June 21st – Dawgs late inning magic enough to beat Wizards at Vets Park

Cullen Wacker

The Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs took the field against Watertown on Tuesday looking to bounce back from their loss to Amsterdam on Sunday, and did so in dramatic fashion, coming out on top by a score of 4-3. Dawgs starter Chas Griffiths (Albany) threw 5 2/3 innings and surrendered one earned run on two Wizard hits. Watertown starter Scott Whitehead lasted 6 innings while also only allowing one earned run. Wizards Left Fielder Brandon Cipolla (Holy Cross) contributed two hits and scored a run for the visiting club, along with his teammate at Holy Cross Alex Maldonado who contributed a triple to lead off the game.

A two out triple in the bottom of the 9th later plated a runner on a bloop single by Maldonado, as the Wizards took a one run lead into the bottom half of the inning. After Dawgs Rightfielder DJ Hoagboon (Albany) walked to lead off the inning, a failed bunt attempt to move him to second brought Dawgs Second Baseman Mike Fasolo to the plate with one out. Fasolo, who had gotten off to a slow start on the night courtesy of some timely pitching by the Wizards staff, contributed his only hit of the game, a triple down the right field line to score Hoagboon from first, tying the game at three. An intentional walk by Watertown’s Tim Sylvester (St. John Fisher) brought Dawgs Left Fielder Cullen Wacker (Auburn) to the plate. Wacker hit a ball between first and second that found its way past the Wizard’s infielders to score Fasolo from third. The crowd of nearly 600 fans were treated to a very exciting matchup against the two teams out of the PGCBL.