14 innings - two games - loads of laughs.

First game was a bust, but the second game was all Muckdogs.  Great game

Homer hamming it up!

Russ and Kelly (playing for the honor of the beer tent)  tossing fake food into the grills for a gift certificate.  Homer cheering them on.

Good luck, Scott.  Quad Cities is getting a star in the making.

The Muckdog that Chelsea and I have been hosting this season got the phone call last night.  Scott Schneider will be leaving our home today to head to Quad Cities and join his former teammates. He is the second pitcher to be called up from Batavia.

Chelsea and I will miss having him around and wish him the best of luck.

Tuesday evening Aug. 10 is Super Hero Night at Dwyer Stadium. Join the Muckdogs staff and dress up as your favorite Super Hero. It is also Free Dog Night presented by Zweigle’s. The first 200 fans through the gates receive a free hot dog courtesy of Zweigle’s.

Also on Tuesday, KRAFT Singles presents KRAFT Singles Tuesday Night Tickets. Fans can bring a KRAFT Singles wrapper to the Muckdogs box office for a buy one/get one ticket courtesy of KRAFT Singles. Visit kraftsingles.com for more details.

Well before Tuesday's game time of 7:05 p.m., Muckdogs players Niko Vasquez and Beau Riportella will be signing autographs at Applebee’s in Batavia from Noon to 1 p.m..
 
The second game of the first series, which is against Vermont, starts at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 12, with gates opening at 6. It's Family Four Pack Night. Fans can purchase four general admission tickets, four hot dogs, four sodas and a 2009 program for only $30.
 
There will be the first ever Belly Busters Night on Wednesday, too. Belly Busters features an eating contest between 10 lucky contestants. Fans can sign up at the Muckdogs' concession stand on Tuesday or by emailing tsick@muckdogs.com.

Starting in the 2nd inning, each contestant will attempt to eat a food item during that inning. Food items will start out relatively harmless and become progressively more challenging to the palate. Whoever is left at the end of the game, will be crowned Belly Buster King or Queen and will receive a prize pack from the Muckdogs.
 
Prize pack includes:
      A Baseball autographed by the 2009 Muckdogs
      $20 gift certificate to Alex’s Place in Batavia
      2 golf passes to Brockport Country Club
      2 golf passes to Silver Lake Country Club
      4 free tickets to a future Muckdogs game
      A Muckdogs T-shirt
     
Round three of the series with Vermont will be at 7:05 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 13, with gates opening at 6 p.m. Thursday evening’s promotions will include a Knot Hole Game presented by Turnbull Heating & Air.

Knot Hold Gang members can purchase a General Admission ticket for $2 and Knot Hole Gang parents can receive a buck off their tickets. The Kiwanis Club of Batavia will also be hosting its annual Bike Raffle, with a bike given to one lucky girl and boy.
 
Beginning on Friday, Aug.14 through Sunday, Aug.16, the Muckdogs start a three-game series with the Staten Island Yankees, a New York Yankees affiliate. Games on Friday and Saturday are at 7:05 p.m. with gates opening at 6. Sunday’s game time is 5:05 p.m., with gates opening at 4.
 
The Friday Night fireworks are back for another spectacular show on Friday, Aug.14, along with Launch-a-Ball presented by Hillside Family of Agencies. Fans can purchase numbered tennis balls for $1 with the proceeds going to Hillside Family of Agencies. Following the game, fans will then attempt to throw those tennis balls into inflated pools on the field. Each ball that successfully lands in a pool will automatically enter that fan into a chance to win the grand prize, a night in a suite at a Red Wings game next season.
 
Round two of the series with Staten Island is 7:05 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15. The “Rock the Ballpark” pre-game concert series returns, featuring "Papa and Mama Root," presented by Tim Horton’s of Batavia and New Buffalo Impact. They play jukebox favorites from the '50s and '60s, as well as their own original recordings.

