baseball

Tonight’s game between the Batavia Muckdogs and State College Spikes has been postponed due wet and unsafe field conditions.

This game will be made up as part of a double header on Tuesday, July 26^th. We will play two seven innings games, with the first game starting at 11:05 p.m. Gates will open at 10 a.m. Any person with tickets to tonight’s game can exchange their tickets for any other regular season game, subject to availability. 

The Batavia Lions Club bike raffle that was originally scheduled for tonight will be rescheduled at a to-be-determined home game.

Join the Muckdogs at Dwyer Stadium Aug. 18th, 19th, and 20th for our youth baseball camp!

Kids ages 6-14 will receive two days of on-field instruction from the Muckdogs players and coaches on August 18^th and 19^th from 9 a.m. - 12 p.m. Children will learn from the pros in the areas of hitting, fielding, pitching, catching, base running and bunting. Then on Aug. 20^th, campers will be able to come back to Dwyer for a private autograph signing with the team 30 minutes before the gates open (5:30 p.m.) and then be recognized on the field prior to the Muckdogs game vs. the West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh Pirates affiliate).

Campers will also receive a special T-shirt not available in the team store, a camp photo, two tickets to the Aug. 20^th game, as well as daily lunch, all for only $70. Registration forms are available at Dwyer Stadium and online at muckdogs.com. Space is limited and all registrations and payments must be turned in by Friday, Aug. 5^th. 

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The Batavia Muckdogs are the short-season, Class A affiliate of the Miami Marlins and are the lone remaining founding members of the New York-Penn League, dating back to 1939. The Batavia Muckdogs are operated by the neighboring Rochester Red Wings.

Location: Dwyer Stadium, 299 Bank Street, Batavia, NY 14020

Phone: 585-343-5454; Fax: 585-343-5620

Website: www.muckdogs.com

Submitted photo. Seated, from left: Mekhi Fortes, Ryan Fitzpatrick. Kneeling, from left: Trenton Woods, Jay Antinore. Players (from left): Alex Johnson, Jimmy Fanara, Dane Dombrowski, Cal Koukides, Bronx Buchholz, Cole Grazioplene, Jameson Motyka, Jaden Firmstone. Back Row: Coaches Jeff Grazioplene, Leon Koukides, Ben Buchholz, Manager Sam Antinore, Coach Tim Antinore.

Press release from Mark Fitzpatrick, Batavia Little League board member:

Batavia's 9-10 All-Stars won the New York District 3 Championship on Monday, July 11, defeating Le Roy 15-0 in four innings.

Through their five games en route to the tournament title, Batavia outscored its opponents 65-5, led by pitchers Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jaden Firmstone, Dane Dombrowski and Bronx Buchholz.

In the title game after a scoreless opening inning, Mekhi Fortes and Dombrowski led off the second with back-to-back doubles, followed by singles by Buchholz, Firmstone, and Trent Woods, scoring four in the inning.

Batavia broke the game open in the third when offense was able to send 17 batters to the plate while scoring 11 runs. On defense, Batavia was led by the pitching performance of Fitzpatrick, who threw a no-hitter over his four innings of work, striking out six.

Batavia plays Section 2 Champion Olean/Portville in Penfield today in the first round of the Section 1 West double elimination tournament. Game time is 1 p.m. at Bachman Field, 3100 Atlantic Ave., Penfield.

Visiting teams are bringing more top prospects to Batavia over the next couple of nights, with a first-rounder starting for Aberdeen tonight, and the son of a former major leaguer who missed last season because of an injury tomorrow night.

This evening, Cody Sedlock, the 27th overall pick for the Baltimore Orioles, takes the mound against the Muckdogs in his second professional start. Hailing from Rock Island, Ill., Sedlock set a new school record in strikeouts this season for the University of Illinois. 

On Saturday, Hunter Harvey (photo) continues his comeback effort. The son of former major league pitcher Bryan Harvey was a first-round pick for the Orioles in 2013.

