By Andrew Grella
GENEVA, N.Y. — The Geneva Red Wings won round two of the Battle for the Big Mac sweeping the Geneva Twins in a two-game series in the 2014 New York Collegiate Baseball League season. The in-house rivalry took extra innings and 19 runs to be decided, but it would be the Red Wings who would emerge victorious. Jeremy Hutchison (Neumann Col) kept the Wings in the game in his six-inning relief outing.
After struggling in his first two innings of relief where he surrendered three runs, Hutchison settled down against the Twins in his final four innings of relief. He tossed six full innings, giving up four hits, walking two and striking out nine as he shut the door on the Twins to help the Wings complete the comeback.
The Twins opened the scoring in the top of the first inning by throwing up a quick two-spot against Matt Kozemchak (Lehigh U). With one out, Tre Edwards (Murray State) lined a double to deep left center. He was driven in on a two-out double by Calvin Woolhiser (St. John Fisher) who later scored on a Conner Simonetti (Kent State) single to make it 2-0. But the Wings responded in the bottom of the frame scoring two runs on a two-out, two-RBI single for Andrew Utterback (Alabama A&M) to tie the score up after one inning of play.
A four spot in the top of the third would have the Twins in good shape in the early stages of the game. Zach Goldstein (Southern New Hampshire) came up with the bases loaded and cleared them with a triple. He was driven in on an RBI single by Jason Ibrahim (Arkansas Pine Bluff) to make it 6-2.
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The away team added one in the top of the fifth as Goldstein drove in his fourth run of the game to give the Twins its largest lead of the game at five. But, it was a tale of two halves of the ball game as the Twins owned the first half, but it was the Red Wings who would control the second half of the game.
The Wings strung together six runs in two consecutive frames to pull within one run of the Twins as the seventh inning stretch rolled around. Clint Roche (Marietta Col) drove in a run on a single and Cameron Coons (Alvernia U) followed with a double to drive in two in the fifth to make it 7-5.
But the offense for the Twins responded with two runs in the sixth on a blooper to left field from Sean Feeney (Wilmington U) to give the Twins another four run lead. The Wings had another answer for the Twins in the bottom of the frame though. A wild pitch, RBI single by Johnathon Cruz (Dowling Col), and another RBI from Utterback on a ground ball would bring the Red Wings within one, 9-8, after six.
The Battle for the Big Mac needed extras as the Red Wings tied the score in the bottom of the ninth. A sacrifice fly by Chris Burns (Alvernia U) to right field gave the Geneva fans some free baseball, as the score was 9-9 after a full nine innings.
But it only took one extra inning for the Red Wings to complete the comeback against the Twins. The Wings took advantage of sloppy defense in the tenth as the first base runner reached on an error and then came around to score on an error on a grounder hit by Travis Kreitz (Kutztown U).
The Red Wing (28-16) remained in first place over the Oneonta Outlaws and will finish the season tomorrow with a double header against the Sherrill Silversmiths (22-21) as the Wings will try and clinch first place. Game one starts at 4 pm tomorrow in Geneva. The Geneva Twins (28-17) finish the season on the road against the first place Hornell Dodgers (37-8). That game is set to start at 7 pm.
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