Geneva Red Wings News & Notes

The Red Wings played three games yesterday against the two teams they are battling with for the last playoff spot, and after the nights results, the squad still has a fighting chance.
The day started with a double header against Alfred. The first game was a continuation of a game that was suspended due to thunder back in June. The game resumed in the bottom of the 7th inning with Alfred ahead 8-4 and the bags packed with no one out. The Thunder quickly stretched their lead on a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Jurinko and a two run double by Taylor Kaprieve to make the score 11-4.
Geneva got three back in the 8th when Brantley Miller and Dan Gliot were hit by pitches with the bases loaded. Marcus Way chipped in with a sac fly to the left field warning track that cut the Alfred lead to 11-7.
But that’s as close as the Red Wings would get. Andrew Crisman slammed the door with a three up three down ninth and the Thunder won 11-7.
Sole possession of fifth place in the West Division was on the line in game two, and Alfred kept its momentum from game 1, seizing an early lead.
Jay Olson and Yogi Vannaman led off the bottom of the second inning with back to back singles and Zach Buckler walked to load the bases for Matthew O’Neil. O’Neil scored Olson and Vannaman with a single to center to break a scoreless tie. The Thunder tacked on one more in the second on Justin Fahy’s RBI single.
Alfred added to its lead in the fourth when O’Neil scored on a suicide squeeze by Fahy.
Geneva finally got on the board in the top of the 7th. Skylar Barnett’s sacrifice fly scored Marcus Way and Matt Ray came home on a passed ball making the score 4-2 Alfred.
As quickly as the Red Wings got back into the game, Alfred answered with three of their own in the bottom of the frame. The big hits in the inning were RBI singles from Jurinko and Bryan Lucas.
The teams traded runs in the 8th, but it was not enough for Geneva as they fell 9-4.
That set up a pivotal night cap for the Wings against the Hornell Dodgers. Geneva entered a game behind Hornell and a loss would have all but eliminated the squad from playoff contention.
It looked bad early for Geneva. Hornell took a 1-0 lead on Tony Micklon’s first inning RBI single and led 3-1 heading to the ninth. With their backs against the wall, the Red Wings came to life. Skylar Barnett walked and Max Casper singled. With runners on first and second, Kevin Stephen’s ripped a two out pinch hit double of the wall in right center that brought home both Barnett and Casper to knot things up at 3.
The game was still tied in the bottom of the tenth when Red Wings left fielder Cory Betterson saved the game for the Wings with a diving grab that robbed Adam McFarland of a game winning single.
Geneva capitalized on that momentum in the 11th. Matt Ray led off with a walk and moved to second on a bunt by Barnett. Casper followed with a walk and then Paul Bello drove in Ray with a single to give the Red Wings their first lead of the ball game. Dan Gliot added to the lead with a double to left that scored Casper and Bello. Gliot made the score 7-3 when he scored on a passed ball.
Marcus Way pitched a perfect bottom of the 11th for the Wings as they picked up a huge win. Geneva currently sits a half game behind Alfred for the fourth and final playoff spot with three games remaining.

