By ANTHONY SAMBROTTO
NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. — With the race for playoff positioning in the NYCBL’s Western Division coming down to the wire, one team was able to step up while another missed an opportunity.
The Geneva Twins defeated the Niagara Power 7-3 Wednesday night in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Sal Maglie Stadium. With the win Geneva clinched second place and home-field advantage in the first round of the upcoming playoffs.
Coming into the night, the Power had a chance to tie the Twins in the standings, and with each team having one more game remaining, the Power would have controlled their own destiny as they would have won any tie-breaker with Geneva.
However, it was not meant to be Wednesday. The Power sent Niagara Falls native Zach Monell (Niagara University) on the mound for just his second start of the season. He was called upon due to the Power playing back-to-back doubleheaders and having no regular starter available.
The Power players behind Monell did him no favors, as they committed four errors in his six-plus innings in the game. Monell gave up six runs, with four earned.
” We just didn’t bring our fielding gloves today, or our arms to make good throws,” Power manager Josh Rebandt said. ” They were left somewhere else.”
Credit should be given to Geneva as they were able to capitalize on the mistakes and pushed across runs in every inning except the first, third and eighth. Despite falling in a 1-0 hole, Geneva made sure to take the lead and maintain it the rest of the way.
Catcher Andy Lalonde (Southern New Hampshire) drove across two runs with a double in the top of the third to send the Twins up 3-1. Lalonde finished the day with three hits and also was hit by pitch to reach base a total of four times.
Working with a big lead for most of the game, Geneva starter Luke Salerno (Castleton) went 5.1 innings, allowing two runs and giving up six hits. Salerno improved to 6-1 on the season to move into a five-way tie for the league lead in wins.
“Luke went out there and gave a great effort,” Geneva manager Andy Weeks said. “I didn’t want to throw him too much, but he said ‘hey coach give me more,’ and the rest of the team came out and scored some runs for him and made a couple mistakes here and there but we had a good game.”
The Twins were able to score in a variety of ways on Wednesday, as well. In addition to Lalonde’s double, the Twins scored by: grounding into a double play, a combination of a fielding and throwing error on the same play, a single, a ground out, and a sacrifice fly.
Reliever Alex Dickey (Wabash) was able to shut down any potential Power rally with 3.1 innings of work, allowing only one run on three hits.
“It gives us a lot of momentum going forward,” Weeks said. “We have one game tomorrow and then a couple off days before the playoffs and to play probably Niagara again.”
Before Weeks’ prediction comes through, however, the Power have some more work to do. The Olean Oilers, who currently sit in fourth place have a chance to jump into that third spot. Simply put, if the Power win their game Friday against Rochester, they are in third. If they lose and Olean wins all three of its games, the Power fall to fourth place. If the two teams tie in the standings, Niagara will take third.
Rebandt already knows that he will be sending pitcher Dallas Deavers (University of North Georgia) to the mound Friday.
“It’s going to be all hands on deck,” he said. ” Friday I told the guys that we have to find any way to keep where we are at in the division at third place and then go from there.”
Wednesday’s loss dropped the Power to 4-11 over the last 15 games, after they started the season 21-9, but Rebandt knows his group still has time to rebound.
“It has come down to that big two-out hit or making one more big play or pitch and the leadoff walks have also been a killer for us and a high percentage of the runs we have given up get on due to walks, ” he said. ” But we are right there and we are just as good of a team as we were a few weeks ago, just a lot of extra inning games and one run games.”
As mentioned, the Power close out the regular season at home Friday night against the Rochester Ridgemen at 7 p.m. The Power hope to have all-star outfielder Bryan Klendworth (Olivet Nazarene) back from a hamstring injury he suffered at a drill during the all-star festivities, but Rebandt has yet to make a decision on his return.
The Twins will play at Rochester Thursday night to close out the regular season at 7 p.m.
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