baseball

The Muckdogs topped Pinckney Division-leaders Mahoning Valley 4-3 on Independence Day for their third win in four games. RJ Peace had another strong start, and as a result, he secured his second win of the season. He was able to keep the league’s top offense to just one run through five innings.

The only run Peace gave up was in the first inning. A leadoff triple by Gabriel Mejia set the Scrappers in motion to start the game. Jose Fermin followed it up immediately with a single to make the game 1-0 after just two batters. In the second inning though, Peace found his groove. He retired seven straight batters and put Batavia in a position to take the lead.

The Muckdogs did just that in the top of the fourth inning. Three straight batters for Batavia would come around to score. Michael Donadio hit a single to start things off for a ninth game in the last 13 where he would get at least one hit. Sean Reynolds reached on an error to put runners on first and second. Albert Guaimaro ripped another RBI single, following up a performance where he had three last night. Demetrius Sims then extended his hit streak to six games with another RBI single. His hit also made it four straight multi-hit games for Sims.

Luke Jarvis continued the fun by knocking in his first professional RBI to make it 3-1.

The game would come across two consecutive scoreless innings until the seventh inning. Igor Baez then launched a home run over the left field wall to make it a 4-1 ballgame.

Bryce Howe would work his second inning of relief after the seventh inning stretch. He allowed two baserunners to start the inning. They would both come to score, but only one was earned as a result of a throwing error.

While it was a 4-3 game, Elkin Alcala came on to shut the door in the eighth and struck out the side. In the ninth, he would allow a leadoff walk. However, he was able to get a strikeout because of a foul bunt with two strikes. Then, a tailor-made double play ended the game and gave the Muckdogs the win.

Game two of the series is Thursday night, with a 7:05 first pitch from Eastwood Field. The Scrappers haven’t lost a series all season, and Batavia has a chance to deal them their first tomorrow.

The Muckdogs got their third walk-off win of the season on Tuesday night against the West Virginia Black Bears. Batavia clinched the series win as the team topped West Virginia for the bottom of the ninth for the second time in three nights.

The game had an eerily similar start to the game that was played on Monday night: Muckdogs score one in the top of the first, give up multiple runs a few innings later, and then have to come back late in the game. Brayan Hernandez came around to score in the top of the first on the first of three RBI singles from Albert Guaimaro.

Martin Anderson, who made his first Muckdogs start in the game, was excellent through the first 2.2 IP. However, getting that third out of the third inning would prove to be difficult, and would result in four runs crossing the plate in the inning. Dylan Cyphert would come on in relief to get Batavia out of the inning.

The Muckdogs found multiple chances to score again in the game. They loaded the bases in the sixth and Guaimaro would drive in another run to make it 4-2, but Pablo Garcia bounced into an inning-ending 3-2-3 double play. Garcia made up for it on the defensive side, where he picked off two runners from behind the plate.

The seventh inning had some fireworks of its own before the Independence Eve show even started. Batavia loaded up the bases for the second straight inning. After a pair of infield singles from Gerardo Nunez and Matt Brooks, Hernandez would look to make it three in a row. He squared to bunt, and the throw from the pitcher to first base was too far away to catch, which allowed one run to score, and put runners on second and third base after the error. Michael Donadio got hit by a pitch after to load the bases.

Guaimaro roped a line drive into left field with one out. A diving catch was made by Edison Lantigua and by the time he got up to throw, Brooks had supposedly tagged up and nearly scored to tie the game at four. Shortly after the celebration, the Black Bears appealed to third to see if Brooks had left early, and home plate umpire Tyler Witte called Brooks out.

That was then the third out and reversed the score to 4-3. Mike Jacobs was ejected after arguing the call, leaving the Muckdogs with one less run and a manager than they thought they would have after the seventh inning.           

In the eighth and ninth innings, Batavia’s bullpen was able to shut the door on the Black Bear bats, leaving things up to the bottom of the ninth. Hernandez smacked a leadoff double to start the frame.

Sean Reynolds would draw a one-out walk two batters later to set up Guaimaro to hit his third RBI single of the game. Hernandez scored to make it a tie game and both Reynolds and Guaimaro moved into scoring position on the throw.

