By MIKE DeSANTO
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Junior Jack Brett (Willamette University) went 4-for-5 with two RBI to propel the Hornell Dodgers to a 7-2 win over the Rochester Ridgemen in New York Collegiate Baseball League action Friday night at Basket Road Field.
“I always try to just look middle away. I try not to do too much at the plate,” Brett said. “Just stay within myself. Even if you hit balls hard at people, it’s going to drop. We have a really good team philosophy, stealing bags, being aggressive early in the count, so just trying to pick out a pitch and knowing the rest of the team is going to pick you up when you do.”
Sophomore Michael Young (University of Massachusetts-Lowell) also contributed a pair of hits and two RBI in five at bats for the Dodgers, including a solo home run in the top of the seventh. The home run was just the third at Basket Road Field this season.
After sophomore Ethan Harrison (Trevecca Nazarene University) flew out to open the seventh, Young stepped to the plate, already 0-for-3 on the day. However, he made sure this at bat was different, as he worked a 2-2 count, got his pitch and dispensed it over the right field wall.
“I was kind of pulling off balls my first two at bats, so I just wanted to stay through a ball,” Young said. “He threw an off-speed pitch, I got a piece of the bat on it and it kind of just went out.”
Junior Jameson Moran (RIT/Geneseo) held the Ridgemen to one run on six hits and one walk, striking out three over six innings of work.
“[I] started out a little rough. It’s in the summer, so it’s hard to stay in a routine,” Moran said. “But good defense always helps, so it made it pretty easy toight.”
Moran found his success in outs by the air, getting 12 of his 18 outs by either line out or fly out, including seven consecutive fly outs between the third and fifth innings.
“Just trying to keep the hitters off-balance, mix your pitches, hit spots and it makes it a lot harder to square up balls that way,” Moran said.
The Dodgers opened the scoring in the second inning, pushing one across. Junior Connor Bailey (Willamette University) led off the second with a single to left field, advancing to third on another single to left for Brett. Sophomore Chris Cerniglia then tapped a pitch on the ground to the shortstop and Brett was forced out at second, allowing Bailey to score on the fielder’s choice.
The Ridgemen responded with a run in the bottom half of the second to tie the game at one. Senior Casey Claflin (Shawnee State University) doubled to the right-centerfield gap and moved to third when sophomore Seth Hagan (Centre College) singled to center. Sophomore Andrew Bayard (Westmont College) took advantage of the opportunity, poking a single between second and first and out into right field, scoring Claflin to tie the game.
However, the Dodgers took over the game offensively in the fifth inning. Junior Erich (Max) Werner (Seattle University) smacked the first pitch he saw down the third base line and the ball was misplayed at third, allowing it to roll all the way into the left field corner. Werner reach third on the play, putting him in scoring position for sophomore Sam Mang (Trevecca Nazarene University), who singled to left to plate the run. Mang later came around to score on an error at short, having moved to third on a double for junior Mike Wick (Webster University).
The Dodgers capped off the fifth inning with Harrison, who had reached first on the error, and Wick executing a double steal. Young then stepped to the plate and provided a sacrifice groundout to first base to score Wick as the third, and final, run of the inning.
Young opened the seventh inning with his home run to extend the Dodgers’ lead, but the offense was not finished. Freshman Jared Kapturasky (Mercyhurst College) reached on an error at third, allowing Brett to drive in another run with a two-out double to left field.
The Ridgemen got a run back in the eighth, starting with a double to centerfield for senior Christian Bitar (Regis University). Seniors Ethan Luna (Southwestern University) and Claflin added back-to-back singles to the inning, with Luna’s moving Bitar to third and Claflin’s scoring him.
But, the Dodgers secured the victory in the ninth with an RBI single to center for Brett, bringing in sophomore Max Modeste (Seattle University), who had pinch hit for Bailey. The Ridgemen then went down 1-2-3 in the bottom half of the inning, ending the game.
Ridgemen head coach Justin Dillard said while his team lost, they are getting better as the season moves forward.
“It was improvement. On the mound we issued less walks, at the plate we struck out less than normal and we found the barrel more times,” Dillard said. “We had more hits, so more hits than our average game. So I’m going to take that as progress and moving in the right direction.”
The Dodgers’ head coach CJ Baker said the team success has come from the players’ commitment to each other and the team game.
“Our guys have just really bought into our system,” Baker said. “They like to run, they like to swing it and our pitchers are hitting their peak right now, which is awesome. We have a great group of guys. You would think they’ve been playing with each other for years.”
The Dodgers, currently ranked 22nd in the latest national summer league rankings, improved to 18-6 while the Ridgemen dropped to 5-17 on the season.
The Ridgemen will play the Syracuse Spartans at Basket Road Field Saturday at 7 p.m.
The Dodgers will travel to Olean on Saturday to take on the Oilers at 7 p.m.
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