Diamond Dawgs Celebrating Victory. Timothy Charvat, 2024
Times have gotten hard for the Utica Blue Sox. After losing on the road to long time rivals Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs 9-3, they returned to the confines of home, looking to get retribution.
Instead, the Diamond Dawgs would edge out a 9-7 victory over the Sox.
Early Pitching Duels
Throughout the first three innings, both teams were locked in a tense pitcher’s duel. Riane Ritter would be making his Blue Sox debut and would hold off two Diamond Dawgs threats in the second and third innings, relying on a steady stream of groundball outs.
Not to be outdone, Dawgs starter Brandon Buckley would keep up with Ritter pitch-for-pitch. The only trouble that he got in was a leadoff double by center fielder Damien Witty in the bottom of the second.
The First Strikes
The Dawgs would be the ones to strike first in the top of the fourth. With a runner on third and one man out, first baseman Diego Tavarez would connect for a sacrifice fly allowing Mohawk Valley to take an early lead.
After hitting designated hitter Jason Campo, Ritter would strikeout catcher Levi McAllister swinging to end his night with four innings of work, one run allowed three hits and two strikeouts. An outing that impressed Sox manager Doug Delett.
“He labored a little bit, but he’s a high school kit pitching for the first time against college hitters. He did a good job.” Delett would say after the game.
The Blue Sox would respond in their half of the frame. With the bases loaded and two men out, third baseman Omar Carreras would connect for a two-run single to center field, putting the Sox in the lead 2-0.
Carreras Connecting For a Two-Run Single. Timothy Charvat, 2024
Buckley would then get catcher Luke Shahin to flyout to end his night on an equally impressive four innings of work while allowing two runs, six hits and three strikeouts.
The Dawgs Break Loose
The Dawgs would take control of the game in the top of fifth. Nick Hios would replace Ritter and would allow the first two batters to reach. This would set up center fielder Brody Rasmussen, who would attempt a sacrifice bunt, but Hios would throw the ball above first baseman Matthew Williams allowing both runs to score and Rasmussen to reach third.
On the very next pitch, second baseman Luke Nomura would connect for an RBI single to put the Diamond Dawgs up 4-2.
Things wouldn’t improve for the Sox in the next inning, as after loading the bases with nobody out, Delett removed Hios from the game for Andre George. He would make an immediate impact by striking out the first two batters he faced but would throw a wild pitch to third baseman Justin Hurd allowing a run to score, putting the Dawgs up 5-2.
The Dawgs would continue to pounce in the top of the seventh. With runners on second and third and one man out, George would walk left fielder TJ Schmalzle on a wild pitch, allowing a run to score to increase the lead for Mohawk Valley.
This forced Delett to remove George for Charlie Collins. He would allow a sacrifice fly to shortstop Christino Tufano to put the Diamond Dawgs up 7-2.
Blue Sox Respond
It would not be until the bottom of the seventh where the Blue Sox would strike back. Jacob Lapham would take over for Buckley two innings prior and would only allow a walk and a hit by pitch in the stretch.
But after getting the first two outs of the inning, he would hit left fielder Todd Abraham, and allow a walk to right fielder Jayden Ohmer. This would set up second baseman Benny
Partridge to connect for RBI single to cut the deficit down 7-3.
Mohawk Valley would get that run back in the next frame. With a runner on second and two men out, Taverez would connect for an RBI single off Collins to put the Dawgs up 8-3.
The Blue Sox would not go down so easily, however. Dylan Bedder would replace Lapham in the bottom of the eighth inning and would immediately run into trouble. With runners on the corners and nobody out, he would throw a wild pitch to Witty, allowing the run to score to bring the Sox closer.
After getting Witty to flyout, Williams would work a walk to set up Carreras. He would connect for a two run double, bringing the Sox down 8-6. This would force Diamond Dawgs manager Steve Luby to remove Bedder from the game for Carson Black. After getting pinch hitter Brendan Buecker to strike out, he would hit Abraham to put the tying run on base.
Black would recover, however, striking out Ohmer to end the inning, and getting a huge reaction from the Dawgs dugout.
Black After Striking Out Ohmer. Timothy Charvat, 2024
Drama Filled Ninth
Mohawk Valley would strike one more time in the top of the ninth. After getting the first two outs, Collins would allow a walk to Tufano. Six pitches and a stolen base later, Rasmussen would connect for an RBI single to put the Dawgs ahead 9-6.
The Sox would go down without a fight in their half of the frame. With a runner on first and two men out, designated hitter Max French would hit a groundball that Hurd would fumble, allowing the tying run to come to the plate.
After Black hit Witty to load the bases, Williams would work a walk to cut the Dawgs lead to 9-7, and with the tying run in scoring position, the Sox big chance lay in the hand of Carreras, who had driven in a season high four runs in the game.
Black would recover and induce a groundball to Hurd who would get the force out at third to end the game.
What’s Next
The Blue Sox are on the road on Saturday June 22, as they take on the division leader Amsterdam Mohawks. The first pitch is at 6:35 p.m.
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