Posted by Joshua McMullen | Jun 30, 2019
LITTLE FALLS, NY –
The Pilots bounced back from a 2-0 deficit in the first inning and a home run by Nick Cimillo to end the Diamond Dawgs’ five-game winning streak, 4-3 in extra innings.
Nick Cimillo (Airmont, NY/Manhattan) wasted no time in getting the Diamond Dawgs on the board in the first, lofting a ball to deep left-center field. The home run, Cimillo’s eighth, also scored Dylan Klock (St. Johnsville, NY/St. Thomas Aquinas) and was the second of three straight extra-base hits in the first for Mohawk Valley.
Ty Syta (Hamburg, NY/LeMoyne) cut the lead in half for the Pilots in the fourth. With runners on first and second, Syta hit a bouncer off of the pitcher’s mound and into center field to score Logan Stirr (Canadensis, PA/East Stroudsburg). The Diamond Dawgs would get the lead right back to two in the bottom of the inning, off a comebacker by Jacob Josey (/Florida Atlantic) that scored Drew Fureno (Canajoharie, NY/LeMoyne).
Over Torres (North Haven, CT/Bethune Cookman) brought the lead back to one in the fifth. His bloop single over the head of the Mohawk Valley third baseman scored Allen Murphy (Richburg, NY/St. John Fisher). It would take until the eighth, but the Pilots would finally tie it up, thanks to pinch hitter Bayley Jamanis (Lancaster, PA/Seton Hill). His RBI groundout brought home Parker Denny (/).
Syta brought home the go-ahead run, on a hot fly ball down the first base that scored Adam Zebrowski (Arlington, VA/Seton Hill). That would be all reliever Chris LeVere would need, only allowing two baserunners in the bottom of the tenth to end the Diamond Dawgs’ five-game win streak. Levere would pick up the win, while Connor Stapleton (Staten Island, NY/Concordia) got the loss.
The Diamond Dawgs (14-10) will enjoy a day off on Monday before hosting Saugerties on Tuesday, looking to put some distance between themselves and the third-place Stallions in a game between two of the leagues’ ho. The Pilots (7-13) will also enjoy a day off on Monday begin a three-game homestand at Colburn Park, starting on Tuesday with a game against the Watertown Rapids.
Photos by Dave Warner