by Joshua McMullen | Jun 23, 2019 |
LITTLE FALLS, NY – In Spanish, the word “Guerrero” means “warrior.”
There’s no doubt who the “guerrero” was at Veteran’s Memorial Park on Sunday, and it was the player that carries it as his last name.
Justin Guerrera was responsible for half of Mohawk Valley’s runs, while the pitching tandem of Vincent Vitacco (Staten Island, NY/Rider) and Carson Coon (Meriden, CT/Manhattan) combined for a four-hitter in the Diamond Dawgs’ 14-0 shutout of the Glens Falls Dragons.
Nick Cimillo (Airmont, NY/Manhattan) got the Diamond Dawgs on the board just three batters in with a hard-hit single that brought in Justin Guerrera (Watertown, CT/Fairfield). Cimillo would end up on third due to an error by Glens Falls center fielder Brandon Kruzinski (Schenectady, NY/Lynn), but would get no further as Glens Falls starter Christopher DiFiore (Mount Kisco, NY/Bucknell) struck out Dylan Klock (St. Johnsville, NY/St. Thomas Aquinas) to end the first inning.
Guerrera extended the lead in the third on a fielder’s choice that would score Ryan Keenan (Lighthousen Point, FL/Vanderbilt). Not to be outdone, Cimillo brought another two home on a single and an error by Glens Falls left fielder Evan St. Claire (Whitehall, NY/Siena). That would score Joseph Carpenter (Cornwall, PA/Delaware) and Guerrera and give the Diamond Dawgs a 4-0 lead.
That lead grew to five in the fifth off a hot ground ball by Keenan that would score Jimmy Joyce (Wantagh, NY/Hofstra).
Two hit batsmen left Glens Falls in a bases-loaded jam in the seventh. That was when Guerrera would make the Dragons pay once again, cracking a 2-RBI single that scored Drew Fureno and pinch runner Owen Wosleger (East Hampton, CT/Mount St. Marys). Carpenter would follow with a two-RBI single of his own, scoring Guerrera and Jake Barbiere (Randolph, NJ/Rider).
The situation got even worse in the eighth, as Wosleger would walk with the bases loaded to score Joyce, while Barbiere brought home Jacob Josey (Ellenton, FL/Florida Atlantic) with a fielder’s choice. Not to be outdone, Guerrera would get another RBI, this time bringing home Drew Fureno (Canajoharie, NY/LeMoyne) on an RBI single, as would Cimillo, bringing in Barbiere. Klock would get in on the scoring party as well, hitting a ball that hit Cimillo to score Guerrera.
That was all Coon would need, as he and Vitacco would only give up four hits in a combined shutout to pick up the win. Vitacco would pick up the win for Mohawk Valley (9-8), while DiFiore was saddled with the loss for Glens Falls (6-10).
The Dragons will finish up their short road trip on Monday with a game at Damaschke Field and a date with the Oneonta Outlaws. After that, the Dragons will enjoy an off day before three straight days of home cooking at East Field starting on Wednesday. The Diamond Dawgs will have a doubleheader, their second in three days, on Monday against the Adirondack Trail Blazers.
Photos by Dave Warner