Saturday also features the annual Team Photo Giveaway for the first 500 fans through the gate courtesy of LP Graphics.
 
The Muckdogs finish up their three-game with Staten Island at 5:05 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16, with gates opening at 4. That night is post-game run the bases with Homer, as well as Homer’s Birthday Bash. Local mascots will be on hand to help celebrate this special occasion and the first 300 fans will receive an ice cream novelty.

A little over a week ago we planned on a road trip to Niles Ohio to see the Muckdogs play.  As things will happen, plans appeared to change and the trip was called off.  That was until Friday afternoon when we decided that we would go.  We left about three hours later than originally planned and not half as prepared as we would have been if plans had stayed as before.  But, that seems to be the nature of the beast, at times.

We already had the directions to Eastwood Field thanks to Yahoo maps.  One confusing direction was how to get to the stadium once we were in Niles. 

'Turn right on Eastwood Mall Blvd."

Turn right on Eastwood Mall Blvd."

Turn left on Eastwood Mall Blvd."

Could the directions be right?  That mystery was explained after we arrived at Eastwood Mall.  The two right turns and the one left took us directly to the parking lot for the stadium ($2.50 to park or $2.50 for walk ins - that is over and above the price of the ticket).

We purchased our tickets online which turned out to be the right thing to do.  We arrived at the end of the ifrst inning only to see a long line still waiting to buy tickets.

The stadium (which is very nice) is one of 350 businesses located at the Eastwood facility.  Once in the stadium you wouldn't believe that you were sitting in the midst of a huge mall complex.  The tree line, visible from the stadium seats, gave the impression that we were sitting in a rural park.

Unfortunately the Muckdogs lost both Friday and Saturday's games. 

On Saturday afternoon we caught the attention of a group of Muckdog players as they were walking back to the stadium from one of the mall buildings.  We hears, "Hey, look!  Muckdogs!", as we drove past the group.  They has spotted the Muckdog cushion in the back window of the car.  We stopped and gave a wave to let them know we were there to see them play.

Sitting in a sea of Scrapper fans was fun.  We even had the people in front of us, on Saturday night, decide to cheer for our guys right along with us.  We did get the oft asked question, "what is a muckdog?" both nights. 

Friday was the perfect day to travel.  The weather was beautiful.  Friday night's fireworks and Saturday's Jimmy Buffett night were nice endings.

Speaking of the stadium.  The electronic scoreboard added a lot to fan participation. Each Scrappers'  picture came up as he came up to bat.  The live pictures of the boys at bat was also nice.

All in all, it was a fun (albeit, hot) weekend.  So glad we went.

Just an additional note:  We ate at a restaurant called Charley's after the game on Friday night.  The menu was typical steak house fare but the spinach and artichoke appetizer was out of this world.  Not the normal frozen, pre-made, throw in the micro-wave and serve dish.  This was fresh spinach, chopped fine and identifiable chunks of artichokes.  The sauce had a hint of garlic, but not overpowering.  While we enjoyed it, I still believe that Larry's has the best chips to go with their dip.

A quick shout out to Chris, with the Muckdogs, who did a fantastic job at coordinating the fireworks and music  after tonight's game.

Great job!

Batavia (11-11) was lack-luster on both sides of the plate, which led to a 8-1 loss to the Renegades (15-7).

Mahoning Valley’s lead was manageable at two runs throughout the game, but a five run 8^th proved to be too much.  One walk and two errors from Batavia and two doubles and two base hits off of Renegade bats accounted for the big inning.

The Muckdogs plated one in the bottom of the 8^th when Ryan Jackson reached on an error, moved to third on a single by Guillermo Toribio and came home on a pass ball.

Andres Rosales (1-1, 11.57) got the loss in one inning of relief work, giving up two runs on two hits with one strikeout.   Christopher Corrigan went four innings in the start with three hits and two strikeouts.

