muckdogs

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.

If you're a local baseball fan, you know this already: Ryan Gugel is coming to town.

Sunday and Monday's Muckdogs games against the Williamsport Crosscutters are as eagerly anticipated -- maybe more so -- as last year's playoff and championship games.

And maybe because both events -- championships and BHS grads playing professionally at Dwyer -- are equally rare.

Gugel, a BHS and GCC standout who signed a free agent contract with the Philadelphia Phlllies earlier this summer, will do something tomorrow night that very few BHS grads have accomplished -- stepped onto the field at Dwyer Stadium wearing the uniform of a professional baseball team.

The last BHS grad to play a professional game in Dwyer is probably Frank Dudley, a pitcher for the Batavia Indians in 1958-59.

Such a long time gap means there are many life-long Batavia baseball fans who never witnessed a championship until last season, and now may get to see for the first time a local kid play professionally at home.

"I've been going to games since 1968, since the dying days of the Lyndon B. Johnson administration and I've never seen a Batavia High kid play in this league," said Bill Kauffman. "It's exceedingly rare and what a great accomplishment for Ryan Gugel. He and his family should be really proud."

Before Dudley, there were Dick Raymond (who pitched a complete-game shutout in his Batavia debut), Ray Jamalkowski, Bob Radley and Jerry Maley.

Maley, who still lives in Batavia and regularly attends Muckdogs games, was probably the first BHS grad to play professionally at the hometown ballpark.

"Actually, it was quite a thrill (to play at home as a pro)," Maley said. "I grew up here and hung around the park when I was young and then when I signed, I thought it was quite a thrill."

Maley tried out for the Batavia Clippers in 1949, won a roster spot, but then didn't see much playing time, so he asked for his release. After a tryout with the Olean Oilers, Maley signed with the Clippers' New York-Penn League rival, finishing out the 1949 season with the Oilers and stepping up to the plate 443 times as the Oilers' second baseman in 1950.

Then Maley was drafted into the Army and his professional baseball days were over.

Maley thinks Gugel will feel the same excitement he did six decades ago.

Baseball fans throughout town are talking about Gugel, not because he's tearing up the NYPL (we're all mindful that he's just starting out and playing behind a league-leading hitter -- Sebastia Valle -- so he's only had five plate appearances in his short time with Williamsport), but because he's done something very, very few people who ever play high school or college ball: Become a professional ball player.

"He's playing for all of us," said Bill Dougherty, a local baseball history buff and dedicated Muckdogs fans. "Maybe he doesn't know that, but that's how I look at it, he's playing for all of us guys.

"Here's a guy who's actually going to the next step," Dougherty said. "We all played Little League or Babe Ruth, high school and we'll say at some point semi-pro or amateur, but here's one of us out there in the New York-Penn League, which is just great."

Dougherty figures there are only about a dozen Genesee County ballplayers who ever made it to the pros. The last one to play for Batavia was Mickey Hyde, who came out of Pavilion and played for GCC. He spent his first year of pro ball, 1989 in Batavia. His career carried him through 1993 and Triple AAA Scranton.

The last Batavia-born baseball player -- but he didn't grow up here -- to likely play a professional game in Batavia is Tim Kister, who spent the first of 13 minor league seasons in Auburn. Kister complied a 97-95 record with a 3.98 ERA, but never made it past AAA.

Dudley, the last BHS grad who played a professional game in Batavia, died at age 44 of an apparent heart attack in 1977. Canadian-born Dudley lived in Brockport at the time.

Game time Sunday is 5:05 p.m. and Monday 7:05 p.m.

The Muckdogs (21-20) took the first game 2-1 and the Crosscutters (23-18) won the second 4-0 in two seven innings games Thursday.

In the first game, the action game right at the start as Batavia scored their two runs in the inning.  D’Marcus Ingram started the game off with a single. He then moved to second when Ryan Jackson followed him with a ground out and Ingram then stole third base.  Alan Ahmady got the first RBI on a sacrifice fly and reached on an error by the center fielder.  Ahmady himself came home later on a double by Ryde Rodriguez.

Starter Eric Fornataro (4-0, 2.15) stayed perfect in the win, going six innings with seven hits, one run and two strikeouts.  LaCurtis picked up his fifth save, pitching the 7th with one strikeout.

Ingram ended the first game 2-for-3 with a run, a walk and three stolen bases.

But, Williamsport jumped on board early in the second game, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first against a lacking Batavia offense that only had three hits in the contest.

Deryk Hooker (1-4, 4.81) got the loss, going four innings with four runs on five hits and one walk and four strikeouts.  Joe Kelly followed him to throw two innings with one hit and four strikeouts.

