By Cameron Boon
WEBSTER, N.Y. — “After putting a hurt on them tonight, I know they’re going to come back fighting,” Ridgemen third baseman Nick Wolyniec (Bergen CC) said Thursday night after his team defeated the Genesee Rapids 8-2.
The Rapids did just that and earned a split in the two game set behind a quality start from their starter Zachary Uher (Baruch College) and a big day at the plate for Nathan Stanley (Clearwater Christian) as Genesee defeated Rochester 7-3 Friday night in a NYCBL Western Division matchup at Basket Road Field.
“As far as executing, this was the best we’ve looked offensively,” Genesee coach Tyler Rost said afterwards. His team put up 12 hits, with five different players driving in a run. His team also jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first two innings and didn’t look back, which was the same thing Rochester did to them the night before.
“We were able to get the lead early and that relaxed us,” Rosy said.
Uher also did his part, despite letting up nine hits, he only allowed three runs while striking out a pair of Ridgemen batters. “He got ahead of hitters very well tonight,” Rosy said about his starter, who is now 2-0 on the season.
It wasn’t the Rochester offense that was the problem as they compiled ten hits, even though they left seven on base.
It was the defense, committing three errors, two of which allowed Rapids runners to score. “I would like for outs to be outs,” Ridgemen coach Brady James said. “Our defense needs to be cleaner.”
Stephen Chandler (ASA College) wasn’t able to get it going like he had on Opening Day, as he allowed four runs on seven hits while walking three in his 5.1 innings of work. Multiple times he was leaving pitches up, something that James and company did not see in his stellar start on Sunday.
“He wasn’t able to find his rhythm until too late,” James said about his performance.
One of the lone bright spots in the Ridgemen lineup tonight was Wolyniec, as he had his second straight multi-hit game, compiling a perfect 4-for-4 night with an RBI. All of them singles, making his last seven hits just the one-base hit.
Genesee started hot, and was able to score a run in the first. Andrew Bonnette (Walsh University) wasn’t as effective as he was last night, but he got the scoring started as he crossed the plate on Jack LaMarca’s (Ohio Northern University) single to right field.
The Rapids then got a pair in the second inning to extend the lead to three. One of the three errors came into play for the first run, as Ridgemen catcher Matt Emge (University of Pittsburgh) tried to pick off Stanley at first, and it took a hop past the first baseman Alex Storaci (Blue Mountain CC) into right field, allowing Dalton Combs (Huntington University) to score and Stanley to move up to third. “
Stanley would then score later in the same at bat on a single by Tony Schultz (Northwestern College) through the right side, making it 3-0 Genesee.
The Ridgemen are now 1-2 when they don’t score a run in the first three innings, compared to 3-0 when they do, so fast starts are crucial and it was not there tonight. “We just didn’t execute tonight,” Wolyniec said.
Genesee then added a pair more in the sixth. Stanley drove in Kellen Creech (Ave Maria University) with a single to center to extend the lead to four, his second hit of the day. “I made the pitcher throw me a pitch I wanted and tried not to do too much with it,” Stanley said.
The Rapids then added a fifth on the second Rochester error of the night, a throw over Storaci’s head by pitcher Preston Williams (Case Western Reserve University) after Schultz laid down a bunt. Stanley ended up scoring and it looked as if Genesee was going to run away with it.
The Ridgemen made it interesting in the bottom of the sixth though, and it started with a huge swing of events. Will Bass (New Mexico JC), already with a home run on the year, crushed a Uher pitch to deep right field. Bonnette raced back to the fence, climbed it, and caught the ball with the heel of his glove, only to drop it as he came down to the ground. Bass ran all the way to third, stopping there with a triple.
He then scored in next at-bat, a RBI single to right by Wolyniec. This was also his second straight game with an RBI.
Him and Shane Soria (Glendale CC) were the only batters with multi-hit games for the Ridgemen, combining for six of the ten team hits.
Trent Sullivan (MidAmerica Nazerene University) then singled to advance Wolyniec to second, and then Wolyniec scored on Emge’s single right up the middle.
Sullian then scored on Garrett Ruckel’s (Jacksonville University) RBI groundout, making it 5-3 Rapids and it looked as if the Rochester bats had come alive as they had only mustered four hits up until this point.
Rochester then put two on with two out in the seventh. Soria singled to lead off the inning, and then Wolyniec hit a high fly to right, and Bonnette and Stanley both lost it in the lights. Wolyniec tried to stretch the hit to a double, but was tagged out on a very close play at second base. James went out to argue the call but to no avail, and that was a last ditch effort as their final six batters were retired.
The Rapids added the icing on the cake with a pair in the ninth. A RBI single by Creech scored Bonnette, and a sacrifice fly from Will Kendrick (Davis & Elkins College) scored Jason Euler (Mesa CC).
The Ridgemen fell to 4-2 on this early season and have an off day tomorrow before heading to Geneva to take on the Twins at 3:00 p.m.
The Rapids, now back even at 3-3, will head down to the southern tier Saturday night to take on the Wellsville Nitros. First pitch there is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
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