baseball

Blue Devil's pitcher Ryan Tenney went five innings Friday, surrendering only three hits and two earned runs in his first varsity start and Head Coach Richard Saunders is hopeful the performance is a sign of good things to come.

"If he can throw like that the rest of the year, I've found my solid #2 starter," Saunders said.

Despite Tenney's strong performance, Batavia dropped the contest to Medina 6-3.

It's the first game of the season and the cobwebs showed, Saunders said.

"Any time you go out for the first time in the spring, you're going to have some glitches in the game," Saunders said. "I think the whole game boiled down to the fact that we had some plays that we'll make all year long and we didn't make them today. That put us behind the eight ball the whole time."

Saunders expects his team to contend not just for the division lead, but a sectional title in Class B.

"We went to the finals last year and I've got six guys from that team coming back," Saunders said. "I might not have my big boppers, but I've got guys who can run and play defense. I expect to be there with this team."

Tenney, Zach Hale and Tom Grammatico each had an RBI. Zeke Lynn had two hits.

Top photo, Brett Scheurelein getting a hit in the third inning.

Ryan Tenney

Tom Grammatico was tossed from the game after he failed to slide coming into home plate. In the style of Pete Rose, Grammatico bowled over Medina's catcher, dislodging the ball from the catcher's glove. The home plate umpire initially ruled Grammatico safe, but after consulting with the field umpire, reversed the call and tossed Grammatico. In Section V players must slide rather than running into players at any base.

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Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs have announced their manager and coaching staff for the 2013 season. This year’s squad will be led by Manager Angel Espada, Pitching Coach Brendan Sagara and Hitting Coach Rich Arena.

The 2013 campaign marks Espada’s second year as the manager for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate, first as manager of the Batavia Muckdogs. Espada spent the past season as the manager of the Jamestown Jammers and the year prior as the hitting coach for the Jammers. Prior to his time with Jamestown, he spent two years working as the hitting coach for the Gulf Coast League Marlins.

Espada was a 42nd-round pick of the Atlanta Braves in the 1994 First-Year Player Draft. In addition to the Braves, he also played in the Mets and Yankees systems. His playing career spanned 14 years and he finished with a .305 career batting average over 940 games played.

Sagara begins his second season as pitching coach for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate. Sagara has served as a pitching coach for 11 seasons with various teams. He broke into the coaching profession with the Dubois County Dragons of the Frontier League in 2001 as the club’s pitching coach. He has also worked for the Braves as a part-time scout (2010-11) and the Mets as an associate scout (2006-09). In 2007, he was named Coach of the Year in the Frontier League, while coaching the top pitching staff in Windy City. He and his wife, Michelle, reside in Wahiawa, Hawaii.

Arena returns for his second season as hitting coach for the Marlins’ short-season Single-A affiliate. He spent the previous two years as the director of scouting for Team One Management in Tampa, Fla. Prior to his time at Team One Management, Arena was the head coach at his alma mater, Tampa Catholic High School (Fla.), from 2007-09. He was recognized as the 3A Coach of the Year in 2008 and compiled a 53-18 record at Tampa Catholic HS. He spent the previous 10 years with the New York Yankees as scout and coach in the Minor League system. He and his wife, Joselle, have five children and reside in Tampa.

Bibbo will serve as the trainer for the 2013 season, his first year with the Marlins’ organization. Bibbo previously was the interim head athletic trainer at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia. Prior to that, he spent four years (August 2007-September ‘10, September 2011-June ‘12) as the assistant athletic trainer at Malvern Preparatory School. He spent seven months (February-August 2011) as the rehabilitation intern with the Philadelphia Phillies. Bibbo received his Master of Science in Rehabilitation Science from California University of Pennsylvania in 2012 and his bachelor’s degree in Athletic Training from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Conn. in 2007. He resides in West Chester, Pa. with his wife, Elizabeth, and stepson, Andrew (12).

Press release:

The Genesee County Baseball Club will hold its annual Batavia Muckdogs Hot Stove Dinner and Auction from 4 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 16 at the Clarion Hotel at 8250 Park Road. in Batavia. Tickets are $25 for adults and $15 for children 12 and under.