D’Marcus Ingram had half of the Batavia hits, finishing 2-for-4 with a double.  The two teams play again same time, same place tomorrow.

So I'm pretty new to Batavia and the whole Muckdogs thing... if I wanted signatures from the team or an opposing team, how would I go about doing it?

For example, my dad LOVES the Yankees, and so he really wants to see the three games in Batavia against the Staten Island Yankees, how would I get signatures for him from the team?

Both teams had seven hits but the Spikes (10-9) scored one more run than Batavia (10-9) to grab the first game of the series.  The Muckdogs’ pitching was as good as usual but had no run support.

Daniel Calhoun went five innings in the start with one run, five hits and six strikeouts.  Michael Blazek (2-2) finished the last three innings of the game and got the loss, letting up the deciding run with two hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

Batavia’s lone run came in the 3rd when Ryan Jackson singled, moved to second on a Devin Goodwin ground out and came in to score on a RBI base hit by Alan Ahmady.

Ryde Rodriguez continues to produce at the plate; he was the only Muckdog with a multi-hit night, going 2-for-4.  Ahmady finished 1-for-4 with a RBI, pushing his current hit streak into double digits.

With Mahoning Valley winning and Williamsport edging out Jamestown in ten innings, Batavia drops to third place in the standings, one and a half games out of first.

 Offense showed up for Batavia (9-8) but pitching couldn't hold the leads as they lost both seven-inning games to Auburn (8-9) by scores of 3-2 and 11-10.

In the first of the twinbill, the Muckdogs scored a run each in the 5th and 6th but pitchers Santo Maertz and LaCurtis Mayes let up three runs in the 6th to blow the lead.  Mayes suffered the loss in one inning with one run, one hit and two strikeouts.  Christopher Corrigan had a good start, throwing four innings with no runs, three hits, one walk and three strikeouts.

Ryde Rodriguez went 3-for-4 and Alan Ahmady and Niko Vasquez had two hits each.  Jairo Martinez added some offense of his own with his first homerun of the season in the 6th inning.

In the second game, Batavia quickly jumped to a 6-0 lead after the first.  However, starter Tyler Leach gave up five runs in the 2nd and Auburn sneaked past Batavia for the 11-10 win.

Leach lasted an inning and 2/3 with five runs off five hits, two walks and two strikeouts.  Dan Richardson got the loss in his one and 2/3 innings of relief.  He let up two runs on three hits with one strikeout.

D'Marcus Ingram, Ahmady and Rodriguez all had two hits in the game.  Batavia now sits tied with State College and Williamsport one game out of first place in the division behind Mahoning Valley.  They face Auburn once more tonight before traveling south for a three game set with State College.

Batavia (9-6) tried to hang on but couldn’t match Auburn’s (6-9) six runs as the Muckdogs fell to the Doubledays 6-5.

Auburn took their first lead in the 5th inning when Kyle Gilligan led off with a double and came home to score on a Kevin Nolan single.  Batavia answered with one of their own after Jairo Martinez struck out but reached on a wild pitch.  Ivan Castro then singled before both runners were advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Beau Riportella.  Martinez then came in to score on a ground ball by Guillermo Toribio.   

But the Doubledays took a 3-1 lead right after on a two-run homerun by Bradley Glenn.  They added four more runs in the 8th to increase their lead to 6-2.

Batavia rallied late in the 8th when they scored three to make it 6-5.  The inning started with back-to-back walks by Alan Ahmady and Xavier Scruggs.  Both came home the next at bat when Ryde Rodriguez hit a double down the right field line.  Rodriguez then came home himself on a sacrifice fly by Riportella.  But, the inning ended there as Toribio went down looking to end the rally.

Auburn tried to add some insurance in the top of the 9th after a lead-off triple by Lance Durham.  However, Josh Squatrito got the next two batters to ground out and Scruggs had a remarkable catch in foul territory to end the threat.