Dan Gliot’s 7th inning single broke a 2-2 tie as the Red Wings went on to beat first place Elmira 4-2 at McDonough Park on the eve of tomorrow’s season defining triple header.
Elmira, which had clinched a playoff spot on Saturday, entered the game on fire. The Pioneers had won ten out of their last twelve games. But it was Geneva who got on the board first. Kyle Kalaka led off the second inning with a walk and then Max Casper collected his first extra base hit of the season with a double to right center putting runners on second and third. With one out, Paul Moreno brought them both home with a base hit up the middle to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead. “Paulie Moreno came up clutch for us,” said manager Dave Herbst.
Elmira tacked on a run in the second inning when Justin Lambourn capped off a stretch of three straight singles off Red Wings starter Casey Rana, bringing home Cory Keller with the Pioneers first run.
Elmira tacked on one more run in the 6th, but aside from that, Rana was brilliant. Facing the NYCBL West Division’s top offense, he scattered just five hits over six innings, while striking out five Pioneers. Rana credited his success to a good game plan, “I started off speed to get them fishing for things,” said Rana. “(catcher) Kyle Kalaka called a great game.”
After 6 innings the Red Wings turned the ball over to relievers James Heine and Ryan Kassab who combined to allow just two base runners in three scoreless frames.
Heine was credited with the win after the Red Wings took the lead for good in the 7th. Casper started the inning off with a single through the left side of the Pioneer’s infield and moved to second on a sac bunt by Paul Speicher. Paul Bello followed with his second hit of the game which put runners on the corner for Gliot. The reigning NYCBL West Division Offensive Player of the Week ripped a run scoring single up the middle scoring Casper to break the tie. The Wings scored one more when Bello’s hook slide allowed him to avoid catcher Ryan Ferguson’s tag on Marcus Way’s ground ball.
After that, Kassab shut the door on the Pioneers allowing just a one out walk in the 9th to pick up his sixth save of the season.
The 4-2 win was huge for the Red Wing’s as they entered the night just a half game behind Hornell for the 4th and final playoff spot, tied for 5th with Alfred. The Red Wings take on Alfred for two games tomorrow and a nightcap at Hornell completes the triple header. “It’s going to be a tough day for us,” said Herbst. “But we are really focused to get some big wins.”

In front of its largest home crowd this season, the Red Wings fell to the Webster Yankees 7-2 in 13 innings. The game was tied at 2 from the 7th inning untila 5 run 13th sparked the Yankees to the win. Webster scored its third run of the bal game on a wild pitch, and then tacked on some extra runs on two out hits by Monty Marracco and Matt Francis. Jeremy Miller doubled and scored for the Red Wings, while Eric Schweiger tossed 7 innings of 1 run ball.

Red Wings Fall to Power
One night after scoring 19 runs on 16 hits, The Red Wings bats were silenced by Power starter Sam Moore as Geneva fell to last place Niagara Falls 8-2.
Niagara got to Red Wings starter Boomer Hermes early, using a little two out Magic. After Hermes retired the first two batters of the ball game, Marshall McDonald singled and Jordan Vierra walked. Sam Ofield followed with a hard single to left that brought McDonald home for the first run of the ball game.
Then with two outs in the second, Michael Anthony came home on a wild pitch to make the score 2-0.
Hermes battled control problems throughout his start and wildness got the better of him in the 5th. Hermes walked four batters to lead off the 5th and was lifted for Greg Blanco. Alejandro Cristostomo walked with the bags backed to make the score 3-0 and then Kevin Liddle brought home a run with a sac fly. “There were just way too many walks and too many hitters counts,” said manager Dave Herbst.
Niagara kept tacking it on in the 6th inning. Derek Glenn and Daniel Hall each singled and then Marshall McDonald brought them both home with a single to make the score 6-0.
The Red Wings finally solved Sam Moore in the 6th inning. Cory Betterson led off with a double to left and Matt Ray followed with a walk. Kyle Kalaka brought home Betterson with a double down the left field line and Ray came home on a passed ball. But the Red Wings left two runner in scoring position that inning, bringing their total to 11 for the game. “Tonight we were making easy outs,” said Herbst. “Hitting pop flys with runners on base.”
Niagara tacked on a run in the 7th and 8th and Geneva failed to score again.
It was a tough loss for the Red Wings who entered the night a half game out of the playoffs. “We had been playing well,” said Herbst. “So it stings to come out and fall flat like this.”

Dan Gliot went 8 for 10 over the double header as the Red Wings split two games with the Niagara Power. Geneva won the first game 6-5 and lost the second 7-6.

Both games were scheduled for seven innings, but the teams needed to play nine to decide each contest.

In game number one, Geneva needed to come through with a late comeback. Niagara scored once in the fifth on a Daniel Hall sacrifice fly and twice in the 5th thanks in part to an untimely error by the Red Wings defense to build a 3-1 lead.

