By Paul Gotham
HORNELL, N.Y. — Ambush. Demolition. Bludgeoning.
Those are some of the first words that come to mind when describing the Hornell Dodgers’ performance Thursday night.
Don’t forget convincing.
Hornell pounded out 15 hits en route to a 17-1 victory over the Olean Oilers in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Maple City Park.
Six different Dodgers collected multiple hits as the Blue and White plated runs in four of the first five innings.
“You got to be pleased when they swing it like they did tonight,” commented Hornell head coach Tom Kenney. “It was up and down the lineup, not a couple of guys carrying us.”
Jordan Climpson (Cameron), Jimmy Latona (Monroe CC) and Carlos Olavarria (Concordia) all collected game-high three hits for the Dodgers.
“They’re playing well,” Kenney stated. “It’s fun to come to the ballpark. They’re having fun coming to the ballpark.”
Hornell took the lead in the first and never looked back. Climpson plated Thad Johnson (St. Bonaventure) with a two-out RBI single.
The Dodgers added three unearned runs in the second.
Latona highlighted a three-run fourth with a two-run home run into the trees in left field. The one-out shot was the first of the season for one of the league’s leading hitters.
“I was just trying to drive the ball,” Latona noted. “I’ve been trying to keep it as simple as I can in my head.”
Latona turned on a 2-1 changeup scoring Olavarria on the play.
“I was thinking more fastball,” Latona explained. “The kid hung a change up. I took advantage of it and barreled it up pretty well.”
Leading 7-1, Hornell put the game out of reach when they sent 10 to the plate in a seven-run fifth.
Climpson and Latona both connected on RBI doubles. Hank Morrison (Mercyhurst) brought in a run with a base hit, and the Dodgers took advantage of two wild pitches pushing the lead to 14-1.
Jordan Accetta (Wofford) improved to 4-0 on the season. The right-hander allowed one run on four hits with two walks and four strike outs.
“It helped throwing against these guys last week,” Accetta said. “I kinda had a game plan coming into it.”
Accetta retired the side on seven pitches in the first and faced the minimum in four innings.
“I was just hitting my spots and mixing pitches,” Accetta mentioned. “Spinning ’em in and out of the zone. My stuff felt pretty good.”
He threw 84 pitches, 54 for strikes and held Olean without a hit for the first three innings and left the bases loaded in the fourth.
“He’s been good,” Kenney said. “He struggled a little bit with his command in his first outing. Since then what you saw tonight is what he’s given us. I would love to play behind him because he works quick and pounds the zone. He’s tough.”
“If there’s been one constant for us, it’s probably been our starting pitching,” Kenney added. “Our starting pitching has been very good all year.”
Elliott Lance (Wofford) tossed three shutout innings in relief. The right-hander fanned one and walked one while scattering six hits. He worked out of a bases loaded two-out jam in the eighth recording his only strike out of the night.
Johnson, Morrisson and Brandon Sandoval (Vanguard) all chipped in with two hits apiece. Johnson drove in three.
Connor Lewis (Monroe CC) walked twice, stole a base and scored twice. He made a spectacular catch in the sixth inning. The third baseman chased down a pop fly into foul territory and with his back to the infield made an over-the-shoulder, acrobatic grab.
Hornell’s infield turned two double plays.
Michael Roman and Ben Weber (Defiance) had two hits each for Olean. Roman scored the Oilers only run on a wild pitch in the fourth.
Olean (3-10) hosts the Geneva Twins (9-6) Friday night. First pitch at Bradner Stadium is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Hornell (15-3) gets a day off before travelling to Oneonta for a weekend set with the Outlaws (6-5). The Dodgers are 10-0 at Maple City Park, have w0n their last five and 11 of 12. The Blue and White hold a commanding four and a half game lead in the NYCBL’s Western Division.
“There’s a long way to go,” Kenney said. “We’re playing well. We’re winning a lot of different ways right now. Hopefully we can keep that up.”
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