by Josh McMullen – Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs
LITTLE FALLS, NY – The first-day jitters for the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs got bad on Friday night.
Really bad.
The Oneonta Outlaws took advantage of a seven-run fourth inning and led the rest of the way to take down Mohawk Valley, 13-3 in six innings, enacting the mercy rule.
Back-to-back hits by Noah Lucier (Sandown, NH/Fairfield) and Zach Brush (New York Mills, NY/LeMoyne), plus a walk by Garrett Musey (Millville, NJ/Goldey Beacom) started the Diamond Dawgs in a bases-loaded situation just four batters into the game. That would allow Marshall Awtry (Hockessin, DE/Goldey Beacom) to bring in the first run of the game on a sacrifice fly to center field. Pete Durocher (Emerson, NJ/Manhattan) brought home Brush on a bouncing ball to right field for an RBI single.
Back-to-back balks by Mohawk Valley starter Troy Butler (Fort Plain, NY/Binghamton) brought home the first two Oneonta runs, Dylan Perry (Sykesville, MD/Potomac State) and Evan Keegan (Malone, NY/Castleton) in the second.
Three straight free bases (two walks and a hit batsman) put Mohawk Valley reliever Vinny McDermott (Malverne, NY/St. Thomas Aquinas) in a bases loaded jam with no one out in the fourth. A passed ball would bring home Keegan, while an RBI single by Connor Cooney (Niwot, CO/Holy Cross) brought home Carter Dorighi (Cherry Hills Village, CO/LaFayette) and yet another free pass (another hit batsman) brought home Logan Hutter (Smithtown, NY/SUNY Cobleskill). A fielder’s choice, in which third baseman Ernesto Polanco (West New York, NJ/Coastal Carolina) had to moonwalk to get the batter out, scored Henry Pelinski (Winnetka, IL/Emory). Devin Boone (Warwick, NY/Marist) also got on the board with a 2-RBI single to center field, bringing home Mario Disso (Claridge, PA/Pittsburgh) and Dylan Broderick (Beelefone, PA/Pittsburgh-Johnstown). In all, ten Outlaws came to the plate, scoring seven runs to pull away.
The errors plagued the Outlaws as well, as a dropped third out managed to score Durocher, one of two Oneonta would make in the fourth.
Oneonta extended the lead to seven in the sixth on a long RBI double by Hamer, which brought home Cooney. Just one batter later, Broderick would place a ball into the center-field bleachers, scoring another three runs.
That would be all Outlaw reliever Tyler Sausville (Colonie, NY/New Haven)would need, setting Mohawk Valley down in order in the sixth to shut the book on the game
Ethan Thompson (Highland, NY/Marist) got the win for Oneonta (1-0). McDermott was saddled with the loss for Mohawk Valley (0-1).
The Diamond Dawgs hit the road for the first time in 2022 on Saturday when they head to the Robert Smith Sports Complex to take on the newly-branded Boonville Baseball Club. Oneonta will head back to Damaschke Field for their home opener on Saturday when they host the Watertown Rapids.
Reprints available at https://photos.mylittlefalls.com/p461926060