It was still 3-1 in the 7th, but with Geneva down to its last out, Gliot came up with a clutch single, his third hit of the game, scoring Paul Bello and Andy Mix to knot things up at 3.

“I was just looking for a good fastball to hit over the plate,” said Gliot. “I just wanted to get a good piece of the ball, and I barreled up on it.”

The teams went scoreless in the 8th, but the Wings grabbed the lead for good in the top of the ninth. After Max Casper led off with a single, moved to second on Matt Ray’s base knock and advanced to third on a single by Brantley Miller, Gliot scored him with a sacrifice fly to right. Kevin Stephens hit into a fielder’s choice with one out, but alert base running by Miller allowed both him and Ray to score, giving the Red Wings a 6-3 lead.

Julian Diaz allowed two unearned runs in the bottom of the ninth, but he struck out Jordan Vierra with two men on to end the ball game and give the Wings their third straight win.

In game two, Gliot led the offense as Geneva built an early lead. Gliot drove in a run and scored a run in the third as the Red Wings tallied four runs in the frame to take a 4-2 lead. Then he drove Miller home with a double in the 4th and the Red Wings lead 5-2.

Gliot was 5-5 in game two and over the double header he drove in six runs. “I was seeing the ball well and I had a really good approach,” said Gliot. “Approach really helped today and I just hit the ball on the barrel.”

With a three run lead through four innings, the Wings looked well on their way to their second consecutive double header sweep, but the Power answered in the 5th. Niagara pounded out four hits in the frame and walked twice scoring 4 runs and building a 6-5 lead.
Gliot brought the Wings back once more when he drove in Casper with an RBI single in the 6th.

The teams traded scoreless frames across the next couple innings, but this game, the Power controlled the ninth.

Kevin Liddle took a one out fastball from Red Wings reliever Nick Cappuccilli, who was in his third inning of work, and drove it down the left field line for a single bringing home Ware Hart to win the ball game 7-6.

With the split, Geneva improved to 12-15 on the season, but the nightcap loss left the Wings thinking about what could have been. “We’re a little disappointed after the second game,” said Gliot. “We battled the whole day and we’ll take it into tomorrow.”

Geneva snapped out of a five game losing streak in a big way- sweeping the double header against the Webster Yankees.
Brantley Miller’s walk off single gave the Red Wings a 4-3 win in game one and then Kevin Dooley’s complete game led Geneva to a 2-1 game two win.
Both games were scheduled for seven innings, but it would take the Red Wings nine to win game one.
Geneva starter Ryan Fennel struggled with command early in game one, but was able to battle through it to allow just one run on five hits over 5 innings. That run came home in the second inning when Fennel walked Wes Winkle with the bases loaded.
The score remained 1-0 until the bottom of the 5th, when the Red Wings finally solved Yankee starter GC Yerry. Cory Betterson walked for the second time in the ball game to lead things off. Kyle Kalaka singled with one out to put runners on the corners and then Adam Stacy was hit by a pitch to load the bases. With two outs and the bases loaded, Brantley Miller ripped a single to left driving in Betterson and Kalaka to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead.
Webster came right back in the top of the 6th. Matt Delewski led off with a single, Matt Francis reached on an error, and Matt Boulter singled in Delewski to knot things up at 2. With two outs, and Boulter standing on third, catcher Ollie Bertrand ripped a single to left center field scoring Boulter and giving the Yankees a 3-2 lead.
It stayed that way until the seventh when Betterson walked for the third time against Yerry. He then tied up the game with his legs stealing second, advancing to third on an errant throw by Bertrand and scoring on an overthrow by center fielder Tyler Grogg. With the game knotted up the Wings were looking for the win. Geneva loaded the bases with nobody out, but Webster closer Tim Johnson got three straight outs to send the game to extra innings.
After the teams traded zero’s in the eighth, Max Casper got himself in scoring position with one out and Brantley Miller digging in. Miller drove a 1-0 fastball through the hole between short and third and Casper beat the throw home for the win.
“It felt good to finally help out our pitchers,” said Miller. “It’s a huge momentum swing for us to get out of the L column.”
So game one belonged to the Red Wings bats, but game two was all about Geneva starter Kevin Dooley. The lefty out of the University of Pittsburgh saw an opportunity to keep Webster down and came out throwing strikes. “We had a lot of momentum because of that game one win. I could see (Webster) was down from the start.”
Throughout the game Dooley worked quickly mixing his fastball and cutter and inducing 14 ground ball outs. Dooley said when he gets ground balls it’s always a good sign. “It means I’m working down. I always try and get my defense the ball. That means they’ll work with me.”
Dooley allowed just one run, when Delewski scored on a Wexler groundball in the 6th.
While Dooley was cruising, the Red Wings offense picked up just enough runs. Matt Ray drove in Dan Gliot with a single to right in the first and Paul Moreno brought Gliot home again in the third when he was plunked with the bases loaded.
The rest was up to Dooley who took the mound in the 7th and final inning and fittingly retired the side on three straight ground balls to give the Red Wings a 2-1 victory.
The two game sweep improves the Red Wings to 11-14 and Manager Dave Herbst said going into the all star break these wins were huge for team morale. “The guys are excited to get back Tuesday. It was an important series for us.”

