By KATIE FAULKNER
WELLSVILLE, N.Y. — An 11-run eighth inning wouldn’t be enough for a Wellsville rally, as the Nitros fell to the Hornell Dodgers, 15-14 on Wednesday afternoon in New York Collegiate Baseball League action. Wellsville is now 3-10 on the season.
After committing three first-inning errors, Wellsville dug themselves into an early 8-0 hole. Six of the eight Hornell runs were unearned.
The Dodgers’ offense struck early when Joseph Cerda (Oklahoma Panhandle) doubled to start the game. He advanced to third on a wild pitch before Adam Fitzgibbon (Saginaw Valley) brought him home with an RBI single. Mike Wick (Webster) singled, moving Tanner Klein (Mansfield) to second and putting Dylan May (Wofford) into scoring position. Connor Brandon (Concordia) drew a walk, scoring May. A Tyler Burns (Trevecca Nazarene) single and two Wellsville errors would score Klein, followed by Wick and Brandon.
Fitzgibbon went 2-for-4 with three RBI for the Dodgers while May went 2-for-3 with a home run. Cerda also recorded three hits and two runs.
Wellsville recorded a run in the first, third and seventh inning, but it wasn’t until the bottom of the eighth until they were able to attempt a comeback with 10 hits and 11 runs.
Pat Scholla (John Carroll) got things going with a leadoff single, followed by a single from Michael McNicholl (Eastern New Mexico). Brett Migliore (Canisius) singled, loading the bases for Cole Tracy (Finger Lakes), who brought Scholla home on an RBI single. Max Franzone (Domincan) kept the momentum going with an RBI single to score McNicholl. Harry Montero (Bloomfield) delivered a grand slam to bring the score within six.
“I’ve just been thinking in the middle of the field and seeing fastballs,” said Montero. “I’m trying not to chase anything and have been working on sitting back and driving the ball the other way.”
Tracy went 3-for-6 for the Nitros, while Franzone went 2-for-3 with three RBI.
In a game that saw 10 combined pitching changes, Hornell’s Adrian Lopez (Oklahoma Panhandle) would be credited with the win. Lopez gave up seven hits and two runs in 4.1 innings pitched. Zach Lopatka (Lackawanna) struck out five in 2.2 innings. Josh Barnett (Angelo State) struck out two and allowed one hit in the final inning for the save.
Joe Funkhouser (Moraine Valley CC) allowed seven hits and struck out two in one inning pitched for Wellsville. Pat Berthelette (Marymount) and Trey Urban (Roane State CC) combined for 5.3 innings pitched and three strikeouts. Nic Varda allowed one hit and struck out three in two innings.
Hornell improved to 9-6 with the win. The Dodgers and Nitros will face off again on Thursday, June 16th at 11:00 a.m. in Hornell.
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