Since the Muckdogs had the winning run 90 feet away, the Black Bears decided to walk Denis Karas to load the bases for a third straight inning. Hoping to get the out at the plate, West Virginia was going to take their chances with Demetrius Sims, who is on a five-game hit streak. He collected a total seven hits in the series, with the last one coming in the game’s final at-bat.

Sims hit s short ground ball to the first baseman Luke Mangieri, who couldn’t make a play before Reynolds scored from third to win the game 5-4. That was the third walk-off win of the season for Batavia and the second of the series against the Black Bears.

The Muckdogs head out on the road for a three-game series against the Pinckney Division leaders: the Mahoning Valley Scrappers. Afterward, they will return home for another three-game set against the State College Spikes.

Photos by Howard Owens.

Top Photo and second photo: Muckdogs Manager Mike Jacobs getting tossed from the game by a seemingly smiling home plate umpire Tyler Witte in the seventh inning. After getting tossed, Jacobs walked over to home plate and methodically and meticulously covered it with dirt. Jacobs disputed a call by Witte that Matt Brooks left third base too soon when he tagged up on a fly out to left field. Instead of scoring the tying run, Brooks became the third out of the inning as a result of the call.

Dylan Cyphert pitched two-and-one-third innings, giving up two hits and no runs. He walked one.

Center fielder Brayan Hernandez had three hits in five at bats and scored twice. One of his hits was a double.

Albert Guaimaro had three hits in five at bats.

Brayan Hernandez

The Batavia Muckdogs struck first in their match against West Virginia on Monday night, scoring a run in the first on a double by first baseman Sean Reynolds but couldn't hold the lead and lost in nine to Black Bears 3-1.

The home team fell to 7-9 on the season.

Alberto Guerrero (2-1, 3.99) took the loss, giving up all three WV runs in the fourth inning. 

Demetrius Sims had two hits.

The Muckdogs face off against the Black Bears again tonight. Game time is 7:05. Since there is no home game tomorrow, July 4th fireworks will immediately follow tonight's game. Reserved seating is $9 per adult and general admission is $7 per adult and $5 for children and seniors.

Photo: The pink sky over Dwyer last night by Melanie Case.

The Muckdogs were in danger of dropping a fourth straight game after leading 4-0 after the sixth inning at Dwyer Stadium on Sunday afternoon. However, dramatics that led to heroics sent the Muckdogs home winners with a walk-off grand slam from Brayan Hernandez in the bottom of the ninth.

Chris Vallimont also made his professional debut in the series opener against West Virginia on Sunday. Vallimont’s start saw him work three scoreless innings, only giving up two hits, walking one, and striking one out. He threw strikes early and often, as the right-hander threw 41 pitches, and 27 of them went for strikes.

Batavia would get him some run support in the second inning. Albert Guaimaro hit a one-out triple to get things going. Denis Karas would immediately follow that up with a sac fly to right field to make the score 1-0 Batavia. Then, with two outs, Batavia strung together three straight two-out singles between Demetrius Sims, Luke Jarvis, and Igor Baez. Baez’s knock would score Sims and make the score 2-0 after two.

Batavia would tack on one more run in each the third and fourth innings. A leadoff double for Hernandez would quickly find himself on third base after a double-steal with himself and Michael Donadio. Guaimaro then grounded out, but in doing so, brought Hernandez home to make it a 3-0 lead.

The fourth inning saw another leadoff double, this time from Sims, who scored on a sac fly from Baez in a quick inning but put the Muckdogs in front 4-0 after four innings.

Manuel Rodriguez was having a good night in relief with the exception of the seventh inning when he gave up two base runners, and then a three-run home run to Michael de la Cruz to cut the Batavia lead to just one. He did bounce back with a 1-2-3 inning the next time out to maintain the Muckdogs’ lead.

Elkin Alcala came on to slam the door in the ninth but surrendered a solo home run to tie the game. However, Batavia had some energy left despite the stifling 98º temperature that was constant throughout the game.

In the bottom of the ninth, Sims picked up his third hit of the ballgame to lead off the inning. He advanced to second on a wild pitch and then tagged up to third after Luke Jarvis flew out to right. Batavia was then 90 feet away from winning the game.

