By Paul Gotham
ONEONTA, NY – Joe Hughes kept it simple. The Oneonta Outlaws head coach offered two words to Michael Calkins (University of Tampa).
“Throw strikes.”
The young left-hander took his coach’s advice, and the Oneonta Outlaws claimed game one of the 2013 New York Collegiate Baseball League Championship series, 10-5.
The Oneonta native came out of the bullpen with two on and one out in the sixth. His Outlaws clinging to a one-run lead and home-field advantage hanging in the balance. Calkins retired the side with a shallow fly ball to right and a pop up which his battery mate, Evan Harasta (University of Albany), settled under for the third out.
“We started out with a lefty-lefty combo,” Calkins noted. “It was nice to go against that. It’s always better to pitch against lefties. I just basically put my hands on the catcher. I took everything that he called. I just let the defense do its work, just throw strikes and let the defense do what they do.”
Calkins hurled three more shutout innings. Something the Oneonta staff struggled to do in the previous five innings.
Hornell’s Dodgers plated runs in each of the first three. The Dodgers jumped to a 2-0 lead in the second and cut a three-run deficit to one in the fifth. The NYCBL’s most potent offense in the second half of the season looked poised for more until Calkins took the mound.
“He did his job; he located all his pitches,” Harasta said. “He had his fastball, curveball, change-up, all for strikes.”
After surrendering a leadoff single in the seventh, Calkins induced a ground ball for a double play and retired the next seven batters he faced to end the game.
“He’s gotten better and better as the summer’s progressed, Hughes explained. “He’s got better command of his pitches.”
In his second post-season outing, Calkins faced the minimum. Opposing batters are hitting just .056 against the Oneonta-native with one hit in 18 playoff plate appearances – a notable contrast to the .244 average opposing batters had against him during the regular season.
“He was trying to be too fine, too perfect,” Hughes said when talking about his left-hander’s performance earlier in the season. “Hitters will get themselves out sometimes. If you throw strikes and mix some speeds in and throw different pitches for strikes, you can be pretty effective.”
Calkins struck out three, walked none and allowed just two balls out of the infield.
“If he locates his change-up, he’s very difficult to hit,” Harasta stated. “He kept them off-balance.”
During his freshman season, Calkins made nine appearances for the NCAA Division II National Champion, University of Tampa Spartans. The left-hander struck out 12 and walked six in 16.2 innings of work finishing with an ERA of 2.70.
“It’s been awesome,” Calkins said of Oneonta’s success so far this season. “It’s great to be on a team with another chance to win.”
Oneonta’s offense tallied two runs each in the bottom of the sixth and again in the eighth. Brandon Stephens (University of Georgia) collected three hits and three RBI in as many trips to the plate. Chris Pindar (SUNY Oneonta) drove in three with a bases loaded triple in the second.
Oneonta travels to Hornell for game two of the NYCBL Championship. First pitch, Monday at Maple City Park is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Statistics provided by NYCBL Intern/ Tim Mullhaupht
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