Last night, Aberdeen also put a prospect from Rochester on the mound. Steven Klimek, a graduate of Greece Arcadia before attending St. Bonaventure, pitched two and a third innings, fanning six and not allowing a hit against eight batters.

Photo of Hunter Havery courtesy Mike Janes/Four Seam Images.

On a night when the Batavia Muckdogs fell to 4-14 in a 5-1 loss to Brooklyn, at least there were fireworks after the game.

There was also the professional debut of the New York Mets' #1 draft pick, Justin Dunn, who brought his own kind of heat, striking out two in the ninth of a jittery eighth frame.

In the eighth, the Muckdogs managed two hits off of Dunn, matching the total number of hits they got over seven innings against starter Merandy Gonzalez (2-0, 2.21 ERA).

Muckdogs starter Reilly Hovis took the loss, giving up four runs and seven hits over four innings to fall to 1-2 with a 5.60 ERA. Relievers Chevis Hoover and Parker Bugg held things down over the final five innings, giving up a run and two hits.

For the Muckdogs, Isaiah White had two hits.

The Muckdogs face Brooklyn again tonight at Dwyer. Game time is 7:05. 

Top photo: Dunn delivering his first professional pitch.

Batavia second baseman Rony Cabrera gets ready to apply the tag on Gene Cone's steal attempt in the sixth inning.

In the second, Samuel Castro attempted to bunt for a base hit, but seemed to wait for the umpire to call his bunt foul before running toward first. He was thrown out at first.

Dale Burdick steals second in the second. Burdick is the nephew of Tom Turnbull, president of the Genesee County Chamber of Commerce.

Reilly Hovis pitching.

Aaron Knapp gets a stolen base, his second of the season.

Justin Dunn

New York Mets fans in the area might be interested to know that Justin Dunn, this year's #1 draft pick by the Mets, and 19th overall, could make his professional debut tomorrow against the Batavia Muckdogs at Dwyer Stadium.

It's July 4th and there will be post-game fireworks, so expect a sellout anyway.

Game time is 7 p.m.

Dunn was born in Freeport and attended Boston College before being drafted.

Photo courtesy Mike Janes/Four Seams Images.

Pictured above, Pablo Garcia watching two West Virginia runs being scored.

A quiet start but energetic night coming into tonight’s second game versus West Virginia Black Bears, but the Batavia Muckdogs ended a three-game winning streak losing at Dwyer Stadium 9-4.

After the first few innings being tied, in the bottom of the sixth, Isaiah White stirs the field on a forced out grounder advancing Rony Cabrera to third who scored on Aaron Knapp’s single next at bat taking the game lead by one. Pablo Garcia hit a sacrifice fly to left which brought White in to score leading the Muckdogs after six innings 3-1.

Top of the 7^th Muckdogs Justin Langley comes in, West Virginia unloaded on Batavia, scoring six runs runs by, George, Krause, Baur, Craig, Pabst for the Black Bears. Ty Provencher replaced Justin Langley, Provencher  escaped the inning allowing two runs by Leffler and Owen which brought West Virgina’s lead 9-3.

No change until the bottom of the ninth with two outs Batavia’s Jhonny Santos homers on a fly ball to left field to eventually end the night with Batavia losing 9-4, tying the series 1-1.

Muckdogs will play tonight ending the three-game home stances against West Virginia game time 7:05.

The Pavilion U-10 baseball team had its best post-season finish in a decade, coming in second in a tournament held in Perry.

Pictured are: Christopher Doody. Mason Gilkes, Cole Harding, Grayson Harding, Landon Stoddard, Case Cummings, Zach Tillotson, Cameron Beck, Noah Hudson, Tyler True, Evan Kingdon, Ryan Williams, and coaches, Brandon Gilkes and Jason Tillotson, and head coach Tim Kingdon.  Coach Michelle Forti was unavailable for the photo.

Photo and information submitted by Ed Doody.

Photo and story submitted by Drew Muehlig.

A four-run fourth inning was the difference as Elba downed Chili 8-4 Saturday to win the youth major league baseball championship.

