BATAVIA — Someone forgot to tell Skip Martinez and the Batavia Muckdogs that they didn’t stand much of a chance when they took on an Amsterdam squad that entered Wednesday’s game with the best record in all of the PGCBL at 36-9-1 and fresh off their 9-5 victory over Batavia the day before.
Martinez’s young men didn’t flinch.
Batavia went on about their business as they forced a third and final game following their convincing 8-1 victory over the Mohawks at Dwyer Stadium.
This first game belonged solely to Batavia as they racked up 10 hits including two apiece from Daniel Burroway and Kyle Corso and another two-run bomb that left the yard by Mitch Fleming as the Muckdogs took the lead and never looked back to force a third and final game later Wednesday night.
The Muckdogs received some clutch, two-out hitting to break the ice in the bottom of the third inning as Tyler Cannoe and Burroway did the damage.
Cannoe fouled off several tough pitches with two strikes and two outs as he delivered a two-run double in the bottom of the third to push the Muckdogs out to a 2-0 lead.
Burroway also delivered a clutch hit when his two-strike, two-out double plated Cannoe making it a 3-0 game.
Zach Gardiner belted Amsterdam’s fifth home run of the series as his solo shot in the top of the fourth inning cut the deficit to 3-1.
But Amsterdam would get no closer.
Batavia busted the first game wide open in the bottom of the sixth inning after Fleming blasted a two-run home run over the right field wall, his second straight over-the-fence dinger at Dwyer Stadium, which put the Muckdogs up 7-1 after six innings.
Batavia tacked on another insurance run in the eighth inning as Burroway and Levis Aguila Jr. ripped back-to-back doubles to increase their lead to 8-1.
Starting pitcher Julian Pichardo, a Tampa, Fla. native, got through some tough times during his six innings of work, allowing nine hits and only one run with one K. Pichardo got some great defensive help in the third inning when Daniel Burroway made a highlight diving catch that saved a couple of runs.
Joe Tobia tossed one inning of clean relief while Trey Bacon tossed the final two innings allowing one hit and two K’s.
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