Contrary to a report in another media outlet, there are still tickets available for the Batavia Muckdogs game tomorrow, July 4th.

Traditionally, the Muckdogs July 4th game, with fireworks, is the best attended game of the season, but don't let the inaccurate report of no seats being available keep you from the ballpark.

That said, you might want to get to Dwyer ASAP to reserve your seats.

Catcher Ivan Castro homered and Xavier Scruggs picked up two-RBI to lead the Muckdogs to a 8-2 victory over Jamestown Thursday night.

In a game in which Batavia notched only six hits while scratching out 8 runs, Ryde Rodriguez also contributed two singles.

The winning pitcher was Michael Blazek (2-0), who tossed 5 2/3 of scoreless ball in relief.

Batavia, now 8-5, is in second place in the Pinckney division, a half game behind Williamsport.

The Muckdogs host the Jammers tonight at 7:05 p.m. at Dwyer Stadium. Auburn is in tomorrow night for a 7:05 p.m. game.

Both games will be followed by fireworks.

Came across this article about the Muckdogs attendance and financial situation in the Niagara Gazette...

Also of concern is the following excerpt...

"In the cause of efficiency, Rochester has benched a lot of the touches that made Batavia special. The hot dogs are pre-packaged. Base Paths treated himself to a premium beer and paid $6, more than the best seat in Dwyer Stadium. The scoreboard operator left, weary of criticism about capital letters from “bosses” barely out of high school. Gone, too, is the genial and raffish beer-tent tapster who seemed like a castoff from “cheers.”"

Not living in town anymore, I am curious to hear from those that have been out to Dwyer this season. Has the experience really changed, or are these just the views of a writer who comes to town once a year? I understand the financial challenges that the new management team is up against to turn a profit, but have the changes they have made effected the experience for better or worse?

I'm curious to hear your comments...

Tom @ 

http://20prospect.wordpress.com/

The Batavia Muckdogs remain a mere percentage point ahead of Mahoning Valley in the Pinckney division after splitting a double header with the Williamsport Crosscutters on Monday.

Batavia took the first game 5-1 as Matt Carpenter and Ryde Rodriquez continued to swing hot bats, each picking up a pair of RBIs.

Devin Goodwin also had two hits from the lead off spot while Xavier Scruggs continues putting together a good start to the season with a double and an RBI.

San Diego native Deryk Hooker pitched five innings giving up four hits and no runs to pick up his first win of the season.

In the second game, Crosscutters' pitching held the Muckdogs to only five hits, with only D'Marcus Ingram notching a multi-hit game. The Muckdogs dropped the nightcap 4-3, with Joshua Squatrito taking the loss -- his first of the season.

Squatrito pitched one and a third inning giving up two runs, but only one of those was earned. 

San Diego State grad Tyler Lavigne pitched the first three and two-thirds innings, giving up two earned runs.

The Muckdogs battle the Crosscutters again tonight in Williamsport at 7:05. Batavia returns home tomorrow for a 7:05 p.m. game against Jamestown and then are home again Friday night against the Jammers.

Matt Carpenter and Ryde Rodriguez  each collected three hits while Xavier Scruggs homered to lead the Muckdogs to a 9-2 victory over Jamestown Saturday.

Sunday's game against Williamsport was rained out.

At 5-2, the Muckdog's are in first place in the Pinckney division, a half game ahead of Mahoning Valley.

Carpenter is leading the league with a .483 batting average. Rodriquez is the early RBI leader with nine.

The Muckdogs play a double header in Williamsport today (making up Sunday's rain out), and face Williamsport again tomorrow. The team returns home Wednesday and Friday to host Jamestown (with fireworks following Friday's game, of course).

The offense wasn’t there for the Muckdogs (4-1) tonight, as they were handed their first loss of the season by Williamsport (3-3) ona slim 1-0 margin.

Crosscutter starter Siulman LeBron (2-0) had a brilliant start, going seven strong innings with only two hits and one walk while striking out ten for the win.

The one decisive run of the game came in the top of the 3^rd for Williamsport.  Jiwan James had a two-out double and came home during the next at-bat on a base hit by Evan Porter.

Batavia pitching remained sharp despite the lack of run support.  Starter Tyler Leach (0-1) threw four innings with three hits, one run and one strikeout.  Relievers Christopher Corrigan and Josh Squatrito combined for only three hits, two walks and one strikeout.

Matt Carpenter made up most of the Muckdog offense, having 2 of the team’s 4 hits.

Batavia is on the road tomorrow to start a three game series with Jamestown.  They return home on Friday night at 7:05.

Batavia (3-0) was down the entire game until it counted in the bottom of the 9^th as they capitalized on Williamsport’s (2-1) mistakes to win 6-5.

Starter Michael Blazek and relievers Dan Calhoun and LaCurtis Mayes held the Doubledays to one run and one hit while the Muckdog offense broke open the game in the first with four runs to keep Batavia perfect at 2-0.

Beau Riportella sparked the rally with a lead off single.  Matt Carpenter followed with a single.  Xavier Scruggs reached on an error by the third baseman while Riportella came around to score the first run.  Havana, Cuba-born Ryde Rodriguez then smacked a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall to make it 4-1.