Baez would be intentionally walked to bring up Matt Brooks, who was 0-4 on the game. He drew a 2-0 count, and then the Black Bears decided to intentionally walk him to get to Hernandez, who is hitting sub-.200. Hernandez accepted the challenge and smacked a walk-off grand slam that cleared the left-field wall and sent the Muckdogs home with their seventh win of the season.

Games two and three of the series start at 7:05 p.m. from Dwyer Stadium on Monday and Tuesday.

Batavia dropped their third straight contest to the Auburn Doubledays on Saturday night by a 4-2 score. The Doubledays’ pitching staff kept the Batavia bats in check for the second straight game in another low-scoring affair.

Batavia put up their two runs on a total of six hits, which are each one higher than the season low they set the night before.

Humberto Mejia had a strong start for the Muckdogs. Despite picking up his second loss of the season, he pitched five innings, giving up just two runs on four hits and two walks, he also struck out three.

The Muckdogs would plate the first run of the game in the second inning when Igor Baez would hit the unconventional 9-6 fielder’s choice that brought Denis Karas from third. It would only take to the bottom of the third for Auburn to answer when they scored two runs to take the lead.

Both came around to score on one swing: a Gage Canning home run that cleared the right-field fence.

No more runs would score until the bottom of the sixth inning, and it would be another pair for the Doubledays.

After Chad Martin gave up back-to-back walks to start the bottom of the sixth, an RBI double from Jacob Rhinesmith brought in the first of the two. The second would be from the bottom man in the order, Phil Caulfield. His single brought Kyle Marincoz around to score and put the Doubledays in front by a 4-1 margin.

That would be all the offense that the Doubledays would see after Tanner Andrews would make his Muckdogs debut, and shut the door on Auburn.

The Muckdogs would plate one more run in the top of the eighth. Brayan Hernandez started the inning off with a walk and would get to second on a passed ball. Albert Guaimaro pushed Hernandez over to third with a groundout, which set up JD Osborne with an opportunity to cut the deficit. Osborne hit a ball to center field that would bring Hernandez in to score on the sacrifice fly and would cut the Auburn lead to two. Sean Reynolds would get lucky with a fly ball that turned into a two-out double to extend his hit streak to eight games.

However, that would be all that Batavia would score in the game, and would lead to a third-straight loss.

Batavia opens up a three-game homestand on Sunday against the West Virginia Black Bears, before going back on the road to face the Pickney Division leader, Mahoning Valley.

The Batavia Muckdogs fell back to .500, at 6-6, after a home loss Thursday to Auburn, 14-9.

A passed ball in the first inning followed later by an error by third baseman Denis Karas helped pave the way for a six-run first for Auburn. Starting pitcher Dakota Bennett, who gave up 10 runs, but only one of them earned, over four innings, took the loss. He's now 0-2.

The league's top hitter for average, Jerar Encarnacion, was 2-4 with a double. He's hitting .479 on the season.

J.D. Osborne, who was the DH last night, and has also played catcher and third base this season, was 2-5 and his now hitting .378, eight best in the league.

Big first baseman Sean Reynolds has been on a tear in recent games. He is now hitting .305, going 2-4 last night. He has an eight-game hitting streak, going 9 for 23 in that span with two home runs.

Karas was also 2-4.

The Muckdogs are in Auburn tonight.

Batavia completes their first sweep of the season by defeating State College 4-3 on Tuesday night. The Muckdogs have now won three straight contests on their first winning streak of the season.

Batavia got another strong start from Alberto Guerrero, who notched his second win of the season by going six strong innings, only giving up one run on four hits in the outing. He also struck out five in the start. Guerrero lowered his season ERA to a 2.81, and now has a team-leading two wins.

The first run of the game came in the second inning after a leadoff double from Wood Myers. The double was followed up by a single from Andres Luna that brought Myers in to put the Spikes in front 1-0 after the second inning.

Batavia brought their first runs of the game to the plate in the top of the fourth inning once Jerar Encarnacion smacked his only hit of the game into left field to extend his hitting streak to 10 games to open the season. Immediately after, Sean Reynolds continued his hot streak by cracking his first triple of the season down the right-field line.