Jackson supplied what offense the Muckdogs had, going 2-for-3.

Mahoning Valley (23-16) was able to benefit off Batavia’s (20-19) two errors to take a game back.  Only one of the Scrappers’ three runs was earned.

The scoring started in the 2nd inning when Mahoning Valley got their lead runner on base from a Muckdog error.  The runner came in to score later on a base hit.

The Scrappers added two more in the 9th after a single, a double and another Muckdog error.

Starter Michael Blazek (3-5, 3.00) suffered the loss, going five innings with three hits, one unearned run and six strikeouts.  Scott Schneider followed throwing the next three innings with four strikeouts.  Joe Kelly came in in the 9th, letting in two runs (one earned) on two hits while striking out one.

The Muckdog offense was lacking, having only three base hits on the day.

Batavia returns home on Sunday at 5:05 to face Williamsport.  Batavia native Ryan Gugel will make his first homecoming in his professional career as a Crosscutter.

The Batavia Lions Club gave away a pair of bicycles at Monday night's game between the Batavia Muckdogs and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers.

Everybody was a winner at the game sponsored by the Lions Club as Batavia downed the Scrappers 2-0, with three pitchers combining for the shutout. But a pair of youngsters walked away with an extra prize.

Gunner Rapone of Batavia was the winner in the boy's bike raffle and Jessica Perry of Strykersville took home the girl's bike.

Lions Club president Steve Watson is also in the photo, presenting the prizes to the winners.

It took just two runs in the 7th inning for the Muckdogs (20-18) to shutout the Scrappers (22-16) for the win.

Ryde Rodriguez singled and Niko Vasquez followed with a two-base hit to put two runners on for Luis De La Cruz to come up with the big two RBI single.

Justin Edwards started the game going six innings with four hits and two walks and strikeouts.  Johnny Bravo (2-0, 0.00) followed him, getting the win in his two innings of work with one hit, two walks and three strikeouts.  Santo Maertz finished up the 9th with just one hit and two strikeouts.

 Rodriguez had the only multi-hit night for Batavia, going 2-for-3 with a run scored.

It took nine innings for either team to score a run and ten for Batavia (18-17) to come up with the 2-1 win over Jamestown (13-22).

In the bottom of the decisive inning, Ryan Jackson started things off by hitting a base hit off the first pitch he saw.  D’Marcus Ingram followed him with a double to put runners on second and third.  Devin Goodwin then flew out to center field for the sacrifice to get the game winning RBI.

Jamestown took the early lead in the 9th by scoring one run on two walks and a single.  Batavia answered right back in the bottom of the inning.  Xavier Scruggs reached first on a wild pitch and Beau Riportella came in to pinch run for him.  Ryde Rodriguez then singled to move Riportella to third.  During the next at-bat, a wild pitch enabled Riportella to come in to score the tying run to send it into extras.

Joe Kelly (1-1, 3.24) picked up the winning pitching the two-thirds of the 9th and the 10th innings, giving up one hit with one walk and one strikeout.  Scott Schneider had a good start, going five innings with three hits and eight strikeouts.  Eric Fornataro filled in the gap with two hits, one run and two walks.

Ingram finished the night going 3-for-5 with a double and a triple.  Rodriguez went 2-for-4.

Ryan Gugel may still be looking for his first professional hit, but he's still making a contribution to his new team, the Williamsport Crosscutters:

In the bottom of the 5th the Crosscutters rallied to plate two runs and take the lead as Cutter DH Ryan Gugel, in his first game for Williamsport, got things started with a walk. 3B Alan Schoenberger hit his second double of the season to left, allowing Gugel to advance to third. With CF Carl Uhl batting, Hudson Valley RHP Jordi Amargos uncorked a wild pitch that scored Gugel and tied the game at one. Schoenberger, who advanced to third on the wild pitch, scored the go-ahead run on a Uhl sacrifice fly to center.

Gugel made three plate appearances in the game, drawing the decisive walk and striking out.

Gugel, a BHS and GCC standout, will likely be with the team when Williamsport visits Batavia Aug. 2 and 3.

Meanwhile, the Muckdogs eeked out a 7-6 victory in Oneonta. 

Alan Ahamdy, playing first base, collected two hits and two RBI, as did Neko Vasquez.

The Muckdogs are now 17-16, three games out of first, trailing Mohoning Valley and Williamsport.

It was a close game through nine innings, but the Muckdogs (15-16) couldn’t hold the Tigers (17-11) in the bottom of the 10th as Oneonta went on to win 3-2.