The Lancers were leading 4-2 heading into the fourth, but the insurance runs in that big inning proved to be the difference. Zach Howard led off the inning with a single, scoring on Randy McIntire’s double on the very next pitch. Jake Engle added an infield single and then Nate Esten connected on a two-out single to score McIntire, putting runners on the corners. Brendan Thompson then sent a hard grounder through shortstop that took a tremendous bounce over the approaching fielder. Thompson took advantage, stretching the hit into a triple to score two runs putting the Lancers up 8-2.

Chili would score two runs in the top half of the sixth but their comeback fell short.

Elba’s CJ Gottler struck out nine in earning the win on the mound while Howard fired seven strikeouts to collect the save. Gottler and Zach Marsceill had huge run-scoring singles to keep Elba in the game early. Anthony Zambito also singled for the Lancers, who finish the year at 15-1. 

Photo: Front row -- CJ Gottler, Anthony Zambito, Zach Howard; second row, Frank Warriner, Jake Engle, Randy McIntire; third row, Tyler Kauffman, Brendan Thompson, Gage Chamberlain, Arron Wyder, Nate Esten, Caden Muehlig, Zach Marsceill; back row, coaches Drew Muehlig, Brian Engle and Vern Howard.

Athletes Edge Summer Baseball Camp will be held July 11-14 for children ages 5 to 12 at the Batavia Little League Complex near Dwyer Stadium. The address of the complex is 299 Bank St.

This camp will be assisted by Batavia High School Varsity Baseball players.

Cost is $90 per camper. Registration deadline is July 7. Each camper will receive a camp T-shirt.

Age groups are:

• Group 1: 5- and 6-year-olds
• Group 2: 7- to 9-year-olds
• Group 3: 10- to 12-year-olds

Times are 9 a.m. to noon every day.

Mail payment with a piece of paper containing the player's name, age, address, and phone number, along with T-shirt size to:

Athletes Edge Summer Baseball Camp

8487 Violet Lane

Batavia NY 14020

 

Contact is Ben Buchholz via email  athletesedgebatavia@gmail.com

or call his mobile phone at (716) 982-8259.

Photo and article submitted by Drew Muehlig.

The Elba Lancers used an explosive four-run fifth inning to surge past Sweden Clarkson 5-2 in youth major league baseball playoff semifinal action Thursday night.

Elba’s Zach Howard led off the inning with a single up the middle. He subsequently stole second base and made his way to third on an errant throw. Howard then raced home on a passed ball, sliding across the plate safely to tie the score at 2-2, firing up the Lancers' bench in the process.

Caden Muehlig followed moments later with a one-out triple to deep right-center field. He would score the go-ahead run on the next pitch as Randy McIntire doubled him in for his second RBI of the game. Nate Esten and Gage Chamberlain also notched RBI doubles as the inning continued. When all was said and done, Elba had a 5-2 lead heading into the top of the sixth inning.

Howard took it from there, sandwiching a foul pop catch between two strikeouts to end the game. He finished with six strikeouts in relief to pick up the win. Starter CJ Gottler kept the Lancers in it, striking out seven, giving up two unearned runs, as Elba struggled early in the field.

McIntire led Elba offensively with two hits and two stolen bases. Brendan Thompson added a single for the Lancers (14-1). Elba will host the league championship Saturday against a team yet to be determined.

Sweden Clarkson finishes the year 13-2.

At least it was a beautiful night for baseball at Dwyer Stadium on Wednesday, even if the play on the field was a bit ugly.

The Batavia Muckdogs dropped their 2016 home opener 11-1 to State College, falling to an 0-6 start. But fans shouldn't be too discouraged. Today's roster of youngsters has yet to be supplemented by Miami Marlin draft picks. The season should get progressively better, as they usually do under Muckdog's manager Angel Espada.

On a night that could, maybe, be the last home opener for one of the New York Penn-League's founding franchises (but that's true every year these days), the team tapped its rich history and its ties to the community by having Jerry Maley, a lifelong Batavia resident who made his professional debut with the local team in 1948, throw out the first pitch.