The evening will begin with a cocktail hour followed immediately by dinner. The Hot Stove Dinner is a time for good food, friendship and baseball talk. The night also features silent and live auctions of baseball-related memorabilia (including signed bats and balls), work by local artists, and gift certificates from a variety of local businesses.

This year’s dinner will also benefit the Genesee County Animal Shelter. Each attendee is asked to bring a bag of dry dog or cat food to be donated to the shelter.

Tickets may be purchased in Batavia at Dwyer Stadium, Gerace’s Hair Care, the Williams Law Firm, and the offices of Dr. Ross Fanara and Dr. Alan Barcomb.

The future of professional baseball in Batavia seems, for the time being, inexorably tied to the future of baseball in Binghamton and Ottawa, Canada.

Now it seems, contrary to a prior report, the Binghamton Mets will not be moving to Ottawa, which means the Muckdogs won't be moving to Binghamton.

Baseball America reported the move, relying on unnamed sources, and then ESPN reported the deal fell through.

The response from Michael Urda, president of the Binghamton Mets?

Urda, who said he was “tired of answering the same questions every two weeks,” insisted no one from the ownership group or the organization had talked to Silver. He called the idea that “city officials” inquired about acquiring Batavia “ridiculous,” saying, “Who are ‘city officials?’ ”

Urda added that the idea that city officials would pursue a team also does not make sense because the B-Mets ownership group signed a four-year extension on their player development contract (PDC) with the New York Mets in August, and a five-year extension with the city on the lease for NYSEG Stadium prior to last season.

The article points out, however, that those deals would not necessarily be an obstacle to moving the franchise.

On the other hand, the investment group in Ottawa seems to be distancing itself from the Binghamton rumor.

Richard Billings, chief operating officer of Beacon Sports Capitol, told the Ottawa Sun on Tuesday that ESPN’s report was “inaccurate. ... We’re not there yet with a deal, and hopefully we’ll have something announced soon.”

The bottom line: Go ahead and buy those 2013 season tickets, get your outfield sign for your business. Your team still needs you.

Binghamton is about to lose its Double AA baseball team to Ottawa, according to Baseball America, and city officials in Binghamton are rumored to be in talks to buy the Muckdogs.

The story relies on unnamed sources and contains no official confirmation of the move by the Met's franchise to the Canadian city.

Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs, Class A affiliate of the Miami Marlins, have announced their schedule for the 2013 season. Batavia will open the 2013 season Monday, June 17, when the Auburn Doubledays host the Muckdogs at Falcon Park. Batavia opens its home schedule Tuesday, June 18, when they entertain Auburn at 7:05 p.m.

The Muckdogs will host their annual Independence Day celebration on July 3rd this year, as they are not home on July 4th. In addition to their Pinckney Division rivals, the Muckdogs will welcome the Tampa Bay Rays (Hudson Valley), Baltimore Orioles (Aberdeen), Houston Astros (TriCity) and the Oakland A’s (Vermont) farm teams to Dwyer Stadium in 2013.

Ticket packages, coupon books and season tickets for the 2013 season are all currently on sale. Holiday Packs are also on sale. For just $25, fans can purchase four undated general admission tickets, a T-shirt and a voucher for a 2013 program. They can be purchased by calling 585-343-5454, or in person at Dwyer Stadium Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Press release:

The Batavia Muckdogs and Miami Marlins today announced the signing of a new two-year Player Development Contract through at least the 2014 New York-Penn League season. A joint announcement was made by Marlins Farm Director Brian Chattin and Brian Paris, president of the Genesee County Baseball Club, the non-for-profit that owns the Batavia Muckdogs franchise.

The agreement ends a six-year affiliation with the St. Louis Cardinals, who signed a two-year agreement with the State College Spikes last week. The Marlins had been affiliated with the Jamestown Jammers since 2002. During that time, the Jammers posted a combined record of 370-451 (.451), with two post-season appearances.

“We are excited to have the Miami Marlins as our new affiliate. I look forward to developing a relationship with them and to welcome them into our community. The Marlins are a fine organization that brings with them solid baseball experience and good people. This is a good fit for us as we enter our 74^th season of baseball in Batavia. On behalf of the entire community and the Genesee County Baseball Club, we are anxious to get started with another year of professional baseball in Batavia,” Paris said.