The game was scoreless until the 5th inning.  Niko Vasquez had a lead off double to get things going for Batavia.  Ivan Castro got on base right after on a fielding error by the Tiger’s shortstop.  Both advanced a base during the next at-bat when Beau Riportella grounded out.  Ryan Jackson then came up with a RBI base hit to score Vasquez and Castro came home later on a wild pitch.

Oneonta answered right back, scoring two of their own in the bottom of the inning.  The game remained tied until the Tigers were able to plate the winning run in the bottom of the tenth on base hits.

LaCurtis Mayes (0-2, 1.54) suffered the loss, pitching through the last two outs letting in the winning run on three hits with one strikeout.  Deryk Hooker was the starter.  He went five innings with two runs, four hits, one walk and six strikeouts.  Joe Kelly and Santo Maertz threw two innings each, both giving up one hit while striking out two.

D’Marcus Ingram continued to stay hot on the road in July.  He was the only Muckdog with a multi-hit night, going 2-for-4 with a walk. 

Starter Eric Fornataro held opposing batters nearly hitless in seven innings of work today, setting the pace as the Muckdogs (15-15) completed the three-game sweep of Tri-City (9-18) with a 1-0 victory.

The lone run came in the bottom of the 8th.  Ryan Jackson started things off with a base hit and moved to second on a error and then to third on a sacrifice bunt by D’Marcus Ingram.  Jackson came in to score when Devin Goodwin hit a sacrifice fly to right field.

Fornataro finished with just one hit and one strikeout.  He had just 14 balls through seven innings and threw a first pitch strike to 15 of the 22 batters he faced.  Scott Schneider (1-0, .92) picked up the win throwing the last two innings with three hits and three strikeouts.

Jackson was the only Muckdog with a multi-hit night, going 2-for-3.

Batavia (14-15) kept things going in their second game of the night, beating Tri City (9-17) this time by a score of 7-2.

The Valley Cats looked to take the second game of the series by going up 2-0 by one run in both the 2nd and 3rd innings.  But, the Batavia offense turned it on beginning in the 4th.

Alan Ahmady got on base after being hit by a pitch and Xavier Scruggs followed him with a two-run blast to keep his momentum from game one. Ryde Rodriguez then doubled and came around to score on a base hit by Jairo Martinez.

They plated two more in the next inning to cushion their lead.  Ahmady began the rally again by getting on base after a base hit.  Scruggs then doubled and both came in to score on an error during Rodriguez’s at-bat.

Two more insurance runs came in the 6th starting with a single by Guillermo Toribio.  He moved to third on a single by Beau Riportella and was able to come home when Niko Vasquez hit into a double play. Rodriguez picked up another RBI later by hitting a single to plate Ahmady who walked earlier in the inning.

Michael Blazek (3-3, 3.46) settled in in the start to get himself the win.  He went five innings with eight hits, two runs (one earned), one walk and four strikeouts.  Santo Maertz followed him in relief and worked out of a bases-loaded jam, throwing one and two-thirds innings with no runs, no hits, two walks and two strikeouts.

Scruggs stayed sharp in the second game of the night, finishing 2-for-3 with a double, a homerun and two RBI.  Ahmady went 2-for-3 with a double and three runs scored and Rodriguez went 2-for-4 also with a double.

A fresh day gave the Muckdogs (13-15) a fresh start, which was just what they needed to erase a 3-0 deficit in the continuation of Friday night’s game to go on and beat the Valley Cats (9-16) 5-4.

On Friday, J.D. Martinez powered the Tri-City offense with a two-run homerun in the 1st.  And then came the rain.

When play resumed Saturday night, Martinez added another on the board with a solo shot.  The Valley Cats made it 4-0 in the 4th, but that would be all as Batavia battled back to get the win.

 The offense started just four pitches into the bottom of the 4th as Xavier Scruggs put his fourth homerun ball over the left field wall.  They added one more in the 5th when D’Marcus Ingram reached on a force out, stole second, and eventually came in to score on a base hit by Scruggs.

Batavia’s big inning came in the 6th as they scored three runs to go up 6-5 and put the game away for the win. It all started when Niko Vasquez reached on an error. Beau Riportella and Ryan Jackson had back-to-back singles to load the bases.  Ingram then got a RBI on another force out as Vasquez came in to score.  Devin Goodwin got the other two runners in on a double.

Justin Edwards (2-1, 3.44) started on Saturday to earn himself the win.  He went four and two-thirds innings with two runs, four hits, one walk and five strikeouts.  Joe Kelly followed him for the hold and LaCurtis Mayes finished it in the 9th for his third save on the season.

Scruggs went 2-for-3 in the game with a homerun and two RBI.  Ryan Jackson also had two hits in the game, going 2-for-4.