The Muckdogs try again tonight at Dwyer Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m. More good weather is expected.

David Kleinbach shared this picture of three youths doing what kids have done for generations at professional baseball games, peeking through holes in the fence to watch the game.

The Batavia Muckdogs open their home schedule tonight at Dwyer Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m.

Batavia has a rich baseball history, and Bill Kauffman and Bill Dougherty, each in their own way, have written about that history. Last year, Dougherty released "A View from the Bleachers: Batavia Baseball," and Kauffman, whose latest book is "Poetry Night at the Ballpark," has used Batavia baseball in his books and essays to frame his love for a life lived at human scale where neighbors rub shoulders and crack wise between pitches.

In anticipation of at least one more Batavia Muckdogs baseball season, we sat down in the stands at Dwyer Stadium with Bill and Bill to talk baseball, writing and life in Batavia.  

Baseball in Batavia, at least professional baseball, is listed on the endangered species list, soon to join the dodo bird and the passenger pigeon on the list of treasures lost to history. We know we have the 2016 season, and we are pretty sure there will be a 2017 season, but beyond that, the profiteers in the commissioner's office of Ben J. Hayes can't wait to yank the franchise away from the league's ancestral home. 

It's a myth that the Muckdogs lack sufficient local fan support. While Batavia ranks dead last in total attendance, it's actually one of the more stoutly supported teams in the league, ranking eighth in per-capita attendance, drawing a healthy 6 percent of the city's population on an average game night.

"Baseball is one of the things that gives Batavia its character, its flavor, its savor," Kauffman said. "It keeps us from drifting into the great American nothingness that has consumed so much of this country. This is the birthplace of the New York-Penn League, and the league, unfortunately, is on this crazy madcap expansion where it stretches now from Burlington, Vermont to Morgantown, West Virginia. It’s insane. It's driven transportation and lodging costs way up and makes it very hard for small market teams to survive. If Batavia lost its franchise, I think the league would lose its heart and soul."

It's debatable, of course, whether the league still has any heart or soul, having some time ago crassly moved its headquarters out of New York to St. Petersburg, Fla.

Writers love baseball for the same reason some sports fans have drifted to faster-paced contests. It's the lulls between pitches, between hitters and between innings, that give baseball its grace, making it a game for fans with active minds and a gift for gab.

"There’s a lot of room in between things in baseball and the things that fill up that room are to me what make it a real special experience," Kauffman said.

Minor league baseball is its own special treat, says Dougherty, especially at this level, short-season Single A, where even the most experienced player hasn't even played 100 games yet of professional ball and many, when they first walk onto Dwyer's lush infield, haven't seen their first professional pitch.

"They come here, and they're not too polished, but as the season goes on you notice a definite improvement in overall play," Dougherty said. "They know what to do and some of the plays you would actually say, ‘that’s a major league play.’ I appreciate the ambiance and seeing the players develop right before your eyes.”

The name of Kauffman's book comes from a somewhat historical, or perhaps, ignominious night in Batavia baseball lore, the night and when he and Club President Brian Paris decided that rather than playing canned music -- which they both hate -- between innings, they and a few others would read poems about baseball.

"You can already tell, this was a horrible idea," Kauffman said.

After the few innings, Paris asked the fans, music or poetry? The cry of the fans -- decidedly not fans of Charles Bukowski and Marianne Moore -- filled the air, "music."

They read more poetry.

"The fact that it didn’t go over well, it was a Batavia thing," Kauffman said. "If it was San Francisco, people would go, ‘oh, that’s cool,’ but Batavia is unselfconscious and I like that."

The Batavia Muckdogs open their home schedule tonight at Dwyer Stadium. Game time is 7 p.m.

Above from left: Nick Martin, Alex Ellison, Vinny DiRisio, Zach Howard, C.J. Gottler (seated), Bryn Wormley, Luke Rogers, Zach Marsceill (seated), Matt Fellinger, and Connor Willitt.  Coach Vern Howard and Coach Durin Rogers pictured to the rear.

Opening ceremonies.

Fellinger coming home for the winning run.

