By Cameron Boon
WEBSTER, N.Y. — From the moment Seth Cornell (Houghton) stepped on the mound, he was in control, taking a no-hitter into the seventh inning and finishing with nine strikeouts as the Hornell Dodgers snapped a two-game losing streak to the Rochester Ridgemen defeating them 5-1 in a New York Collegiate Baseball League Western Division matchup Monday night at Basket Road Field.
Cornell finished by only letting up three knocks to give the Almond, NY native his third win in as many starts and winning his fourth straight decision.
“You really have to tip your hat to Seth,” Rochester manager Brady James said.
At the plate, it was all about the 3-4-5 hitters for the Dodgers, especially Spencer Scorza (Cornell). He came up with the knockout blow in the third inning with the bases loaded and two outs.
Scorza took the first pitch he saw from Rochester starter Dustin King (Hannibal-LaGrange) and smoked it into the left field corner for a bases clearing, three-run double to increase the Hornell lead to 4-0.
“Tonight was about getting back on track,” Scorza said.
Hornell was desperate to do that after losing both games at home this weekend to this Rochester team, and it was the Ridgemen starters that were doing the dominating.
Also, a team that committed five errors this weekend, the Dodgers did not commit a single one tonight.
“Better defense was the key,” Hornell manager Tom Kenney said. “We didn’t play good defensively the past two nights.”
Hornell was able to get on the board in the top of the first, when Rayshelon Carolina (Monroe CC) led off the game by getting hit by a pitch. After stealing second and being advanced to third on a fly out, he crossed home on Hank Morrison’s (Mercyhurst) RBI single up the middle. Morrison is second only to the Geneva Twins’ Mike Annone (Wilmington) for the league lead in RBI, as the Dodger DH is currently at 24.
He also has had an RBI in each of the last three games, and in all four matchups with the Ridgemen.
The Dodger third started the same way the Dodger first did with the leadoff man getting hit by a pitch. This was the second of four batters that King would hit with a pitch throughout the night.
After a pair of singles, the bases were juiced to set up Scorza’s big-time hit.
“2-out RBI are always a momentum booster,” Scorza said.
“That play definitely gave them all the momentum,” James added. The local product of Penfield, NY now has a hit in seven of his last eight games.
Scorza then scored on a Connor Lewis (Monroe CC) single to make it 5-0 Dodgers.
Cornell took the momentum to the mound as he went on his hot streak at the rubber, retiring 12 of the next 13 batters that he faced after the inning.
The Ridgemen prevented a shutout in the seventh inning as well as the no-hitter. Matt Emge (Pittsburgh) broke up the no-no with a leadoff single to center. After a pair of fielder’s choices, Ethan Luna (Southwestern) and Trent Sullivan (MidAmerica Nazarene) put together back-to-back singles, the latter of which drove in Will Bass (New Mexico JC) and put the Ridgemen on the board.
Luna has now recorded a hit in 11 of his last 13 games, and Sullivan has gotten a hit in four of his last five.
With runners at second and third, Rochester looked to add onto the comeback effort, but Larry Vidaurre (Nyack) flew out to end the inning. Rochester wasn’t able to get a runner past second for the final two innings.
The Ridgemen (13-11) and the Dodgers (20-6) will meet for the final game of this four-game set Tuesday night at Maple City Park at 7:00 p.m. If history finds a way to repeat itself, Rochester will come out victorious, as the road team in this matchup is 4-0 this season.
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