By PAUL GOTHAM
GENEVA, N.Y. — On a night of impressive pitching performances, it was one of bounce back nature that stood out.
Luke Salerno (Castleton State) hurled a complete game as the Geneva Twins recovered to split (5-2/7-0) with the Niagara Power in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at McDonough Park, Thursday night.
Salerno scattered five hits and walked one over seven innings. He struck out two for his first win of the season.
“Inside fastball was working for me,” Salerno commented. “I tried to establish the inside part of the plate and good things happen when you do that.”
Though he struggled getting ahead in counts the right-hander retired the first eight he faced and did not allow a runner past second all night. It was an about-face after his first outing of the season against Niagara on June 2nd when the Essex Junction, Vermont native allowed six runs (three earned) on six hits and a walk over three innings.
“Every outing is different,” Salerno noted. “I play to my game. I know what my strengths are, and I know what I want to do. I just play to my own game. I don’t go the mound thinking what happened last game or anything like that. Just kinda move forward and good things happen when you do that.”
Salerno threw 90 pitches (55 strikes) and recorded 10 ground outs and eight fly outs.
“He did a good job today,” Geneva’s manager Andy Weeks said. “He’s still got some stuff to work on. He fell behind a lot of hitters. When he got up big, he needs to start pounding (the strike zone) a little bit more, but he did a great job keeping them off balance.”
Geneva scored all the runs needed when they sent nine to the plate in a four-run third.
“I like seeing the run support,” Salerno said. “It’s always good to see that.”
Nate Roethel (St. John Fisher) and Dan Koller (Thiel) led with back-to-back singles. Kenny Reckart (Wooster) delivered the first run with a base hit. Bob Barnett (Widener) brought home another with a sacrifice fly. Taylor Vile (Castleton St.) singled home a run, and Connor Simonetti (Kent State) capped the stanza with a base hit up the middle to score Vile for the 4-0 Geneva advantage.
Simonetti delivered the big blow as Geneva put the game out of reach in the fifth. The Twins first baseman, who has been recovering from an injured finger, took the first offering from Niagara reliever Garrett Virgin (Howard Payne) and drilled a double off the base of the wall in straight away center field.
“I saw he was throwing a fastballs for strikes in warmups and not really anything else,” Simonetti explained. “I was just sitting fastball. He threw one in there, and I got a good piece. Luckily it went over his (Niagara center fielder, Caleb Lang/Cairn) head.”
Vile and JT Pittman (LeMoyne) scored on the play. For Simonetti, the hit served as a response to the opener when he went 0-for-4.
“I was struggling in the first game,” said the left-hander who dislocated the middle finger of his right hand during the college season. “Just swinging and missing a lot. I was just thinking hard contact. Thinking up the middle. They brought in a lefty to face me. I’m used to that by now.”
Dallas Deavers (No. Georgia Coll & St. U) won a pitching duel with Mitchell Powers (So. New Hampshire) in the opener.
Deavers allowed one run on three hits over seven innings for his first win of the season.
“The fastball was what I was living off,” the southpaw said. “I finally started getting some other pitches working later on.”
Deavers fanned four and walked three. He retired 10 straight from the third through the six and took a one-hitter into the seventh.
But it almost didn’t seem enough as his counterpart, Powers, was perfect through five.
“He was throwing great,” Devars said of his opponent. “For a while there I didn’t know if we were going to be able to get a hot off him.”
Powers retired six on punch outs through the first five and allowed just two balls out of the infield.
Niagara manager Josh Rebandt knew what to expect from the right-hander. Powers struck out six and allowed one run on three hits over seven when Geneva beat Niagara, 4-1 on June 3rd.
“Coming into the game we knew Powers was going to keep us on our toes,” Rebandt said. “We knew he was going to give them a chance to win. Did we think he was going to have a perfect game through five or six innings? I don’t know.”
Powers allowed two runs on three hits over seven.
“I tip my hat to Powers,” Rebandt said. “He’s dominated against us twice now. I think he’s got a really bright future.”
Niagara broke through in the sixth and took a commanding lead in the eighth.
“Our offense is pretty resilient,” Rebandt said. “We have them try and not lose their focus after one or two at bats.”
Both times, Jordan Hayes (Olivet Nazarene), hitting out of the nine hole delivered.
“He’s really seeing the ball well,” Rebandt said of Hayes.
Hayes singled home Damon DeJesus (Franklin College) in the sixth. He plated DeJesus and John Conti (Canisius) in a four-run eighth. An inning which the Power took advantage of two Geneva errors.
“We were in the first game,” Weeks said. “We threw two balls into right field. That makes it tough when you do that to yourself.”
Hitting in the eighth and ninth spots, Hayes and DeJesus combined for three of Niagara’s five hits.
“Bottom of the lineup coming through in that situation was huge,” Rebandt stated.
Nick Campe (Olivet Nazarene) hurled a scoreless ninth for his fifth save in five appearances.
James Colgan (Alvernia) came out of the bullpen for Geneva in the eighth and retired all six batters he faced.
Hayes finished 3-for-5 on the day.
Geneva’s Pittman had three hits in six trips along with two walks, a run scored and an RBI.
Niagara (6-3) sits a half-game behind Genesee and will host Wellsville, Friday night. A 7 PM first pitch is slated at Sal Maglie Stadium.
Geneva (4-3) travels to Genesee to take on the Rapids. A 7 PM start is also scheduled at Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex.
Per league rules, scheduled double-headers consist of a nine-inning and seven-inning game.
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