Tyler Lavigne went five innings in the start with one run, three hits, one walk and eight strikeouts.  Deryk Hooker (1-1) suffered the loss in his three innings of relief.  He ended the night allowing five runs on two hits with five walks and one strikeout.

Rodriguez and Castro were the only ones with multi-hits.  Rodriguez went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and one run.  Castro finished 2-for-3 with a run and a walk.

Batavia now travels to Auburn for a doubleheader tomorrow and closes the series away on Monday.

Batavia (4-2) got them on, but couldn’t get enough in as they lost 3-2 to Jamestown (2-5).  They stranded 13 runners on base, reaching on eight hits and ten walks.

Things got dramatic in the bottom of the 9^th when the Muckdogs got a two out rally.  Matt Carpenter and Xavier Scruggs had back-to-back walks and came in to score on a triple off the bat of Ryde Rodriguez.  Niko Vasquez then reached on another walk, but Jack Cawley followed him going down looking to end the game.

Batavia also had threatened in the 6th.  Rodriguez led of the inning with a base hit.  Bases became loaded later after both Cawley and Beau Riportella drew walks.  However, with two outs, Rodriguez ended the inning at home when he attempted to slide in on a ball in the dirt.

The Jammers got on the board first in the top of the second after Ricky Orton walked, Sequoya Storecipher singled and Jose Ceballos got them both in on a two RBI base hit.  They added one more in the 6^th when Kyle Jenson singled and came home on an error.

Michael Blazek (1-1) suffered the loss as the starter, going four innings with two runs, four hits, three walks and three strikeouts.

Beau Riportella was effective at the plate tonight, going 1-for-2 with a double and two full-count walks.

Batavia (4-0) pitchers shutout the Crosscutters (3-2) and the Muckdog bats came up with ten hits on the night.

Batavia got on board in the 4th scoring one run after Matt Carpenter doubled and came home on a wild pitch.  They added two more in the 6th.  Devin Goodwin led off the inning with a double.  Two batters later Ryan Jackson singled for the RBI.  Jackson then came home on a sacrifice fly by Xavier Scruggs.

But the Muckdogs weren’t done there.  The team tacked one more on in the 7th after Jack Cawley walked and came home on a fielder’s choice.  The runs kept coming in the 8th when Carpenter singled, Scruggs walked and both were moved up a base on a wild pitch.  Ryde Rodriguez then came up with a base hit to score two.  Another wild pitcher later in the inning scored the Muckdog’s last run.

Williamsport threatened in the top of the first when the first two batters reached on a walk and hit by pitch. Bases were loaded with two outs after Michael Dabbs singled, but Anthony Hewitt followed with a pop out to second base to end the inning.

Deryk Hooker threw four innings in the start with two hits, one walk and four strikeouts.  Tyler Lavigne (1-0) followed him in a strong four innings, letting up only one run with four strikeouts to earn the win.  Dan Richardson pitched a scoreless, winless 9th to end the game.

Wednesday night at 7:00 the Muckdogs go for the sweep to remain perfect.

 Hey everyone!

As some of you already know, I'm back interning with the Muckdogs again this year.  My jobs have changed some, though.  I am primarily doing media work.  I'll have game stories after every game, feature stories throughout the season and I'll post a new player interview every Monday.

Feedback from fans is key!  Let me know if there's anything you want to know about, any players you want to hear from, any story ideas, etc.  I will try my best to do it all!

I have one pre-season feature story done, but my video is taking really long to upload, but I'll have that to you as soon as I can.

And don't forget: Open House tonight from 6-8 and of course the Home Opener Friday at 7! Hope to see you all there! :)

In honor of the first Muckdog game of the year, I have posted an article on my blog on my memories of baseball growing up in Batavia. Check it out if you are interested, and feel free to share your own memories. 

http://20prospect.wordpress.com/

The baseball club is a part of what makes Batavia a special place. Let's hope it lasts another 70 years.