Reynolds has improved his average to well over .300 in the last five games. Encarnacion scored on the play to keep himself atop the leagues scoring charts. Simultaneously, Reynolds propelled himself atop the league leaders for RBI’s, a spot he ironically stole from the player he drove in. The Muckdogs were not done. JD Osborne hit a sacrifice fly to right field.

The pitchers out of the bullpen would lock in during the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings. Once in the eighth, Batavia dropped two more on the Spikes. Encarnacion and Reynolds both reached base again. State College elected to intentionally walk Albert Guiamaro to load the bases and get Demetrius Sims to the plate. Sims, who was already 2-3 in the game up to that point, hit a single through the hole on the right side to bring in Encarnacion and Reynolds. Batavia would finish off the eighth in front 4-1.

Two leadoff singles in the ninth would come around to score on a two-run double from Edwin Figuera, but that would be it as Jeremy Ovalle struck three batters in the ninth for the save.

Batavia improves to 6-5, going over the .500 mark for the first time this season. Winners, of three straight, the Muckdogs play host to Auburn for one game on Thursday after having Wednesday off.

The Tri-Town Trojans beat Letchworth for the 10-U Cal Ripken Championship (District 3) on Monday by a score of 6-5. The team will play in the state championship July 5 in Canandaigua, which is the first time in more than 30 years the team has reached that stage of postseason play.

The team was escorted back to Alexander from Pavilion by fire trucks from Bethany and Alexander.

Submitted photos.

Batavia won their first back-to-back games of the season in a pitcher’s duel at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, and they did not see any runs cross the plate until the eighth inning.

Logan Boyd had a masterful start in his five innings pitched but did not get a decision in the outing. He only gave up a total of two hits, which did not yield runs, nor did he issue any walks. He struck out four batters to keep State College scoreless through five.

Humberto Mejia came out of the bullpen in Monday’s game after Boyd. Mejia was scheduled to start but worked from the bullpen to put the pitching rotation back on track after Saturday’s game was rained out. Mejia’s outing went three innings and kept the Batavia lead in tact in the eighth by only giving in two runs over the three innings he pitched. He did pick up the win to move to 1-1 on the season. 

The Muckdogs’ offense came to life in the top of the eighth after Harrison White worked a two-out walk. Demetrius Sims smoked a ball to third base that got past the third basemen Edwin Figuera and put runners on the corners with one out. Sims broke early for second and had an easy stolen base.

Two runners were in scoring position for Michael Donadio, who slipped a ball past the Spikes’ infield; while they were playing in, Donadio picked up his second hit of his 2-4 day. That brought two runs around to score for the first of the game in the top of the eighth. Donadio tried to advance on the relay, but was thrown out at second base.

After a JD Osborne walk, Reynolds crushed a ball to the right-center gap that brought another run to the plate to make it 3-0. Immediately following that, Albert Guaimaro singled into center field to bring Reynolds in to finish the hit party in the eighth.

Two runs would cross for the Spikes in the bottom of the frame. One run would come to score on a Justin Toerner triple, and that would cut the Batavia lead in half.

In the ninth, the Muckdogs get one hit, but could not produce any runs from it. The bottom end of the frame would see one more run cross the plate. Jameson McGrane came on to pick up his first save of the season. However, it would take three walks and one run to get the job done.

Batavia looks to get their first sweep of the season with their final matchup of the series against State College. First pitch from Happy Valley is at 7:05 p.m., Batavia returns home to an off day on Wednesday before a home-and-home with Auburn this coming weekend.

The T.F. Brown's and Viele Construction Dodgers beat the Graham Manufacturing Pirates for the Batavia Little League championship Friday in extra innings, 10-8.

Cole Grazioplene hit a three-run walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh to win the game for the Dodgers.

The Dodgers are coached by Samuel Antinore and Jeffrey Grazioplene

The players: Jaden Firmstone, Cole Grazioplene, Dane Dombrowski, Jay Antinore, Bronx Buchholz, Benny Pontillo, Maggio Buchholz, Chase Antinore, Owen Helpin, Alex Merica and Darius Wahl. 

The Elba Youth Baseball Lancers won a U-12 Division Championship by beating Hamlin 9-3 on Saturday. They beat out eight other teams in the tournament to take the 018 Westside House Baseball Majors League Title.