Fellinger under the tag for the win.

Rogers being congratulated for the walk-off triple.​

Submitted photos and story by Coach Durin Rogers.

Tri-Town 12U beat the Le Roy Knights 12U in what would prove to be a legendary game during the eighth Annual Michael Napoleone Tournament over Mermorial Day Weekend.

The Tournament is hosted by The Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation, Inc., which was established in 2007 and is in memory of Michael C. Napoleone, the 8-year-old son of Mark and Laurie Napoleone from Batavia who died from Burkitts Lymphoma/Leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer. During Michael’s illness, the community rallied around the family to assist with food, gas, medical bills and other necessities. The not-for-profit foundation was created to give back to those who cared, to give forward to those in need and to support research efforts in finding a cure for childhood cancer.

The 2016 victory was bittersweet for Tri-Town, who had lost to the Le Roy Knights in extra innings during the 2015 Tourney. Tri-Town and Le Roy had each won their three games in the tournament that began Friday and ended with the Championship on Sunday May, 29^th. Tri-Town defeated the WNY Spartans 10-0 and 13-5; Fairport Red Rage 12-2; Greece Gladiators 21-1.

Both Tri-Town and the Le Roy Knights had strong showings in all of their games and depth at pitching. Tri-Town pulled home-field advantage, having held its opponents to fewer runs than Le Roy over the tournament. Zach Howard received the call to open pitching for Tri-Town, while the lefty Collin McCauley got the nod for Le Roy.

Following strong pitching by Howard and McCauley and a scoreless first inning, Le Roy then sparked its offense scoring two runs in the top of the second inning on a well-placed double by Zach Vanderhoof and error by Tri-Town. Le Roy held Tri-Town without score in the bottom of the second and added two more runs to its cause in the top of the third inning. Tri-Town then broke out in the bottom of the third inning on the bats of Luke Rogers (1B), Connor Willitt (1B) and Vinny DiRisio (1B) scoring Zach Marsceill, Matt Fellinger and Rogers.

Nick Martin then took the mound for Tri-Town at the top of the fourth inning following a strong outing by Howard limiting the Le Roy team to four runs over the three innings. Le Roy scored another run in the top of the fourth on a McCauley double and a Brady Fix single before Martin struck out the final two batters to end Le Roy's fourth inning run.

 Le Roy’s power pitcher, Kenny Saunders, brought heat to bear on Tri-Town’s lineup. Yet, Tri-Town's Alex Ellison’s lead-off double in the bottom of the fourth along with his speed on the bases led to a Tri-Town score, keeping the game close in the 5-4 battle at the end of four.

At the top of the fifth inning, Le Roy poured it on scoring three additional runs on a double by McCauley and another single by Fix. Tri-Town would add to its cause scoring two runs on hits by Howard (1B) , Martin (1B), and Rogers (1B), to make the game an 8-6 affair in favor of Le Roy. Le Roy was then stymied by Tri-Town's defense and Martin's pitching in the top of the sixth inning, leaving the score at 8-6 LeRoy and providing Tri-Town one last opportunity at bat.

Tri-Town's Ellison led off with a solid double. Le Roy pitcher Saunders and Le Roy's stellar defense resulted in the next two outs in the field with a runner on second. Tri-Town's Bryn Wormley's quick reaction and legs beat out a throw to first base following a dropped third strike, putting runners on first and second.  Tri-Town's Fellinger had an epic at bat when he proceeded to foul off the next 11 pitches to a startled crowd before earning the walk to load the bases.

This year, Tri-Town would not be denied. With two puts and two strikes, Tri-Town's lead-off batter Luke Rogers, and birthday boy, hit a towering shot to the right field fence, clearing the bases and winning the game with a walk-off triple.

The Tri-Town team stats were nothing short of impressive during the tournament, accumulating 59 hits over five games representing 24 innings. One grand slam (Connor Willitt), 10-HR (Zach Howard 2 HR; Vinny DiRisio 2 HR; Nick Martin; CJ Gottler; Connor Willitt; Matt Fellinger), 2-3B (Luke Rogers 2-3B), 11-2B (Luke Rogers 5-2B; Alex Ellison 2-2B; Bryn Wormley 2-2B);and 39-1B contributed by the entire team for a tournament high, team-batting average of .538.

