By Josh McMullen – Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs
LITTLE FALLS, NY – The Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs got revenge for a rained-out doubleheader on Thursday by scoring 18 runs over two games on Saturday. The Diamond Dawgs also snapped a three-game losing streak by sweeping the Albany Baseball Club, 6-1 and 12-2.
Game One was scoreless until the third when Justin Hurd (Warwick, NY/SUNY Albany) smashed his fourth home run of the season over the left-field fence. His monster blast also scored Ryan Frontera (Red Bank, NJ/Seton Hall) and Brody Rasmussen (Meridian, ID/Maine). The home run also ties Hurd for the team home run lead with Rasmussen.
Cam McCugan (Mystic, CT/New Haven) walked with the bases loaded to claw back a run in the fifth, scoring Jan Avila (Bayamon, PR/Rutgers).
The Diamond Dawgs got the run back – plus one more – on an RBI double by Rasmussen. That hit, which rolled all the way to the left field wall, scored Diego Tavarez (Spotswood, NJ/Wagner) and Ethan Pues (Plant City, FL/Hudson Valley CC). Rasmussen would score another on a wild pitch to extend the lead to five.
Closer Matt Bruno (Rumson, NJ/George Washington) came in in the fifth and pitched two innings of one-hit ball to pick up the Game One win for Mohawk Valley. The win stopped a three-game losing streak for the Diamond Dawgs.
Jake O’Connor (Latham, NY/Herkimer) was credited with the loss for Albany.
In Game Two, the Diamond Dawgs picked up right where they left off in the second when Tavarez rocketed a ball to the right field wall. Not to be outdone, Rasmussen blasted a grand slam to left field. His fifth home run scored Tavarez, Pues and TJ Schmalzle (Hawley, PA/Fairfield).
Jason Campo (North Babylon, NY/Stony Brook) and Schmalzle helped rack up another five runs in the fourth with RBI singles. Schmalzle’s single scored two of the five runs.
Albany clawed one back on an RBI single by Avila, scoring Matt Thorsen (Ghent, NY/Northeastern). They would get another one back in the fifth on an RBI double by Aidan Zakarewicz (Chalfont, PA/Xavier).
That was as close as they would get, however, as Mohawk Valley put up another two runs in the seventh, helped along by an RBI triple by Rasmussen. Gavin Miller would set Albany down in order to secure the sweep.
Bo Buckley (Petrolia, Ontario, Canada/Fairfield) got the Game Two win for Mohawk Valley (17-13). Bryce Collis (Whitesboro, NY/St. John Fisher) took the loss for Albany (8-21).
The Diamond Dawgs have an off day on Sunday before a three-game road trip beginning on Monday at Damaschke Field to take on the Oneonta Outlaws. Albany has three days off before a doubleheader on Tuesday against the Saugerties Stallions.