Back row: Tyler Bedard, Coach Trevor Horzempa, Elijah Horzempa, Hunter Gaylord, Ashton Beazon, Alex Marks, Angelo Penna. Front row: Aydn Horzempa, Brendan Wyder, Coy Betts, Isaac Volpe.

Photo and info submitted by Lauren Zuber.

The Batavia Muckdogs continued their trend of putting up big offensive numbers in an 8-6 victory over the State College Spikes on Sunday evening.

Batavia enjoyed the comfort of scoring seven runs between the sixth and seventh innings. Denis Karas ripped a bases-clearing double, and Sean Reynolds belted his second home run of the season in the win. RJ Peace got the nod on the mound on his 21st birthday, and went 4.2 IP and holding State College scoreless until the fifth inning.

The Muckdogs were able to manufacture a run in the second inning by stringing together three straight two-out singles to bring in Albert Guaimaro. Igor Baez nabbed his first RBI of the season to put Batavia in front 1-0 after two innings.

Four runs came across the plate for State College in the bottom of the fourth, one coming in on a wild pitch, one coming from a bases-loaded walk to Nick Dunn, and then Wadye Ynfante smacked a two-run single to put the Spikes in front 4-1 after five.

Batavia was able to answer right back in the top of the sixth with a bases-loaded walk from Reynolds, that would set up Denis Karas to clear the bases with a double to the right-center gap. After grabbing four in the sixth, the Muckdogs get two runners on for Sean Reynolds who hits his second home run in as many games to push three more runs across the plate.

Batavia would then go into the eighth inning with an 8-4 lead. Jerar Encarnacion extended his hit streak with a single in the sixth to push the streak to nine games. During the streak, he is hitting 20-40 for a .500 average. Meanwhile, JD Osborne continued a streak of his own, going 3-4 to get a fourth straight multi-hit game, and continue his five-game hit streak. Osborne has now bumped his average up to .407.

The ninth inning would not go down smoothly for Batavia, however. Chad Martin would retire two batters in the ninth, but allowed two runs in doing so. Doug Domnarski would come out of the bullpen to seal the deal by getting Wood Myers to ground into a 6-5-2-5-6 fielder’s choice to end the game, and give Batavia the 8-6 win.

The Muckdogs improve to a 4-5 record, while the Spikes drop to 3-7. The Muckdogs look to win back-to-back games for the first time this season with their 7:05 matchup tomorrow at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park.

The Batavia Muckdogs were down by six runs before their first hitter even stepped to the plate Friday night and over the course of nine innings the hometown team never could climb out of the hole.

The Muckdogs fell to 3-5 on the season with a 9-7 loss to Williamsport, now 5-3.

Starter Dakota Bennett, a 2017 11th round draft pick out of Somerville, Ala., lasted only two-thirds of an inning and took the loss in his first NYPL game.

Muckdogs Right fielder Jerar Encarnacion continued to tear apart NYPL pitching, raising his average to .514, second best in the league, with a 3-4 night. He scored two runs.

Big first baseman Sean Reynolds, who had the game-winning hit Thursday night, knocked one over the fence for the first time in the season in the seventh inning.

J.D. Osborne also had two hits and two RBI. He raised his average to .348.

The Muckdogs close out the homestand tonight against Williamsport. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Bryce Howe, from Tulsa, Oklahoma, took over for Bennett in the first and pitched 3 1/2 innings, giving up one unearned run and four hits.

The Muckdogs scored their first walk-off win of the season this year over the Williamsport Crosscutters on Thursday night. Batavia did not score a run until the eighth inning when they were trailing 5-0.

Williamsport picked up an early lead by scoring two runs in the top of the first off of Alberto Guerrero, who would not earn a decision in his five innings of work. Williamsport logged another run in the top of the fifth when Keudy Bocio would hit a single up the middle to make the score 3-0 in favor of the visitors.

Dylan Cyphert would come on in relief for the sixth inning but would yield two runs in total, both coming in the sixth inning. Afterward, Cyphert would lock in for the seventh inning and shut down the Crosscutters' lineup. For the eighth and ninth innings, Jeremy Ovalle would come on to keep Williamsport at bay while the offense went to work. In the bottom of the eighth, Brayan Hernandez would extend his welcome party to Batavia by ripping a leadoff double.