“We’re very pleased to sign a new working relationship between Batavia and the Miami Marlins. The Marlins are everything a Minor League franchise could hope for in an affiliation. They also understand how important small town Minor League Baseball is to the Batavia Community and we can’t wait to play host to some extremely talented young players,” said Naomi Silver, president and CEO of Red Wings Management, LLC, the company which has managed the Muckdogs since 2008.

"The Miami Marlins are very excited to begin an affiliation with the Batavia Muckdogs. With its rich baseball history, supportive front office and loyal fan base, Batavia will be the ideal place for our players and staff to call home each summer,” the Marlins' Chattin said. “The Marlins are proud to have Batavia as our player development partner and look forward to a long and productive partnership together."

The Muckdogs are one of seven affiliates in the Marlins’ player development system, joining the New Orleans Zephyrs (AAA/Pacific Coast League), Jacksonville Suns (AA/Southern League), Jupiter Hammerheads (Advanced A/Florida State League), Greensboro Grasshoppers (A/South Atlantic League), Dominican Summer League Marlins (Rookie) and Gulf Coast League Marlins (Rookie).

Press release:

The 2012 New York-Penn League All-Star roster will include five players from Batavia. They will send infielders Breyvic Valera and Patrick Wisdom, catcher Jesus Montero and pitchers Tyler Melling and Lee Stoppelman to the game to be held Tuesday, Aug. 14 at Eastwood Field, home of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

Valera, an undrafted free agent signing in 2010, has played in 45 games for the Muckdogs this year and has been among the league leaders in hitting all season. Valera currently ranks third in the league in hitting, with a .332 batting average, and his 62 hits currently leads the league.

Patrick Wisdom was drafted by the Cardinals in the supplemental first round of this year’s draft and is enjoying a stellar first professional season. He is currently batting .278 with 27 runs scored, 10 doubles and 16 RBI’s in 41 games. Wisdom has also played great defense at third base this season and ranks first in the league for defense at that position with a .963 fielding percentage with only four errors.

Montero was an undrafted free agent signing in 2007 and has started 33 games at catcher for the Muckdogs this season. He is currently batting .308 with six doubles, four home runs and 21 RBIs. Montero has also been solid behind the plate this year and has helped guide the pitching staff to a team ERA of 2.98, which ranks third in the league. Montero will be unable to attend the game due to injury. 

A 39th round pick out of Miami (OH) University in the 2011 draft, Melling is 2-1 with 31 strikeouts in eight games started for the Muckdogs. The left-hander’s ERA of 2.27 ranks him eighth in the league and his WHIP of 1.06 ranks 11th in the league.

St. Louis drafted Stoppelman out of Central Missouri State in the 24th round of the 2012 draft. He has appeared in 14 games and has a 2-1 record with a 1.16 ERA. In 23.1 innings of work, he has struck out 26 batters and only allowed 15 hits. Opposing batters are hitting just .174 against him on the year. 

Batavia holds the third-place spot in the Pinckney Division with a record of 24-24. This marks the fourth time in five years that the Muckdogs have sent at least five players to the All-Star game. The Muckdogs sent five players to the 2008 All-Star game, three in 2009, five in 2010, and six in 2011.

Submitted by Scott Gayton:

Oakfield-Alabama defeats the Batavia Yankees to win the Junior/Senior Championship Title. The final score was 4-3. Front row from left: Coach Joel D'Alba, Jordan D'Alba, Andrew McIntyre, Tristian Korzelius, Cole Phelps, Cameron Dayka. Back row: Coach Scott Gayton, Zach Gayton, Allen Chatt, Danny Dinsmore, Austin Fisher, Chris Nanni, Hunter Spiotta, Josiah Yantz, Manager Bruce Chatt.

Batavia Little League played a championship game at MacArthur Park on Wednesday. When I left, Batavia was ahead 7-1 or 8-1, but I've not yet received final results from anybody. Evan so, here are photos from yesterday's game.

