By Josh McMullen – Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs

LITTLE FALLS, NY – The bags were packed for the Oneonta Outlaws in the third inning of their first-round matchup with the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs. It was just a matter of how long they could hold out before the runs became too much.

Brody Rasmussen and Ryan Frontera both drove in three runs, and Rasmussen punctuated his with a home run as the Diamond Dawgs eliminated the Outlaws in eight innings, 12-2.

Mohawk Valley got on the board first, as Frontera (Red Bank, NJ/Seton Hall) continued his run from Saturday night, in which he drove in six runs. This time, though, he only drove in a run, bringing in Cristino Tufano (Babylon, NY/George Washington) in from second on a bouncing ball into left field.

Frontera – who picked up two in the inning – Brody Rasmussen (Meridian, ID/Maine), Bryce Phelps (Denver, IA/Wagner), and Justin Hurd (Warwick, NY/SUNY Albany) got RBIs in the third to sextuple the Mohawk Valley lead. That 10-batter third knocked out Oneonta starter Daniel Mateffy (Philadelphia, PA/Marist) after just 2 2/3 innings.

The Outlaws got one back in the fourth on a fielder’s choice by Connor Waiting (Seaford, NY/Hudson Valley CC). That slow bouncer to the shortstop allowed Colton Harrison (Lafayette, LA/New Orleans) to jog in from third base.

Three straight singles started the Diamond Dawgs’ half of the fourth off with a bang, and Rasmussen made the Outlaws pay, looping a ball into left field to score Diego Tavarez (Spotswood, NJ/Wagner). Tufano would come home soon after on a pickoff play that went wrong for Oneonta.

Oneonta tacked on another run in the fifth on a double steal that turned into a throwing error. That error allowed Jack Bateman (Media, PA/Holy Cross) to come home and cut the lead to six.

A double by Ethan Pues (Plant City, FL/Hudson Valley CC) and two singles by Tufano and Tavarez allowed Mohawk Valley to grab a pair of runs in the fifth. The score would remain the same until the eighth when a home run by Rasmussen and an RBI single by Phelps ended the game early.

Bryan Rios (Newark, NJ/Felician) got the win for Mohawk Valley. Mateffy was saddled with the loss for Oneonta, who finish their season with six straight losses.

Mohawk Valley will move on to face the second-seed Saugerties Stallions at Cantine Field on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05.