 I've finally gotten my videos to upload, so here's the first of player interviews. Many more to come in the upcoming weeks...let me know who you want to hear from...Enjoy!

For the 8th time this month, the Muckdogs (12-14) couldn’t muster enough and lost by just one run, this time by a score of 5-4 to Hudson Valley (14-11).

Batavia was down 2-0 after the Renegades scored a run in both the 1st and 4th innings.  The Muckdogs looked to come back with three runs of their own after 6th and 7th innings.

The lone run in the 6th came on a high fly ball to left field that resulted in Ryde Rodriguez’s second homerun of the season.  In the next inning, bases were loaded after a Ryan Jackson single, D’Marcus Ingram reached on an error and Luis De La Cruz laid down a bunt single.  Rodriguez then came up with the big bat again as he doubled to score two.

But history seems to repeat itself, as the Muckdogs couldn’t hold on to their late lead.  Hudson Valley battled back to score three runs of their own in the bottom of the 8th to take the lead back again, 5-3.

Batavia came close to a comeback.  In the 9th, De La Cruz reached on a force out.  Alan Ahmady followed with a single that allowed De La Cruz to move to third while Ahmady himself moved to second on the throw.  In the next at-bat, Xavier Scruggs hit a base hit to plate De La Cruz and Ahmady was thrown out at home trying to be the tying run.  And that would be the ball game as Rodriguez struck out swinging during the next at-bat to record the final out.

Tyler Lavigne and Josh Squatrito both pitched two innings with one run and three hits each.  Lavigne struck out three while Squatrito walked one and struck out one.  Deryk Hooker (1-2, 3.48) picked up the loss in his three and two-thirds innings, letting up three runs on two hits with one walk and one strikeout.  Santo Maertz faced the last two batters, giving up two hits but getting out of the jam when Rodriguez threw out a runner at home to end the inning.

Rodriguez and Ahmady both finished 3-for-5, Rodriguez with two doubles, a homerun and three RBI.  D’Marcus Ingram had his second mutli-hit day in a row, going 2-for-4 with a triple and a run scored.

Batavia (12-12) scored as many runs as they had all series, but it was not enough as they lost 9-6 to Mahoning Valley (16-8).

The Muckdogs got on board first in the 1st when Devin Goodwin doubled and came in to score on a base hit by Alan Ahmady.  After the Scrappers tied it up in the next inning, Batavia answered right back with two of their own.  Ryde Rodriguez led off the inning with a single and Niko Vasquez followed with a triple down the right field line.  Jario Martinez then had a sacrifice fly to get himself an RBI.

However, the 3-1 lead was short-lived, as Mahoning Valley scored three runs in both the 3rd and 4th innings and two more in the 7th.

Batavia also plated two in the 7th.  Luis De La Cruz got himself a base hit before Beau Riportella smashed his second home run of the season.  They looked to rally back in the 9th.  LaCurtis Mayes pitched a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout and two groundouts to start the momentum.  In the bottom of the inning, De La Cruz reached and moved to second on errors.  He then advanced again on a passed ball and came home on a Riportella single.  But with two outs already in the inning, that was all they could muster.

Michael Blazek (2-3, 3.86) had a rough start to get himself the loss.  He went three and a third innings letting in seven runs, although only five were earned, on seven hits with one walk and two strikeouts.  Daniel Calhoun threw three innings of his own with two runs, four hits, one walk and two strikeouts.

Vasquez and Riportella both went 2-for-4 on the night.  Vasquez had a triple, a run and a RBI.  Riportella had a homerun, one run and three RBI.

Tomorrow the league has a day off before Batavia travels to Hudson Valley for a three game set.

The Muckdogs (12-11) got an early 5-1 lead and were able to hold on against a tough Mahoning Valley (15-8) team for the win.

Batavia’s big inning came in the 3rd when D’Marcus Ingram, Devin Goodwin and Alan Ahmady all singled to load the bases.  Xavier Scruggs followed with a double to plate two.  Ryde Rodriguez kept things going with another two-RBI double in the next at-bat.  Rodriguez later came home himself on a single by Beau Riportella.

The Scrappers added two of their own in the 5th and another in the 7th but that was all they could muster.

Kevin Siegrist went four innings in the start with five hits, one run and two strikeouts.  Josh Squatrito (1-1, 1.74) picked up the win in his one and 2/3 innings of relief work.  He let up two hits while striking out two.  Newcomer Joeseph Kelly got his first save, pitching a scoreless 9th.

Goodwin and Ahmady both finished 2-for-4, each with a run scored.

The rubber match between the two teams is tomorrow night. Game time is 5:05.

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.

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.