Not long after, Jerar Encarnacion would scorch one of his four singles to center field, that would score Hernandez for the first run of the night for Batavia. The Muckdogs would load the bases up later in the inning, and Albert Guaimaro got hit by a pitch to bring in one more run to make it 5-2. The last of the three runs came when Denis Karas hit a sac fly to score Encarnacion to make it a 5-3 game going into the ninth.

Ovalle only faced four batters in the top of the ninth to finish his job and not allow any more runs to score for the Crosscutters. In the bottom of the ninth, Batavia would find themselves down to their final strike with Demetrius Sims standing on first base. Then, Encarnacion smoked a ball to right field to start the rally. Sims moved to third on the play, and Encarnacion would advance to second on a sloppy throw into the infield. JD Osborne followed up with a clutch two-run single that would tie the game. Guaimaro drew a walk to advance Osborne to second, which caused Mike Jacobs to go into his bench and bring out Harrison White to pinch run for Osborne.

Sean Reynolds was the next batter, who was 0-2 up to that point in the game. He hit a single to right field that sent a sprinting White to the plate and an off-target throw sent the Muckdogs into a celebration with the 6-5 walk-off win.

Batavia will face Williamsport again Friday and Saturday for a 7:05 p.m. first pitch. The Muckdogs will look to break a streak of Crosscutter starters not allowing a run over the last five games.

Press release:

The Muckdogs (2-4) dropped the third game in the series against West Virginia (2-4) on Wednesday night. The first two innings went as fast as the blink of an eye with neither team collecting a hit. In the third inning, however, that would change for the Black Bears.

West Virginia scored three runs in the third inning. The Black Bears loaded the bases in the top of the third with two outs, then Edison Lantigua ripped a two-run single to right field. Lantigua took a big turn at first base, and the ‘dogs tried to pick him off on it.

In doing so, the throw to first was wide and therefore scored the third run. After that bases-clearing single by Lantigua, it would take until the fifth inning for another run to cross the plate.

West Virginia manufactured a run in the fifth by bunting Michael De La Cruz to second. Afterward, he tagged up on a fly ball to right that almost got him thrown out by Jerar Encarnacion. Lantigua then ripped another single to the right side that scored De La Cruz and gave Lantigua his third RBI of the game.

The Batavia bats were held to minimal output through the first six innings, then the Muckdogs scored three in the seventh inning. Two runners found their way on by way of a walk (Sean Reynolds) and a single (JD Osborne). Then, in an attempt to break a skid that was 1-21, Gerardo Nunez made it a one-run game by sending a three-run shot over the left field wall to make the score 4-3.

Ryan McKay came in relief in the seventh inning and was excellent, striking out five in only three innings of work. He gave Batavia a chance at the comeback in the bottom of the ninth. A leadoff single from JD Osborne brought on Matt Brooks to pinch-run.

Unfortunately for Batavia, Harrison White hit a fielder’s choice to second that got Brooks out. After that, the early hero Gerardo Nunez grounded into a 6-3 double play to end the game.

Williamsport comes to Batavia for a three-game series from Thursday to Saturday, then Batavia travels to State College to play the Spikes for three games.

Photo submitted by Kayla McIntire.

Press release:

The Muckdogs dropped the middle game of a three-game set against West Virginia on Tuesday night by a score of 7-6. Batavia had a chance to either tie or win the game in the bottom of the ninth.

Humberto Mejia got his first start of the season with the Muckdogs on Tuesday. In his career, none of his starts with Batavia had gone longer than 3.1 innings. On Tuesday, he was able to get two outs in the fifth before he ran into trouble. Mejia ran into a slight hiccup when he gave up a solo home run to Johan Herrera to give the Black Bears a 1-0 lead.

They would tack on three more in the third inning as well. Daniel Amaral would reach on an error, (one of nine combined in the ballgame) and would steal second to get into scoring position. Three straight RBI hits from Edison Lantigua (double), Lucas Mangieri (single), and Herrera (double) put West Virginia up 4-0 after three.

