By Dan Lonky (@danlonky)
ONEONTA, NY — With a chance to compete for the NYCBL championship on the line, the Olean Oilers and Oneonta Outlaws played an extremely exciting ballgame Saturday night at Damaschke Field. In the end, it was the Outlaws who held on and emerged victorious with a 4-3 win over the Oilers.
The Oilers failed to take advantage of several golden scoring opportunities throughout the night, stranding a total of nine runners on base. Meanwhile, despite getting out-hit nine to six, the Outlaws were able to put together four runs against Olean starter Derek Vail (Santa Fe CC), who threw all eight innings in the losing effort.
Oneonta’s strong bullpen was an integral part of the victory, as Outlaws starter Matt Milburn (Wofford) was removed after only 3.1 innings, despite not allowing a run. The right-hander allowed seven hits and found himself in trouble every inning, but he was picked up by three Oneonta relievers who held the lead en route to the big win.
With the bats, the Oilers got right to work in the first inning, getting a leadoff single from Tim Ravel (Bloomsburg) and a long double over the left fielder’s head from Austin Johnson (Tacoma CC). Milburn then kicked it into gear, striking out Lee Grosscup (Mt Union) and Mike Fahrman (Florida) before getting Max Beerman (Villanova) to pop up for the third out of the inning.
In the second inning, Milburn found himself in a similar spot after allowing three straight singles to open the frame. The Texas native however was able to work out of the bases-loaded jam, striking out Drew Pirritano (Clarion) before getting Ravel to ground into an inning-ending 4-6-3 double play.
In the bottom half of the inning, the Outlaws were able to get the first run of the game on the board. Howard Joe (Mercer) brought home Heath Holder (Georgia) on an RBI groundout to the shortstop, giving the Outlaws a 1-0 lead.
Come the third inning, Olean threatened to get the run right back, as Johnson led off with a long triple to left field. He would advance no further than that though, as Milburn got a strikeout, a groundout, and a fly out to hold onto the slim Oneonta lead. Olean batters would go 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position against Milburn.
After getting the first out of the fourth inning, Milburn’s night would be cut short after then allowing runners to reach on a base-hit and an error. Oneonta Head Coach Joe Hughes turned to Brandon Agar (North Georgia) to get out of the jam. Agar would not allow the runs to score, as he struck out Pirritano and catcher Josh Treff (Northeastern) would throw out the runner trying to steal third to end the inning.
Oneonta would get the rest of their runs against Vail in the fifth inning. Jake Levine (Brown) came through with a single to center, bringing home Joe for the second run of the game. Brian Kraft (Grand Canyon) then gave Oneonta what would end up being the decisive runs in the ballgame, as he doubled down the left field line, scoring Chris Pindar (Oneonta) and Mitch Hollander (Cortland).
The seventh inning was where things got most interesting as Olean began to fight back. With a runner on second and one out, Holder replaced Agar on the mound for the Outlaws. After hitting Pirritano with a pitch, Holder would allow a single to Ravel to load the bases for Olean. Already with two hits on the night, Johnson then stepped to the plate and doubled down the left field line, bringing home the first two Olean runs. Ravel would then score right after on a wild pitch by Holder, narrowing the deficit to just one. With still only one out and the tying run on third base, Holder was able to find his groove, striking out Grosscup and Fahrman in what very well may have been the biggest moment in the entire game.
With the score still 4-3 in the ninth inning, Coach Hughes brought in Brandon Stephens (University of Georgia) to try and close things out. After getting the first two outs, Stephens struck Ravel out looking, nailing down not only the win but the opportunity to play in the NYCBL championship series.
“I’m proud of these guys. We really improved throughout the year. At one point in the season we were right around .500 but the kids were determined to work harder and play better and here we are about to play for the championship,” Coach Hughes said of his team. “It sure would be nice to go home from a good summer of a baseball with a championship.”
With their victory Saturday night, the #1 seeded Outlaws will play in the NYCBL championship series against the #2 seeded Hornell Dodgers. The first game of the three game set will be tomorrow, July 28th, at 7:00 PM at Damaschke Field.
Leave a Reply