Christian Rosa was signed last June by the St. Louis Cardinals out of an independent league and assigned to the Batavia Muckdogs.

It was a dream come true for the undrafted Puerto Rican native, and he was a contributor to the 2009 championship season.

In 32 games, Rosa batted .286 with four doubles, two homers, 12 RBI and four stolen bases.

As the June draft approached this year, Rosa was cut by the Cardinals to make room for new players.  He said he was surprised to be let go.

"I never thought I was going to get released,” Rosa said. “Everybody was telling me that I was doing great."

Batavia manager Mark DeJohn says Rosa indeed did everything right. But the lack of a strong throwing arm resulted in his release.

“I absolutely loved having Christian on my team. We won a championship that honestly means more to me than any World Series or other league championship rings I have, and Christian was a big part of that,” DeJohn said. “To be a kid who was undrafted and coming out of an independent league, he was just outstanding in a lot of areas.

“He received the ball well, blocked it well, called a good game, did a good job with the bat and ran well for a catcher. It’s just that his arm is well below average, and that’s heartbreaking because Christian is the type of kid you really get attached to.”

With all the talk about patronizing local business, I wondered if TheBatavian has ever sponsored a picnic at a Muckdog game?

It sounds like it would be fun. 

http://web.minorleaguebaseball.com/fans/page.jsp?ymd=20090106&content_id=491386&vkey=fans_t511&fext=.jsp&sid=t511

Homer is the moniker selected for the Batavia Muckdogs following a contest among local residents.

More than 100 names were submitted for the big lovable dog mascot of the NY-Penn League Champions.

The contest winner is Katie Houseknecht of East Bethany. She was the first person to submit an entry and the first one to suggest Homer for the mascot's name.

"The name was a no-brainer for me," Katie said in a Muckdogs' press release. "Homer is my brother Tim's nickname. And if the Muckdogs hit lots of 'Homers,' they will be NY-Penn League Champions again."

She won an electric scooter, courtesy of 7-Up, plus two tickets for Opening Day at Dwyer Stadium. The Muckdogs will play against the Auburn Doubledays in the Friday June 19 game. Fireworks will follow.

From the Batavia Muckdogs:

The Genesee County Baseball Club will hold its annual Batavia Muckdogs Hot Stove dinner and auction on Friday, February 20, 2009, from 5:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at the Batavia Party House at 5762 East Main Street Road in Stafford.
 
The dinner, a highlight of the winter for the local baseball faithful, arrives during an off-season of great optimism for Batavia fans: The Muckdogs were the 2008 New York –Penn League champs, the first time Batavia has won the league title since 1963; and the coming season will be the second in which the team is operated under a cooperative agreement with the highly respected Rochester Community Baseball, owner of the Rochester Red Wings.
   
The Hot Stove Dinner is a time for good food, friendship, baseball talk, and silent and live auctions of mostly baseball-related memorabilia.  Items to be auctioned this year include autographed baseballs, bats, and photographs; work by noted local artists John Hodgins and Don Carmichael and woodworker Clyde Starkweather; and gift certificates from a variety of local restaurants.
  
Tickets cost $25 ($15 for children 12 and under) and may be purchased in Batavia at Dwyer Stadium, the Holland Land Office, Gerace’s Hair Care, the Williams Law Firm, and the office of Dr. Ross Fanara, and in Oakfield from the office of Dr. Alan Barcomb.

We just got up a post about a contest to name the new Batavia Muckdogs mascot and thought to give the readers of The Batavian a chance to share some of their suggestions. We've offered a few obvious choices—or maybe not obvious, who knows—but most folks will likely want to give their own. If that's the case, simply click the 'Other' option and type in your choice. We'll retrieve the suggestions from the poll site and post them in the comments field throughout the day.

If you would like to make your vote official, please download the official Name the Mascot form and drop it off at Dwyer Stadium.