June 6 – DiamondDawgs take two in Boonville

DiamondDawgs take two in Boonville

By Jon Rathbun – TimesTelegram – June 5, 2018

BOONVILLE, N.Y. – A slugfest in the first game and overpowering pitching in the second produced two wins for the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs on their second visit to Adirondack and the Robert Smith Athletic Complex in three days.

Ryan Hernandez homered in the eighth inning and again in the ninth Tuesday, and the DiamondDawgs defeated the Adirondack Trail Blazers 13-10 in a Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League game that had been suspended Sunday.

The DiamondDawgs (3-1) completed the sweep with a 7-2 win in the regularly-scheduled seven-inning nightcap.

The first game was suspended with two outs and a runner at second base in the top of the second inning, and that runner, DiamondDawg Joseph Castellanos from the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, came around to score the first of 23 runs when play resumed Tuesday afternoon.

Mohawk Valley held a lead for most of the game, but the Trail Blazers tied the score at 8 on Sacred Heart University’s Isiah Daubon’s three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning.

The game would not remain tied for long. Brandon Harris from the University of North Carolina-Asheville walked Villanova University’s Tyler Bruno to start the top of the eighth, and SUNY-Albany’s Hernandez followed with the go-ahead home run, the seventh of eight combined round trippers hit in the game. The DiamondDawgs added one run in the eighth before Hernandez homered for the third time in three games with Castellanos on base in the ninth.

Marc Bisogno from Fordham University pitched the ninth inning for the Diamond Dawgs and closed out the win despite allowing two runs.

Villanova’s Ryan Toohers and UMass-Lowell’s Mike Young both hit home runs for Mohawk Valley. Toohers went 3-for-4, doubled twice, reached base six times, scored three runs and drove in four; his three-run home run had given the DiamondDawgs an 8-3 lead in the sixth inning. Young homered, doubled and drove in three runs. Castellanos scored three runs.

Sam Beck, the Mohawk Valley starter from Skidmore, struck out six batters in four innings while allowing two runs on five hits. Barry University’s Erislandey Rives and The Citadel’s Zach Taglieri each followed with two innings of relief, and Taglieri claimed the victory.

Siena College catcher Josh DelSignore had two home runs for the Trail Blazers and drove in three runs. Fairfield University’s Anthony Boselli, who played three games for the DiamondDawgs last summer before transferring from Mercer County Community College, also homered, Daubin was 3-for-5 with three RBI, and Julio Mercano added three hits and scored two runs.

The second game was a showcase for Bryant University Bulldog Tyler Schoff pitching close to his hometown, Lee Center. The former Rome Free Academy Black Knight pitched 5 2/3 scoreless innings for the DiamondDawgs while allowing two hits with four strikeouts and five walks. Jon Hardy, who pitched for the Trail Blazers last summer before finishing his two years at Mohawk Valley Community College got the final four outs and allowed two runs in the seventh.

The DiamondDawgs supported Schoff with one run in the first inning, two in the second and four in the fourth. The fourth inning rally included only two hits with three bases loaded walks and a fourth batter hit to force home a run. Toohers drove in the first runs of the game with a single. Castellanos and Young each drove in a run with a double in the second inning.

Hernandez and Manhattanville College’s Austin Pollack each had two hits, and Young scored twice.
Bradley Roberto from Franklin Pierce College had two of the three hits for Adirondack (0-4) and scored a run.

Mohawk Valley plays on the road again Wednesday at Utica and returns home Thursday to take on the Trail Blazers at Veterans Memorial Park in Little Falls.