By Paul Gotham
GENEVA, N.Y. — Andrew Mercer (Southern Indiana) knows how to leave things the way he found them. The Geneva Red Wings reliever entered Wednesday’s New York Collegiate Baseball League game in the sixth with his team clinging to the slimmest of leads.
Four innings later, the right-hander and the first-place club nailed down another victory.
Mercer hurled four no-hit innings as Geneva increased its lead Eastern Division with a 3-2 victory over the Oneonta Outlaws in NYCBL action at McDonough Park.
The Mount Pearl, Newfoundland native struck out six and walked one for his third save of the season.
“My slider was working really well,” Mercer explained. “It was diving a lot, just throwing strikes. It worked out well.”
Mercer, who led the Division Two National Champion Screaming Eagles in innings, fanned four of the first five he faced. When Carson Waln (Wofford), reached on an error with two outs in the seventh, Mercer flashed his pickoff move to end the frame.
“He’s on a national champion team in Southern Indiana,” Geneva coach George Schaefer noted. “He’s used to winning. He’s used to being in big situations, and he proved it tonight.”
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Mercer surrendered a leadoff walk to Tyler Martis (Siena) in the eighth. A sacrifice bunt and a fly ball put the tying run at third. Mercer appeared to have ended the frame when he induced a pop up in foul territory. But when the ball floated down the left field line and eventually dropped among a trio of Red Wing fielders, Oneonta had new life.
Mercer didn’t flinch. He ended the threat on the next pitch with his fifth strike out.
“My defense makes plays,” Mercer said. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. I had my stuff working. I doubled up on my slider. He was going with that first slider and was probably looking fastball next pitch. I threw him another slider, and he swung over it.”
Brandon Agar (No. Georgia Coll & State U) matched his counterpart and then some, but it proved to be not enough. The Oneonta reliever tossed five shutout innings.
“The pitching coach Atlee (Pearson) came to me before and asked if I could give him two (innings),” Agar stated. “We got into a situation where we have a doubleheader tomorrow, so we talked and we decided we would save pitching for tomorrow, and I would just wear this one.”
Agar struck out five, walked one and scattered three hits.
Geneva pushed across the eventual winning run in the fourth. Julio Nunez (Alabama A&M) led with a base on balls off starter Austin Wallace (University of Georgia). Oneonta went to the bullpen, and Cameron Coons (Alvernia) greeted Joseph Romero (University of Albany) with an opposite field single to right putting runners on the corners. Ricky Gorrell (Kutztown) tied the score with a base hit, and Coons came home on a wild pitch.
“We don’t always get the two-run double,” Schaefer commented. “Sometimes, we have to play small ball. Our guys are gritty. They have been all season. It’s a testament to our success.”
Nunez finished the night 1-1 with two walks, a sacrifice bunt and a brilliant defensive play at third when he snared a line drive off the bat of Ramon Osuna Sanchez (College of Charleston) to start the second inning.
“It’s always good to be able to come out here and perform,” Nunez stated. “It’s a privilege and an honor to do that for the Red Wings. We try to treat every game the same. It is a close playoff race, but every game we try to go as hard as we can.”
Geneva grabbed the lead in the first. Gorrell worked a leadoff walk and eventually scored on a Conner Gunn (Amherst) sacrifice fly.
Oneonta answered with two in the third to take the lead. Martis started the stanza with a base hit. Kody Ruedisili (Wofford) dropped his first of two sacrifice bunts on the night. One out later, Taylor Jones (No. Georgia Coll & State U) delivered an RBI base hit. Jones moved to second when the ball was mishandled in the outfield. Daniel Fickas (USC-Upstate) followed with another two-out RBI single, and the Outlaws led 2-1.
Jason Meger (North Park) started and picked up the win. The right-hander allowed two unearned runs on five hits and a walk. He struck out two. He is 3-2 on the season and has won his last three decisions.
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Romero took the loss. He allowed a run on two hits without retiring a batter.
Agar came out of the bullpen with two on and none out. Waln gunned down Gorrell at third in a double steal for the first out. Agar got a punch out and fly out to end the threat.
Agar picked up the championship-clinching win last season when Oneonta defeated Hornell for the NYCBL title. The Outlaws finished the 2013 regular season 25-15. After Wednesday’s loss the denizens of Damaschke Field are 26-17. Agar credited coach Joe Hughes with Oneonta’s success.
“He does a real good job of keeping us focused, just staying together as a team and understanding what we have to do to achieve what we want to do.”
The Outlaws host a doubleheader with the Syracuse Salt Cats (21-21) on Thursday. A 5 p.m. first pitch is scheduled. Oneonta’s magic number to clinch second and home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs is two.
Geneva (27-15) travels to Olean to take on the Oilers (13-28), Thursday before returning home for an unconventional doubleheader as they take on their Big Mac rival Geneva Twins (28-16). A noon started is slated at Bradner Stadium. The second game is set to begin at 7 pm. With four games remaining, Geneva’s magic number to clinch first is three.
Former NYCBL Commissioner H. David Chamberlain attended Wednesday’s game. Chamberlain presided over the league from 1996-2009.
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