Batavia, in total, went 3-18 with runners in scoring position and left a season-high 12 runners on base. The Muckdogs wouldn’t score their first run until the fifth. Back-to-back singles to lead off the fifth inning from Igor Baez and Gerardo Nunez, who logged his first hit of the season on the play, and both would come around to score on the play.

A Ricardo Cespedes sac fly would score Baez, and an RBI triple from Jerar Encarnacion would bring in Nunez. On that triple, Encarnacion advanced his hit streak to five games. He’s had a hit in every game for Batavia this season. Ricardo Cespedes would do the same with a one-out single in the seventh.

The Black Bears scored one run in each of the seventh and eighth innings of the game to go in front 7-3 going into the bottom of the ninth for Batavia. Demetrius Sims led off the inning with a walk. Cespedes would get on base with the fifth error of the night by the Black Bears’ defense. Encarnacion bounced into a fielder’s choice that sent Sims to third but would cut down Cespedes at second.

Batavia had runners on the corners with one out. Sean Reynolds came into pinch-hit but would go down on strikes looking. Albert Guaimaro then reached on a throwing error that sent Sims home to make it a three-run game. Runners then stood on first and second with two outs.

Denis Karas hit a clutch two-out single that would plate two runs, making the Muckdogs’ deficit just one. Baez drew a walk to load the bases up again, with the tying run standing on third, and the winning run at second. Gerardo Nunez came up with two outs, but on a 0-2 pitch in the dirt, a controversial third-strike call was made on an appeal by base umpire Jae-Young Kim to end the Batavia rally.

The final game of the series comes on Wednesday night at 7:05. The Muckdogs will send LHP Logan Boyd to the bump for the rubber match. West Virginia has not announced their starter yet. Batavia then welcomes the Williamsport Crosscutters to town for a three-game series.

The 2018 edition of the Batavia Muckdogs are looking like a team that can score runs in bunches after scoring eight runs or more in three of their first four games, including nine runs last night against West Virginia for a 9-6 victory in a soggy home opener.

The offensive onslaught was anchored by left fielder Michael Donadio, a native New Yorker, who was 2-4, including a fifth-inning homer (top photo) and three RBIs.

On a rainy Monday, which meant the game was delayed for more than an hour, the opening night crowd was smaller than expected at 835.

Still, NYPL President Ben Hayes was in good spirits before the game and said he's happy with the progress the local franchise, now league-owned, is making.

"I think things are going really well," Hayes said. "We focused on the getting the field in shape for the season, getting the lights changed out. We did some things in the clubhouses to get them ready. Talk to Mike (Jacobs), the manager, and he’s really happy with what he’s walked into."

Before the game, Wayne Fuller and Bill Dougherty were honored with a moment of silence. Memorial signs have been placed on the fence in right center and left center honoring their contributions to Batavia baseball.

Fuller was the longtime voice of the Muckdogs.

"His smooth tenor provided the soundtrack for so many summers of our lives here at Dwyer Stadium," said PA announcer Paul Spiotta. 

Dougherty was a historian of Batavia baseball: "A champion of our team and this community and a romantic defender of the underdog."

Starter R.J. Peach, from San Diego, got the win, going five innings and giving up seven hits and three runs.

Chad Martin pitched the ninth for his first save of the season.

Jerar Encarnacion, from Bayaguana, Dominican Republic, was 2-4 and is currently the team's leading hitter with a .471 average.

Ricardo Cespedes, from the Bronx, also had two hits.

The Muckdogs are now 2-2 on the season and face 0-4 West Virginia again at 7:05 p.m., the second game of a six-game homestand, which includes three against  Williamsport.

First baseman Sean Reynolds bumps fists with two fans before the game.

Manager Mike Jacobs, middle.

Catcher J.D. Osborne runs onto the field prior to National Anthem with a young Yankee, one of Batavia's youth ball players.

Pitcher R.J. Peace

Jerar Encarnacion scores in the first inning.

West Virginia second baseman Melvin Jimenez with an errant throw in the third inning (which nearly hit the photographer).

Ricardo Cespedes

Denis Karas

Gerardo Nunez and Ricardo Cespedes collide chasing a pop-up in the seventh inning.

Submitted by the Muckdogs:

The Muckdogs look to bounce back from a game-one loss in Auburn by a score of 5-1. Batavia squares off against the Doubledays for a three-game set before kicking off the home portion of the season at Dwyer Stadium for a six-game homestand against West Virginia and Williamsport. 

