By KATIE FAULKNER
WELLSVILLE, N.Y. — The Wellsville Nitros beat the Hornell Dodgers, 9-6, and snapped an eight-game losing streak behind solid pitching from Joshua Limes (Cowley County CC) in New York Collegiate Baseball League action on Monday night.
The Nitros struck early when leadoff hitter Tyler Culpepper (Roane State CC) singled in his first at-bat. A Max Franzone (Dominican) single brought Culpepper home from second. Jacob Sims (Roane State CC) loaded the bases with a no-outs single. Harry Montero, Jr. (Bloomfield) brought Nick Varda (Ashland) home for his first RBI of the night. Carson Shrode (Tennessee Martin) kept the momentum going with an RBI single to bring Franzone home.
After a one-hit first inning, the Hornell Dodgers racked up three hits and recorded three runs in the top of the second. Designated hitter Tage Johnson (Houghton) singled to leadoff the inning. Mike Wick (Webster) and Anthony Santoro (Monroe CC) both advanced on walks, moving Johnson into scoring position. Zach Lopatka (Lackawanna) then doubled, scoring Johnson and bringing Joseph Cerda (Oklahoma Pandhandle State) to the plate. Cerda tripled, bringing Santoro and Lopatka home.
Nick Sampogna (Elmira) allowed seven hits in three innings pitched for Wellsville before being replaced by Limes. Limes struck out five and gave up five hits in the remaining six innings.
“I was just trying to attack the batters and get ahead in the counts,” said Limes. “I wanted to keep working ahead to keep them off balance.”
The Tulsa, Oklahoma native has now appeared in three games for coach Jason Cronin and the Nitros.
“[Limes] has barely pitched in anything other than a few relief performances in nearly a month,” said Cronin. “That was the longest outing he’s had all year, so for him to go out there and stop the losing streak is huge.”
Hornell’s Ned Monthie (Houghton) allowed nine hits and four runs in five innings pitched. Billy Gregory (Mansfield) replaced him for the next two innings, giving up three hits and four runs. Victor Paiva (Dean) ended the night on the mound for the Dodgers.
Despite a shaky start offensively to start the season, the Nitros are beginning to find their groove at the plate. Both batting and on-base averages are rising, as well as overall confidence levels.
“We had 12 hits against Cortland and the guys could start to feel the confidence build,” said Cronin. “There’s no substitute for confidence. You need to hit the ball to build confidence.”
While Cronin admitted he wasn’t satisfied with his team’s effort level a week ago, he said frustration and the losing streak were all combining factors.
“I challenged the guys a little bit and they chose to show up and start putting more time and effort in,” said Cronin. “The biggest thing we can take away is that hard work and focus does pay off, so they definitely deserve this.”
Montero went 2-for-4 with four RBI and a home run for Wellsville. Culpepper went 3-for-4 and scored twice.
The Nitros (3-8) will travel to Olean to take on the Oilers at Bradner Stadium on Tuesday, June 14th at 7 p.m.
Hornell fell to 8-6 with the loss, The Dodgers are off until Wednesday, June 15th when they take on the Nitros again in Wellsville.
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