UPDATE: Batavia won 9-4 and now advances to a sectionals round, which is hosted in Batavia this weekend. Teams in the tournament besides Batavia: Penfield, Auburn, Fredonia, Portville and Orchard Park.

The 2,266 people who packed into Dwyer Stadium on July 4 were treated to more than just fireworks. They got to see the kind of nail-biter game that makes baseball America's pastime.

Down 2-1 going into the bottom of the ninth, the hometown heros strung together a single, double and single, to plate two runs and walk off with a victory.

The winning run scored on a close play at the plate (see above, and the slide show for more pictures of the score) when Anthony Melchionda scored on a single by Jacob Wilson.

It was the first lead the Muckdogs enjoyed all night.

The low-scoring game meant that nine innings passed quickly.

Muckdogs management entertained fans with a game of musical chairs before the sun faded enough to allow the fireworks show to begin.

If you can't view the slide show of photos, click here.

Mondays are usually low attendance nights at Dwyer Stadium, and only 1,055 fans turned out last night for the Batavia Muckdogs season opener.

The Muckdogs lost to Auburn 6-5, but it was exciting baseball and at least two of the current crop of MLB hopefuls showed some flashes of why they'll be fun to watch in 2012.

David Washington, a first baseman from San Diego, is in his fourth professional season. The 6' 6", 200-pound former basketball dunking champion demonstrated some athleticism on the first play of the game with a backwards dive to grab a flare in foul territory (top photo). Washington also slammed a pitch over the right field wall in the power play in the eighth inning. The left-hander had three hits and also recorded the longest out of the game with a fly ball to the warning track in dead center field.

Patrick Wisdom is a first-round draft pick whom scouts say can become a rare commodity: a power-hitting third baseman. He tends to swing amiss too much, but he does have power and projects, with experience, as a good fielding third baseman. Monday he showed some range, quickness and a strong arm. He didn't get a hit, but was hit by a pitch and drew a walk, scoring both times he reached base.

Monday's pitcher, Ben Freeman, gave up three runs on six hits over six and a third innings. Adam Bileckyj took the loss, giving up two hits and two runs (one earned).

Catcher Jesus Montero had three hits but was lifted in the eighth inning after being hit by a pitch that glanced off his helmet and hit his forehead. 

The Muckdogs are home again Wednesday against Auburn and there will be fireworks at the park Friday when the Muckdogs take on the Jamestown Jammers. Both games are at 7:05 p.m.

Behind the four-hit performances of Laurie Call and Kendra Wall, the Notre Dame Girls Softball Team powered its way to an 11-1 win over DeSales in the quarter final game of the state Class D tournament.

The Fighting Irish, hungry for a state championship, will face Forestville at Monroe Community Colleg on Tuesday. Game time is 5 p.m.

The Notre Dame baseball team didn't fair as well, dropping a Class DD sectional title game to Arkport, 3-2, on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Batavia Blue Devils took a swing at a third-straight attempt to win a Class A Section V title, but dropped the Saturday game (a make-up for a rainout on Friday) to Honeoye Falls-Lima, 7-1.

This weekend, young ball players from throughout the region are in Batavia for the annual Michael Napoleone baseball tournament.

The tournament acts as a fundraiser for the Michael Napoleone Foundation, which provides donations to cancer research, and as a memorial to Michael, who loved baseball.

Michael died in 2006 from Burkitt's lymphoma/leukemia, an aggressive form of blood cancer.

These pictures are from Saturday. The tournament runs through tomorrow.

If you're unable to view the slide show below, click here.

To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

Alec Covel and the Oakfield-Alabama Hornets persevered through seven innings of playoff baseball Friday to secure berth in the Class CC finals Tuesday against #1 seed Lyons.

Covel gave up 11 hits against Perry, but more importantly, he struck out 10 and surrendered only two runs to lead the Hornets (17-4) to an 8-2 victory.

Covel said he just wanted to "win one for the team."

The Yellow Jackets got to him for a quick run in the first inning, but then Covel settled in and gained confidence as the game went on.

"In the beginning I had trouble spotting my curve ball," Covel said. "It started coming through. It was working and they weren’t hitting it so I kept throwing it."

