By Cameron Boon
WEBSTER, N.Y. — Alex Mumm (Judson) did it again. He got a little help from the defense this time, though, as Ryan Wagley (Arlington Baptist) misplayed Mumm’s fly ball down the right field line and it dropped. Larry Vidaurre (Nyack) scored the winning run, ending a four-hour marathon matchup between the Rochester Ridgemen and the Niagara Power as Rochester won the game 6-5 after 14 innings of play in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Basket Road, Monday night.
Mumm also laid down the suicide squeeze that scored Trent Sullivan (MidAmerica Nazarene) in the bottom of the tenth in a 5-4 victory over the Cortland Crush on Saturday night.
“It’s one of those days where you’re just glad you came out on top,” Rochester manager Brady James said.
It has been an exhausting last four games at Basket Road, as they have played a total of 56 innings in their last five games, and all four of the games at home playing extra frames.
The Power have had their fair share of extra baseball played as well, as they have played three straight games now going to extra innings.
“This is what you want to see at the end of the season,” Niagara manager Josh Rebandt said about the prospect of two teams battling for playoff spots.
The winning pitcher of the game, Brian Epstein (Clarendon), threw all five of the extra innings as the Austin, TX native got his first win of the season. He only surrendered two hits, while walking only one batter and striking out three.
“I was going out there and going to pitch until we won or lost,” Epstein said. “I’m glad Brady stuck with me.”
Jack Trotman (Massachusetts-Lowell) started the second with a single, and after stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch, scored the first run of the game on Hunter Bingham’s (William Jewell) RBI groundout.
The Ridgemen answered with a vengeance in the bottom half of the frame, scoring three times. Case Smith (Baylor) hit a sacrifice fly to right-center bringing Ethan Luna (Southwestern) from third. Rochester then got a pair from one swing, on Sullivan’s RBI single to right, delivering Garrett Ruckel (Jacksonville) and Will Bass (New Mexico JC) to give the Ridgemen a 3-1 lead.
Nick Wolyniec (Bergen CC) made it 4-1 in the next inning, scoring off a throwing error by Niagara’s shortstop Gabriel Sevigny (Olivet Nazarene).
Trotman cut the lead to one in the top of the sixth as he roped a single into right-center field. Tyler Marcinko (Piedmont) and Ivan Acuna (Catawba Valley CC) both scored on the play, and the Ridgemen lead was shortened to 4-3.
“We both got our money’s worth tonight,” Rebandt said.
The Ridgemen made it 5-3 in the bottom of the seventh. Luna hit a sacrifice fly that scored Andy Santana (Geneva) from third and gave Rochester a little bit of breathing room.
Jackson Sigman (Glendale CC), the reigning NYCBL pitcher of the week, struck out five and hurled a pair of scoreless stanzas. Colton Roberts (Toccoa Falls) came on in the ninth but could not get the save.
Niagara put up a pair in the top of the ninth to tie it. Sevigny scored on a wild pitch with the bases loaded to make the score 5-4. Caleb Lang (Philadelphia Biblical) then beat out a double-play ball that would have ended the game, allowing Marcinko to score and knot the game.
The first chance to score a run came in the top of the 11th, when Niagara put runners at second and third with one out. Wagley grounded to short. Santana fielded it and fired home to Ruckel who tagged out Sevigny at the plate. It looked as if Sevigny may have gotten under the tag, but the umpire at the plate disagreed.
“I made some bad pitches and they (the defense) made some great plays,” Epstein said.
The Ridgemen had the winning run 90 feet away in both the 11th and the 12th, but a Ruckel ground out and a Chase Burrow (Mary Hardin-Baylor) fly out ended each inning, respectively.
“Schulman kept us in check,” James said.
Vidaurre walked to start the 14th, and was advanced to third when Smith smoked a two-out single before Mumm’s troubled blooper ended the game.
Rochester (20-16) is the fifth team in the NYCBL to 20 wins, as they move to 20-16 and now have a two game lead on the Power (18-18) for third place in the Western Division, but are still 2.5 GB the Geneva Twins for the second spot.
The same two teams meet Tuesday night at 7:00, this time in Niagara at Sal Maglie Stadium.
“We’ll just try to play a quick nine-inning game and prevent the long drive home,” James said.
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