By MIKAEL DeSANTO
ROCHESTER, N.Y. –Tanner Klein (Mansfield University) went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in and one walk to help fuel the Hornell Dodgers 8-3 victory over the Rochester Ridgemen in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at Basket Road Field, Wednesday.
“I think everything just went our way,” Klein said. “We fielded well, pitched real well and our bats came around when we needed them, it just felt good.”
Jake Kenney, the Dodgers’ head coach, said the win, which marked a sweep of the three-game series against the Ridgemen, was what the team needed and that the early offensive production helped dictate the win.
“Like I said yesterday, we had to get a sweep, get above .500,” Kenney said. “Coming out and scoring four was big, and I think that kind of set the tone for the rest of the game.”
The Dodgers sent Josh Barnett (Angelo State University) to the mound for his third start of the year while the Ridgemen pitched Ean Walda (Grand Rapids Community College), who made his fifth start this season. Walda threw two innings, giving up four runs on five hits, two walks and striking out one, before exiting the game with an injury in the third inning.
“(I) just felt a pop in my shoulder and after that I was like ‘yeah I don’t think I can throw anymore’,” Walda said. “At the end of my school season I had the same problem, just some tendinitis developed and hopefully get back to pitching, might not be this summer, but I definitely know I’ll be pitching where I go to school next year.”
Meanwhile, Barnett had a strong outing, throwing seven innings and giving up three runs on five hits, three walks and striking out 10 on his way to the win.
“All of my pitches were working, all five of them: fastball, curveball, changeup, slider, split,” Barnett said. “Really worked ahead with the fastball and then set up for off-speed later on.”
The Dodgers opened their offensive day with a four-run first inning. Mike Wick (Webster University) walked. Jack Trotman (St. John Fisher College) and Adam Fitzgibbon (Saginaw Valley State University) loaded the bases with back-to-back singles, and John Ricotta (Monroe Community College) drove in Wick with another base hit. Klein followed with a single to score both Trotman and Fitzgibbon, and Ricotta came home on a single by Adam Naliwajko (Webster University).
“I’ve been in a little bit of a slump and I just wanted to get the bat on the ball and help out the team,” Klein said. “I just so happened it went right up the middle and it felt good.”
The Dodgers added another two runs in the fourth inning to make it a 6-0 game. Naliwajko, Ty Reginelli (Wofford College) and Trotman walked to load the bases before Fitzgibbon singled to score Naliwajko and Reginelli (who scored on an error by the shortstop), with Trotman getting thrown out at third.
“My approach was to go everything opposite field, sit back on the ball” Fitzgibbon said. “My teammates got on so I just thought I’d drive them in.”
The Ridgemen responded in the fifth inning scoring three runs to cut the deficit to 6-3. Danny Molinari (De Anza College) and Jared Piper (Hillsdale College) opened with singles, and Casey Claflin (University of Northeastern Ohio) plated both of them with a bases clearing triple. Ethan Luna (Southwestern University) followed with an RBI ground out to score Claflin.
“For my first two at bats I was pretty frustrated, first at bat trying to do too much, I was like ‘ok slow the game down, kid’s throwing hard’, he was probably the fastest kid we’ve seen this year,” Claflin said. “He tried to throw me two curveballs low thinking I was going to chase, but I made my adjustments with changing my feet and slowing it down in my head and was just like ‘hey 2-0, right-center gap looks pretty good, let’s keep the hands back, get everything back, stay on that back leg, drive it, he throws a fastball I’m going to swing as hard as I can’.”
The Dodgers added insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to solidify their win. The run in the seventh came on an inside-the-park home run by Connor Brandon (Concordia University Chicago) and the run in the eighth, the final of the game, came when Wick, who had reached earlier on a single, scored after a fly ball by Ricotta was dropped in center.
“I hadn’t squared a ball up yet, so I was just trying to get a good piece of it,” Brandon said. “I thought he had a bead on it at first and then I saw that it was over his head, just kept running, I got to third base and he was waving me, just kind of went from there, it was pretty cool.”
Justin Dillard, the head coach of the Ridgemen, said the runs scored early were the downfall of the team and allowing runners to reach base put them in that position.
“(We) gave away too many runs too early and we couldn’t overcome it,” Dillard said. “Giving up hits here and there don’t hurt, but when you create traffic due to bases that are given away, that adds up.”
The win moved the Dodgers to 17-16, keeping them in second place in the Western Division, and the Ridgemen dropped to 8-24.
Billy Gregory (Mansfield University) and Victor Paiva (Dean College) combined for two scoreless and hitless innings of relief for the Dodgers.
In relief of Walda, Cason Ferry (Northland College), Devin Cerrato (Covenant College) and Luna combined to give up four runs over six innings on six hits and six walks while striking out three. Joe Done (Skagit Valley College) tossed a scoreless ninth for the Ridgemen.
The Dodgers next game is at 7 p.m. on July 7 against the Olean Oilers at Maple City Park.
The Ridgemen will next play on July 7 at 5 p.m. against the Wellsville Nitros at Kerr-Pegula Athletic Complex.
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