (Hampden-Sydney) and Sam Whim (Mid-American Nazarene) for two runs each in the seventh and eighth innings.
After the Power failed to produce a run in the bottom of the eighth, closer Travis Laiter (Cortland) took the mound looking for a save in the top of the ninth. With runners on first and third and two outs, Rebandt took a mound visit to discuss strategy with Laiter. After Rebandt returned to the dugout, Derek Hirsch (Wofford) attempted to steal second. Laiter turned and threw to Perry Rigby (Covenant) but missed him, allowing Heath Holder (Georgia) to score from third. At first glance this appeared to be a mistake by Laiter, but, according to Rebandt, this was the plan they discussed.
“Right before (the throw), I took a mound visit,” Rebandt said. “I told him to throw it to our second baseman, Rigby because Perry would have then been able to walk him back to first. I had a feeling that that’s what they were going to do, so that’s why I took the mound visit. It was just a poor throw and that’s what ended up scoring the run.”
The Power, however, had no interest in playing into extra innings. Pinch-hitter Cameron Wilkie (Brown) tripled to lead off the inning. Brandon Agar (North Georgia) then intentionally walked the next two hitters to create a force at every base. With three on and no one out, Rigby struck out and Landes hit into a fielder’s choice.
Matt Brooks (Hanover) then worked a full count and took a game winning walk.
“I was just hoping for a sac fly,” Rebandt said. “But that Matt Brooks at bat was one of the best we’ve had all year.”
Oneonta Head Coach Joe Hughes was pleased with the resilience his team showed throughout the game in making the Power fight for a win after scoring five in the first and knocking out Outlaw starter, Jacob Cryts (Binghamton), in the third inning.
“I liked our fight; I liked our determination,” Hughes said. “We got down 5-0 in the first inning and we kept fighting back. They tacked on three more against us, went back up five again and then we fought back from that again to tie it up. The loss hurts a little bit but I like the heart our kids showed.”
The Power will hit the road Saturday for a rematch against Oneonta. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m.
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