The Swanson family was honored today by the Michael Napoleone Memorial Foundation at the foundation's annual Memorial Day Weekend tournament at MacArthur Park in Batavia.

In 2007, Anders Swanson -- in the blue shirt above with mother Amy, father Garth and brothers Beckett and Cooper -- was diagnosed with cancer deep in his brain when he was 18 months old.

"(The doctors were) brutally honest," Amy said. "This kind of cancer is rare, it’s aggressive and it doesn’t have a good outcome. Kids with this kind of cancer don’t survive."

He immediately underwent surgery, and then a long ordeal of treatment that included four rounds of chemo, 31 days of radiation, two high-dosage chemo treatments, two stem-cell transplants, and countless blood transfusions, spinal taps and CAT scans. He underwent a second major brain surgery in which 90 percent of the cancer was removed. Now considered cancer free, Amy said he still undergoes numerous regular tests and the fight isn't over, yet Anders remains positive and a team player.

"He has to work much harder, but he greets everything with a can-do attitude," Amy said.

The tournament, she said, was a great way to honor Micheal's memory, because his love of baseball is evident by every smile on the field.

"We know how important baseball is," Amy said. "It’s about accountability, character, courage, confidence, commitment, determination, ethics, honor, humility and humor, integrity, loyalty, leadership, obedience, self-discipline, sportsmanship and teamwork. These truly are the key components of baseball. Baseball is unique in that it can often mirror life itself. The great length of a baseball season, and the fact that failure is an innate part of the game, offers players, coaches and parents the opportunities to teach many more of life’s truths and skills."

The foundation regularly provides financial support to families with children battling cancer, and Laurie Napoleone presented the Swanson's with a $1,000 check, but the Swanson's asked that the money be donated to other charities.

Since Micheal's death, the foundation has provided more than $230,000 to 300 families in the region, donated more than $56,000 to pediatric cancer research, and assisted youth sports with $38,000 in donations, and provided another $50,000 to the Golisano Children's Hospital in Rochester.

The Spirit of Michael Napoleone Award went to Ryan Carroll and Jacob Smith.

In a competitive sport, there can be only one winner, and in Brockport today, only one team would get to make history.

That team turned out to be Aquinas, which became only the third school (that we know of) in modern Section V history to win the boys' team-sport Triple Crown -- championships in football, basketball and baseball -- in a single school year.

It's the second time Aquinas has achieved the feat, first doing it in 2011-12.

Batavia has never done it, and with a 2-1 loss will have to wait for another opportunity somewhere down the road.

The records are incomplete, but John Moriello of the New York Sportswriters Association researched the question today, and as near as he can tell, the Triple Crown has only been achieved three times in Section V, though it's possible some smaller schools archived it.

"I suspect it's happened a few times over the years in the section, but there's not a database that would allow for pinning down specifics," Moriello said. "It's more likely in the smaller classifications with schools like Notre Dame, Clyde-Savannah, Hornell and Cal-Mum."

While Batavia notched Section V titles in football and basketball this year, Aquinas could go on to win the trifecta at the state level this year.

There were no Section V football championships before 1977.

Pittsford Mendon was the first Section V school to secure the Triple Crown with titles in 1982-83.

This year, 31 teams in the state had a chance at the Triple Crown when baseball season started, according to Moriello, and only Aquinas got that third critical win.

Batavia won its first baseball title in 1953, but hasn't taken a Section V crown since 1998 (it also had titles in 1980, 81 and 94).

The football program had great teams prior to 1977, but didn't get a Section V title until 1991 and then waited until the Brennan Briggs era to win again, getting titles in 2014 and this year.

Batavia became a powerhouse in basketball under Buddy Brasky, winning its first Section V title in 1998, and then in 2005, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2016.

To purchase prints, click here (the slideshow includes BHS softball).