Blazek (1-0) went five innings in the start, letting up one run and one hit with two walks and four strikeouts for the win.  Calhoun threw the next three innings with no hits, one walk and two strikeouts.  Mayes kept things perfect in the 9^th as all three batters were retired on two groundouts and a strikeout to end the game.

The only run and hit for the Doubledays came in the 1^st inning when Eric Eiland reached on a fielder’s choice, stole second and came home on another fielder’s choice.

Batavia increased their lead by one in the 6^th on a single by Rodriguez and a RBI single by Luis De La Cruz.

Rodriguez finished the day 2-for-4 with a homerun and 3 RBIs.  Jairo Martinez also went 2-for-4 and Carpenter went 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored.

The win puts Batavia at 2-0 and drops Auburn to 0-2.  The Williamsport Crosscutters come into town tomorrow for a three game series.

*For some reason I am still having trouble uploading videos, but will have them to you as soon as I figure it out!

I recently came across this article and thought I would share. It's a column from the Cleveland Plain Dealer, writen by Bill Nichols in 1980. It records his experiences as a Batavia Trojans coach during the 1981 season. At the time the Trojans were the Cleveland Indians affiliate. I think it is interesting to get an outsiders perspective on Batavia and N.Y. Penn league baseball at the time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

http://www.lkwdpl.org/nworth/batavia1.htm

Batavia came alive on Auburn’s inefficiency in the bottom of the 7^th to break a 1-1 tie to start the season with a 6-1 win.

After David Miller loaded the bases on three consecutive walks, lead off hitter D’Marcus Ingram was hit by a pitch to break the tie.  Ryan Jackson followed with a sacrifice fly to score one.  Randy Schwartz then had a costly error that plated another and put runners on second and third.  Familiar Muckdog Xavier Scruggs then emptied the bases on a 2-run double to make the score 6-1 after 7 innings.

Justin Edwards (1-0) got the win, pitching three innings in relief with one hit and three strikeouts.  Starter Kevin Siegrist looked sharp through the first four innings, only allowing one run on two hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

The Doubledays were first to score at Dwyer this season on a solo homerun by Schwartz in the 3rd.  But that would be all the Auburn offense on the night.

The Muckdogs answered right back in the bottom of the 3^rd when Jackson walked and reached home after back-to-back singles by Niko Vazquez and Scruggs.

Dan Richardson shut the Doubledays down in the 9^th to secure the win.

Offensively, Scruggs had the only multi-hit night for Batavia, going 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI.

The two teams face each other again tomorrow night in Auburn and close out the series Sunday back in Batavia.  First pitch is scheduled for 1:30.

Fans and media were invited out to Dwyer Stadium this evening to meet the 2009 Batavia Muckdogs.  I spoke with manager Mark DeJohn briefly about his new team and snapped a couple of pictures of the work out, including one of DeJohn giving one of his players some instruction on glove work.

The Cardinals Nation blog has posted a tentative roster for the 2009 Batavia Muckdogs, and fans will recognize a few names from last year, including one of my favorites - Beau Riportella.

Other returning Muckdogs include: pitchers LaCurtis Mayes and Dan Richardson, catcher Luis De La Cruz, infielders Jairo Martinez and Xavier Scruggs with outfielder Edwin Gomez.

The roster also includes some top draft picks: fifth-rounder Ryan Jackson, eighth-round pick Jason Stidham and ninth-round selection Nick McCully.

Ryde Rodriquez, signed as a free-agent out of Havana, Cuba, is also on the roster. In 2008 in rookie ball, Rodriquez hit .324 but otherwise failed to impress at either Johnson City last season or Quad Cities so far this year.

Besides the returning Muckdogs, 11 of the other players have previous professional experience.

And, I'm telling you, if Riportella develops plate discipline (not just "some discipline" but any discipline), he'll be a hell of a hitter.  Last year he struck out 32 times against only 3 walks.

You can come out to Dwyer Stadium tomorrow night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. and meet members of the team.  The season opens Friday at 7 p.m. at Dwyer Stadium.

UPDATE: Here's a post about a Muckdog from last year who won't be back in 2009 with the Muckdogs or any other Cardinals team.

The Batavia Muckdogs open their 2009 season at Dwyer  Stadium June 19th at 7:05! Cheer on our hometown 2008 NY-Penn league champs as they return for another great season!  The Muckdogs are facing their thruway rivals the Auburn Doubledays with post-game fireworks! Let's Go Muckdogs!!!  

Hey MUCKDOGNATION!!! You and your friends and family are all invited to an open house this Thursday June 18th at Dwyer Stadium from 6pm-8pm. Meet the players, watch practice, get autographs or shop at the team store! Gates open at 6pm and its free and open to everyone! Bring your camera and get some pictures of the new St. Louis Cardinals 2009 draft picks!!! Also don't forget the season opener is this Friday the 19th at 7:05pm with fireworks!!!  Let's fill the stands and make this a record breaking season attendance this year!  LET'S GO MUCKDOGS!