That was last night -- Batavia was 0-10 with RISP in their 5-1 loss last night to Auburn. The Muckdogs had bases loaded with no outs in the top of the seventh inning, but after a Nunez strikeout and a Sims lineout into a double play, the Muckdogs came out scoreless. 

This year’s team -- The Muckdogs Opening Day roster consists of 14 returning players from last year’s roster. Four players have made it up to full season-A (Boyd, Cespedes, Martin, and Torres). The roster currently consists of 14 pitchers, four catchers, six infielders, and six outfielders. 

Same Skipper -- Calling the shots this season will be second-year manager Mike Jacobs. Jacobs spent seven years in the bigs with Mets, Marlins, Royals, and the Diamondbacks. He clubbed 100 HRs in his MLB career, 32 of which came in 2008 with the Florida Marlins. He also tacked on 93 RBIs that year. His first year as a manager in Batavia saw the team go 30-45.

Some Superlatives -- This year’s players come in all shapes and sizes. The tallest being Sean Reynolds who towers at 6’7”. The shortest five check in at 5’11”. The youngest Muckdog is Dakota Bennett who is currently 18, and the oldest on the roster is Logan Boyd who is 24. 

Familiar Foes -- The Muckdogs and Doubledays will square off 13 more times this season, more than they will see any other opponent this season. 

Recent Roster Action -- C Jared Barnes was assigned to the GCL Marlins on June 16th. 

Marlins Update -- The Fish shut out the Orioles 2-0 last night in Camden Yards thanks to a dominant performance from Jose Urena. Urena went eight innings deep into the game only surrendering three hits and one walk.

Here's a reason to come out to Dwyer Stadium to see the Batavia Muckdogs this season starting Monday: To see if Sean Reynolds can develop into a big, powerful Major League first baseman.

At 6' 7" and 220 pounds, Reynolds (top photo), a fourth-round draft pick last year from Redondo Beach, Calif., projects as a power bat in the middle of the Miami Marlins line up someday. He's not there yet, however, so he's back in Batavia for a second season to see if he can harness his big swing and make more consistent contact.

Muckdogs Manager Mike Jacobs (second photo) thinks Reynolds is one of the good reasons fans have to settle into a seat at Dwyer Stadium in 2018.

"Hopefully he continues to make strides," Jacobs said when asked to single out some of his best players. "He should be able to do some good things here."

He also likes what he sees in Demetrius Sims. Described in scouting reports as a shortstop with blazing speed, Sims is also in his second stint with Batavia but Jacobs said he should make games exciting for fans.

In all, there are nine players on the roster who are on a second tour with the Muckdogs, which Jacobs said is a good thing. It should mean better quality baseball.

"That's going to help the guys who are here for the first time," Jacobs said.

The pitching should be better and the defense should be better.

"The main thing is, they will be prepared to play every night," Jacobs said. "That’s for sure. We’re prepared to play fundamentally sound baseball and hopefully, the offense will take care of itself."

Among the returning players, for those who are fans of Ivy League baseball, is Harrison White, whose degree is from Yale and acquitted himself well in Batavia last season, hitting .280 with 21 walks, 12 RBIs and 15 runs scored.

Also on the roster is Trevor Rogers, the Marlin's number-one draft pick in 2017. He's a 6' 6" left-handed pitcher but so far he's a Muckdog on paper only. He isn't in town yet and Jacobs said the way things work, just because he's currently listed on the roster doesn't mean he will wind up in Batavia.

For the returning players the changes at Dwyer, with the team under new ownership and management, is exciting, Jacobs said.

They noticed the changes as soon as they arrived at the ballpark.

"You want to be proud of where you play," Jacobs said. "You want to be proud of your facility. You want to be proud of your home every day. There’s still a long way to go but there are things in progress. They put a whole new infield in. It’s not quite to where we need it yet but it’s getting close. Like I said, they redid the clubhouse, cleaned it up, put in some new carpet, and some paint, and like I said, just watching the players walk in and look at that, they’re pretty excited just about that, so I think they’re excited to get going."

Game time Monday is 7:05 p.m.