By MIKE DeSANTO
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Junior Andrew McCoy (Benedict College) went 2-for-5 with three RBI and three runs scored for the Hornell Dodgers, leading them to a 15-4 win over the Rochester Ridgemen in New York Collegiate Baseball League action Sunday night at Basket Road Field.
McCoy delivered a three-run triple in the top of the sixth, putting the Dodgers up for good.
Junior Erich (Max) Werner (Seattle University) opened the inning with a walk, followed by a single for sophomore Chris Cerniglia (Nichols College). Werner stole third base and the Dodgers loaded the bases when sophomore Max Modeste (Seattle University) walked, exiting in favor on pinch runner junior Mike Wick (Webster College). McCoy then stepped to the plate, after a strikeout registered the first out and cleared the bases with a drive to right center. Hornell led 5-3.
“[I] started off 0-for-2. [I] just kind of figured out what I was doing wrong and then I just looked for a good pitch to hit to bring people in, and I did,” McCoy said. “Trying to go get the ball instead of letting it come to me, so I had a much more relaxed approach in the last at bat.”
The Dodgers kicked off the run scoring in the fourth inning, taking a 1-0 lead. An error for the third baseman allowed sophomore Michael Young (University of Massachusetts-Lowell) to reach second base, putting him in scoring position. A fly out moved Young to third, bringing up junior Jack Brett (Willamette University). Brett promptly tripled to centerfield, plating Young for the first run of the game.
However, the Ridgemen responded in the bottom of the fourth, taking the lead with three runs. Senior Ethan Luna (Southwestern University) was hit by a pitch and moved to second thanks to a balk, but the next two batters grounded out and struck out, respectively. With two outs, senior Casey Claflin (Shawnee State University) stepped to the plate and singled to left field to score Luna. But it was the next batter, freshman Trevor Cho (St. Cloud State), who delivered the biggest blow for the Ridgemen. Cho clubbed the first pitch he saw over the right field fence for a two-run home run.
The home run was the fourth at Basket Road Field this season and made Cho the third player, and first Ridgemen player, to homer at the ballpark this year (Young and Olean’s senior Chris Wastchak (California University of Pennsylvania) twice).
“Just trying to be aggressive. In the first at bat, I think it went to 3,4,5 pitches, it was all fastballs, so I kind of tied them up,” Cho said. “[I] was looking for the same thing, he missed a spot on the inner half, [I] just stuck the barrel out there and it went.”
The Dodgers chipped back into the deficit in the fifth inning, starting with a triple for sophomore Ethan Harrison (Trevecca Nazarene University). Harrison didn’t need to wait long to score, as after one out was recorded, junior Connor Bailey (Willamette University) slapped an infield single to the shortstop, driving in Harrison.
But, the momentum completely shifted in the sixth inning, as the Dodgers scored five runs to take a 7-3 lead. McCoy’s triple got the inning going. Harrison followed with a walk, stole second and reached third on a wild pitch, which brought in McCoy. Young got on with a walk, allowing Bailey to come to the plate to single home Harrison for another run.
The Ridgemen got one run back in the bottom of the sixth, cutting the lead to 7-4. Junior Joshua Parks (University of Chicago) reached on a fielder’s choice, as senior Christian Bitar (Regis University) was forced out at second, having singled to open the inning. Parks advanced to second on a wild pitch, putting him the position to score when Claflin singled to right field.
The Dodgers continued to add to the lead, adding two runs in the seventh and one in the eighth.
Two quick fly outs looked to spell the end of the seventh inning for the Dodgers, but junior Colin Johnson (Alfred State) had other plans, tripling to keep the inning alive. Johnson came in to score on an error at shortstop, allowing McCoy to reach. Another error put McCoy on second and Harrison on first, with both runners executing a double steal to put them on second and third. A wild pitch escaped the catcher behind the plate, rolling to the fence and providing the chance for the hustling Harrison and speedy McCoy to score.
In the eighth, the Dodgers loaded the bases on a single for Bailey, a walk to Werner and freshman Jared Kapturasky (Mercyhurst College) being hit by a pitch. A passed ball got back to the fence during the final at bat of the inning, bringing in Bailey to score.
Brett added a two-run single in the ninth to further extend the lead for the Dodgers. Then, with the bases loaded, Kapturasky emptied the bases with a three-run double, finishing the game’s scoring. The Dodgers shut the Ridgemen down in the bottom half, securing the win.
CJ Baker, the Dodgers’ head coach, said his team kept in the game and broke out when they got the chance.
“It was awesome. It was one of those games where it was really close early on and then we just had some hits fall our way,” Baker said. “Rochester played a really tough game tonight against us and our guys stuck with their approaches, hit the ball really well and ran the bases really well.”
The Ridgemen’s head coach Justin Dillard said the team was not able to put together a complete game and got too comfortable with the lead.
“For a while we were looking like we were in a ballgame, had the lead, and then just went into cruise control,” Dillard said. “The game flipped on its head and it was disappointing to see the way we responded after that happened.”
The Ridgemen struggled on defense with holding runners on base, allowing the Dodgers to steal 10 bases over the course of the game. Dillard attributed this to a combination of lack of awareness for the pitchers and a tired arm for his catcher.
“They lead the league in stolen bases, they do that a lot anyway,” Dillard said. “A few of the guys we had in there weren’t very good at holding runners and our catcher was hanging.”
Junior Lucas Cornell (Alfred State) started for the Dodgers, going six innings and giving up four runs on five hits and four walks with three strikeouts.
Cornell, a righty, excelled throughout the game at keeping the ball on the ground, recording 12 of his 18 outs on the ground.
“Early on in the game, I was just trying to commit my fastball pretty well on each side of the plate,” Cornell said. “They were jumping on that pretty quick, so I had to go to off-speed. It was a good adjustment because it kept them off-balance pretty well.”
The Ridgemen dropped to 5-19 on the season while the Dodgers improved to 19-6.
The Ridgemen will next play Monday at 1 p.m. as they hit the road to take on the Syracuse Salt Cats.
The Dodgers next game is on Monday at 8 p.m. as they host the Wellsville Nitros.
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