By ANTHONY SAMBROTTO
WELLSVILLE, N.Y. — Regardless of the outcomes on Thursday, fans of baseball were just happy to see the games finally being played.
After days of rain hampered both team’s schedules, the Niagara Power and Wellsville Nitros split a doubleheader, 7-3 and 2-3, Thursday afternoon in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Wellsville Central.
The majority of the runs came in game one, which usually means a Power victory, and proved no different Thursday.
After finding themselves in an early 2-0 deficit, the Power roared back for a five-run second inning.
Most of the damage came from third baseman Jordan Hayes (Olivet Nazarene University), who hit a three-run triple off Nitros’ starter StigErik McElhinney (Nichols College) to put the Power up 3-2. With the bases again loaded later in the inning, Caleb Lang (Cairn University) came through with a 2-RBI single to tack on two more insurance runs.
McElhinney was able to settle down and shut out the Power up until the seventh inning. He finished the day with six innings pitched, six earned runs, five walks and three strikeouts. With the loss he fell to 1-3 on the season.
Wellsville was able to add two more runs off of Niagara starter A.J. Bruner (Trinity International University) in the third and fifth innings.
With the Nitros within a run in the top of the seventh, two familiar faces again came in clutch for the Power.
Conner Combs (East Texas Baptist University) hit a sacrifice fly to score Lang, and with the bases loaded Hayes walked home Mason Irby (Jones County Junior College) to put the Power ahead 7-4.
Nick Campe (Olivet Nazarene University) pitched the bottom half of the inning for his eighth save of the season.
Bruner, in his first start since June 23rd, went five innings allowing four runs (two earned) eight hits and struck out two. Bruner has won both of his starts on the season.
At the conclusion of the first game, the Power had scored 33 runs against the Nitros over the previous three games.
Unfortunately for the Power, that run of white-hot hitting ended in game two.
The Power got off to the scoring they were used to, however, with Combs and Caleb Thomas (Colorado School of Mines) each having an RBI in the top of the first.
After scoring a run on an error in the bottom of the first Juan Reina (Bloomfield College) provided all the scoring Wellsville needed with an RBI double in the second and a sacrifice fly in the sixth.
Both starters threw complete games, with Jensen Kirch (Wabash College) allowing six hits and striking out six en route to his third win of the season, and first since June 12th.
For the Power, Dallas Deavers (University of North Georgia) went the distance and suffered his third loss of the season despite only allowing three hits and one earned run.
Despite the loss in game two, the Power remained on top of the Hornell Dodgers in the NYCBL’s Western Division by a half game. Those two teams begin a four game series July 9th.
The Power (17-8) get the day off tomorrow before heading to Genesee to face the Rapids on Friday night for a 7 p.m. first pitch. Wellsville (6-21) goes on the road tomorrow to face the Hornell Dodgers at 7 p.m.
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