Dawgs Run Win Streak to Seven in Razor-thin Victory Over Outlaws

By JOSH McMULLEN
LITTLE FALLS

It’s a rare thing in baseball to win with significantly more runs than you do hits, but that’s what the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs did on Friday night, June 16.

The Diamond Dawgs doubled up their hit total in runs (14-7), as they and the Oneonta Outlaws combined for 27 runs and just 18 hits. In the end, though, it would be the Diamond Dawgs who would get the 27th run in a 14-13 victory.

Oneonta got on the board first, thanks to an RBI single to center field three batters in by Dakota Britt (Rockwall, TX/Herkimer). That would bring home Gavin McAlonie (Miller Place, NY/Molloy) as the third of three straight Outlaws reached base to start the game. A passed ball also brought home Logan Haskell (Kirkwood, NY/Binghamton) to extend the lead to two. Jarod Wade (West Chester, PA/Long Island) brought a third run home on a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Britt.

One error by the Outlaws would tie up the score in the fourth, as a triple by Brady Shannon (Youngstown, OH/Central Florida) would roll all the way to the wall and score Mitchell Balint (Avondale, PA/Carson-Newman), Sebastian Mueller (Pottersville, NJ/Quinnipiac) and Brian Heckelman (Mineola, NY/Towson). Nick Sturino (New Milford, CT/Fairfield) gave the Diamond Dawgs the lead just a couple of batters later, on a sacrifice fly to right field that scored Shannon. Justin Hackett (Wallingford, CT/Bryant) extended the lead to two on a hard-hit double to left field that would score Jaden Ross (Tampa, FL/Hudson Valley CC). Balint would then break the game wide open on a three-run home run to left field to extend the lead to five.

Another two-RBI single by Balint scored Ross and Ethan Valdez (Tampa, FL/Spring Hill), then a walk with the bases loaded brought the Dawgs’ lead to eight and a Chance Checca (Ballston Spa, NY/Herkimer) sacrifice fly put the lead into double digits.

An RBI single to right field by Christopher Baillargeon (Staten Island, NY/Holy Cross) got another run across for Oneonta in the seventh. A two-RBI single by Anthony Barone (New York City, NY/SUNY Oswego) would finish off the inning, thanks to a tight relay throw by Valdez to get the runner at third.

Mohawk Valley would start quickly to regain their large lead, thanks to an RBI single by Hackett and an RBI ground out by Balint.

An Oneonta walk with the bases loaded in the eighth cut the Mohawk Valley lead to nine. Another two runs would score for Oneonta, thanks to a throwing error, to cut the lead to just five. Yet another error by the Diamond Dawgs, this time on a pop fly, cut the lead to just three. The lead would drop to two on an RBI single by Barone to left field.

Oneonta would add one more on a fielder’s choice, but that was all closer Sam Miller (McMurray, PA/Columbia) would allow, forcing the last Outlaw hitter into another fielder’s choice to end the game. Miller would pick up his first save of the season.

Hayden Duke (Matta-poisett, MA/Salve Regina) picked up the win for Mohawk Valley (8-2). Logan Jamrosz (Watervliet, NY/Herkimer) was saddled with the loss for Oneonta (4-6).

Josh McMullen is the official scorer/media representative for the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs.