By KATIE FAULKNER
WELLSVILLE, N.Y. — Adrian Lopez (Oklahoma-Panhandle St.) earned his second win of the season, and the Hornell Dodgers beat the Wellsville Nitros, 5-1 in New York Collegiate Baseball League action on Thursday night.
The Nitros struck early when leadoff hitter Tyler Culpepper (Roane State CC) singled in his first at-bat. A Max Franzone (Dominican) double moved Culpepper into scoring position before Harry Montero Jr. (Bloomfield) batted him in. However, that would be the extent of Wellsville’s scoring.
Despite a slow start offensively, the Dodgers found their groove at the plate in the top of the sixth. Ty Reginelli (Wofford) registered a leadoff double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. He scored on a passed ball. Adam Fitzgibbon (Saginaw Valley) walked and scored on a Dylan May (Wofford) double.
Lopez allowed seven hits in seven innings pitched for the Dodgers. He struck out seven batters before Billy Gregory (Mansfield) replaced him for the remaining two innings.
“I knew coming in that they had a lot of pull hitters,” said Lopez. “I just wanted to use my off-speed pitches to keep them off balance.”
The San Antonio, Texas native said his main goal was to go at the Wellsville batters for as long as he could.
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“I’m definitely a little sore right now, actually I’m pretty exhausted,” said Lopez.
Wellsville’s Carlos Tejeda (Bloomfield) allowed five hits in six innings pitched. Patrick Berthelette (Marymount) threw for two innings and allowed two hits. Trey Urban (Roane State CC) would end the night on the mound for the Nitros.
“We’re trying to continue to evaluate the pitchers, as well as the rest of the players to see which situations they can excel in,” said Wellsville coach Jason Cronin. “Some of them are still learning and that’s why they’re here.”
After dropping the last seven games, Cronin made it clear that skill level is not to blame.
“It’s certainly not a talent issue right now,” said Cronin. “Right now we’re facing performance issues and trying to find a little internal leadership outside of our coaching staff.”
The Nitros will travel to Cortland to take on the Crush (7-1) on Saturday, June 11th at 3:00 p.m.
Hornell improved to 7-3 with the win. The Dodgers will host the Oilers at Maple City Park on Saturday, June 11th at 11:00 a.m.
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