The sophomore mixed his off-speed stuff with a dominating fastball to keep the Perry hitters off balance for most of the night.

His lone base on balls came in the final frame, when Perry scored its only other run of the night.

Co-head Coach Dan Gilbert, who shares the position with James Patrick, said the win was a team effort -- Covel was backed by solid defense, but praised Covel's attitude and work ethic.

"It's a combination of Alec's temperament -- he's a great pitcher, great work ethic, hard-nosed kid who doesn't get rattled, and he had great defense behind him," Gilbert said.

Gilbert said the Hornets knew they would have their hands full with Perry, but the team never gave up and the five-run sixth was just what the Hornets needed to put away the #11 seed.

"We knew coming in they were scrappy and they played scrappy," Gilbert said.  "We knew we would have to persevere through any kind of adversity or bumps in the road. We had a couple of mistakes along the way that we had to persevere through and we didn’t quit and we didn’t give up. And we got the big inning when we needed it."

The offense was led by Kurtis Dunlap, who reached base four times -- one hit, two walks and one hit by a pitch -- and scored three runs.

Tommy Manzella had a triple and a run scored.

Hunter Spiotta had his second 2-3 game of the playoffs and scored a run.

The Hornets go into the finals as the #2 seed and getting to the championship game is what O-A's seniors have had in mind all season, Gilbert said.

"The senior leadership has been phenomenal," Gilbert said. "They’ve had a desire to make a run the whole year. They’ve picked up everybody along the way. Our hats go off to the seniors every day because sometimes when you’re a senior, senioritis kicks in. These guys just want to play baseball, do the best they can for the team. That’s been the key to our success all year."

Even though they will be facing the #1 seed, Gilbert said the Hornets are ready for the challenge.

"We feel confident," Gilbert said. "We know we have a chance. We’re going to have to play quality baseball, but we have good quality kids who are going to work hard and leave it on the field."

The game will be played Tuesday at a location yet to be determined.

If you have trouble viewing the slide show, click here.  To purchase prints of these photos, click here.

Batavia's younger players are coming into their own just at the right time, said head baseball Coach Rick Saunders -- just as the Blue Devils enter sectional playoffs.

The team won a first-round playoff game Tuesday at Dwyer Stadium over Greece Olympia, 12-5.

"They struggled with the bats the first time they’d seen varsity pitching and now we’ve won five out of our last six," Saunders said.

The Blue Devils jumped to a quick 7-1 lead in the first two innings Tuesday, but then Greece Olympia made it look like they might make a game of it with four runs in the fifth.

But Saunders said his #5 seeded team responded well against the #12 seed, rallying for five runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

"(There were) two positive things," Saunders said. "When you play a team that’s a lower seed than you, you have to jump out to an early lead. Then you need to tack on runs to put them away, and when they made their come back to get back in the game, we tacked on five in the sixth to put them away. That’s how you win big games. That was the key."

Batavia (13-7) will face Greece Arcadia in a round two game at 4:30 p.m., Friday, in Greece Aracadia. The winner of that game will play a semi-final game next Tuesday against either Pittsford-Sutherland, the #1 seed, or Geneva.

In the game, Tommy Prospero was 2-3 with a walk and two stolen bases. Ryan DiMartino was 2-4 with a double and two RBIs. Zach Hale, who was also the winning pitcher, going 4 1/3 innings, was 2-4.

Saunders likes his team's chances of advancing.

"We’ve played all these teams," Saunders said. "Our pitchers have got to throw strikes. It’s basic baseball, pitchers throw strikes and if we can play good defense we can play with anybody. When we've that this year, we've won. When we haven't, we've struggled."

In other Section V baseball today, Alexander plays Warsaw in Warsaw; #2 seed Pembroke plays Bishop Kearney in Pembroke; Pavilion plays Canisteo-Greenwood in Pavilion; #2 seed Oakfield-Alabama plays Cuba-Rushford in Oakfield; Le Roy plays Granada in Le Roy; and on Friday, Notre Dame plays Prattsburgh at Dwyer Stadium.

If you can't view the slide show, click here.  To purchase prints of these pictures, click here.