LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. – Dalton Herrington (ULM) went 3-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored as the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs defeated the Amsterdam Mohawks, 9-3, on Saturday night at Veterans Memorial Park.
With the win, Mohawk Valley (13-11) moved into the third place in the PGCBL East, one half-game behind second-place Albany and one half-game ahead of fourth-place Cooperstown. Amsterdam (13-13) suffered its second loss of the season to Mohawk Valley and dropped one game behind the DiamondDawgs in the PGCBL East standings.
Herrington powered the Dawgs to a 1-0 lead right out of the chute in the bottom of the first inning. The Homer, La., native smacked a two-out single off of Amsterdam starter Dylan Dwyer (Kentucky) and moved to third on a Landon Thibodeuax (LSU Eunice) base hit. Amsterdam catcher Mark Brennan (Fairfield) attempted to pick Herrington off of third as Landon Thibodeaux stole second however Brenna’s throw sailed into left field, allowing Herrington to sprint home safely.
Herrington increased Mohawk Valley’s lead to 3-0 in the third inning with a two-run single that plated both Sam Dexter (Southern Maine) and Jordan Friend (Alabama A&M). In the sixth, Amsterdam was able to trim the Mohawk Valley advantage to 3-1 on an Ed Charlton (NJIT) RBI single. The Amsterdam rally was quickly snuffed out by Herrington, Mohawk Valley’s center fielder, when he robbed Devin Wenzel (Cincnnati) of a potential base hit with a diving catch and then got up and forced out Josh Gardiner (Radford) at second. John Sansone (Florida State) was able to push across a second run for the Mohawks in the seventh though Mohawk Valley broke open a 3-2 game with a five-run outburst after the seventh-inning stretch. Herrington capped off the five-run rally with a three-run home run to left field.
Mohawk Valley’s offense accounted for nine runs on nine hits. Former JUCO teammates Dalton Herrington and Landon Thibodeaux paced the Dawgs’ offense with three hits apiece; Herrington and Jordan Friend (Alabama A&M) scored twice. MV lead-off batter Jordan Serena (Columbia) drove in two runs and finished 1-for-5 with one run scored.
Keegan Long (Saint Joseph’s, Ind.), Mohawk Valley’s starter, earned his third win of the summer. Long conceded just two Amsterdam runs on eight hits over 6.2 innings. He walked one and struck out six. For the summer, Long has 31 strikeouts in 25.2 innings pitched. Zach Williams (UC Davis) and Taylor Wright (Brown) combined to throw 2.1 frames of relief from the Mohawk Valley bullpen.
Amsterdam’s Dylan Dwyer (Kentucky) was charged with just one earned run over five innings. He allowed three runs overall on four hits, walked one and struck out four. Kyle Barrett (Kentucky) paced Amsterdam’s offensive efforts with a 3-for-5 performance. John Sansone (Florida State) cracked two hits, Ed Charlton drove in two Mohawk runs and Shane Zimmer (Canisius) scored twice.
The DiamondDawgs are back at Veterans Memorial Park Tuesday, July 9, 2013 for a 7:05pm contest against the Glens Falls Golden Eagles.