Mohawk Valley Cruises to 16-3 Victory vs. Glens Falls

07/16/2017 11:03 PM –LITTLE FALLS, N.Y. – There was supposed to be a fireworks display after the game at Veteran’s Memorial Park on Sunday. Who would have thought the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs would treat the 1,472 fans in attendance to two displays?

The DiamondDawgs rocked the Glens Falls pitching staff for nine runs in the fourth inning and were on cruise control the rest of the way, winning 16-3 in a romp over the Dragons.

Russ Olive (Chelmsford, MA/UMass Lowell) proved why he is heading to the Prospect Game in Amsterdam on Tuesday just two pitches into his first at-bat in the first inning, as he smacked a long fly ball that bounced off the wall. His 2-RBI double scored Tim Zeng (Lumberton, NJ/Fairfield) and Dan Deely (Sonoma, CA/Sacramento State).

Johnny Mayer (Suffolk, VA/Norfolk State) extended the lead in the bottom of the second. His RBI double scored Bronson Grubbs (Elk Grove, CA/Sacramento State).

In the top of the third, the double steal between Brian Uliana (Bethlehem, PA/Rider) and Matt Hamel (Gansevoort, NY/Siena) completely bamboozled Mohawk Valley starter Tyler Ksiazek (/Monmouth) and catcher Clay Koniencki (Schwenksville, PA/Monmouth). Uliana would score on the stolen base attempt.

Grubbs started off the scoring in the bottom of the third on a sacrifice fly to center field. That ball would allow Koniencki to score. Alexis Monge-Rodriguez (Pembroke Pines, FL/Barry) would get into the scoring column as well. His two-RBI double would score

The Dragons got two back in the top of the fourth. Three straight hits: a triple by Ryan Beamish (Brentwood, TN/Lee) and singles by Dan Lowndes (Poughkeepsie, NY/Siena) and Phoenix Hernandez (Brooklyn, NY/Southern New Hampshire) would score Beamish and Lowndes.

Unfortunately for the Dragons, the fourth inning came around and Mohawk Valley broke the game wide open. Two pitchers (one of which was thrown out for arguing a fly ball), 14 batters and nine runs later, the DiamondDawgs had a 15-3 lead heading into the fifth.

Another Mohawk Valley (23-8) run would come in the bottom of the fifth, when Koniencki knocked an RBI single to score Russ Olive.

From there, that would be all relievers Jonathan Sell (Charlton, NY/Herkimer) , Josh Arnold (Petersburg, NJ/Fairfield), Douglas Molnar (Toms River, NJ/Wagner) and Quenten Thomas (Chesterfield, VA/Norfolk State) would need. They baffled the Glens Falls (12-24) bats the rest of the way to put the game away for the DiamondDawgs.

Sell picked up the win for the DiamondDawgs, while Will Van Beusekom (Albany, NY/Marist) was saddled with the loss for Glens Falls, who have yet to win a game away from East Field.

After the All-Star break on Monday and Tuesday, the DiamondDawgs head up to the Robert Smith Sports Complex in Boonville to face the Adirondack Trail Blazers for the fourth time in two weeks on Wednesday. The Dragons will head back to the friendly confines of East Field that same day, where they will face the Oneonta Outlaws.