The Red Wings pounded out nine hits, but struggled in clutch situations as they fell to the Nitros 4-3.
Allegany County scored early against Geneva starter Boomer Hermes. Nick Barbalato singled to lead things off in the bottom of the first. He advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Kowell and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tyler Fisher.
The Red Wings answered in the top of the second inning with a two out rally. Max Casper singled to right and moved to third on a single by Paul Speicher. Casper came into score on a single by Paul Moreno, but Speicher was thrown out at the plate to end the inning.
Allegany County came right back with a run of their own in the bottom of the second. Ryan Dimascio worked a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt. Barbalato brought him home with a single to left giving the Nitros a 2-1 lead.
Allegany County stretched its lead in the 3rd. Vinnie Malzahan and Anthony Genna got the offense in motion with walks. Alex Baldock followed with a single that drove in Malzahan. Genna would make the score 4-1 when he came home on a sacrifice fly by Marquardt.
The Red Wings got one back in the top of the 4th when Casper scored again. This time on a sacrifice bunt by Paul Moreno.
James Heine entered the game on the mound for Geneva in the 5th. Heine was effective throughout tossing four scoreless innings allowing only one hit. Coach Ross Trachtenberg said, “James did a great job keeping us in the game and giving us a chance to win in the end.”
With Heine holding the Nitro lead at 2, the Red Wings eked closer in the top of the 6th. Skylark Barnett led off with a ground rule double and moved to third on Casper’s third hit of the ball game. Paul Bello drove Barnett home when his hard hit ground ball ricocheted off of third baseman Jake Kowell.
From there the Red Wings would go scoreless. Richard Hester tossed one and a third scoreless innings to get the save. It looked like Geneva would knot things up in the ninth when Bello led off with a walk, but Hester induced a double play and picked up a strike out to end the ball game.
The loss was the third straight for the Red Wings, who fall to 9-12 on the season.

Geneva took advantage of the Alfred Thunder’s wild pitching and defensive lapse to build an early lead and then closed off the night with some extra base hits en route to a 9-2 win.
The scoring started early for the Red Wings. Matt Ray walked to lead off the third inning and then Max Casper and Brantley Miller reached on errors to load the bases with one out. After Thunder starter David Wynn struck out Dan Gliot, he lost control of his fastball. Wynn walked the next three batters, Jeremy Miller, Stephen Wadsworth, and Marcus Way, to force in 3 runs and give the Red Wings a 3-0 lead.
While one starter was struggling, Geneva pitcher Boomer Hermes was having so such problems on the hill. Hermes tossed six shutout innings allowing only two hits and striking out 8. Hermes showcased a great curveball keeping the Alfred hitters off balance all night. “I located my fastball; the main thing was getting my curveball over and getting a lot of swings and misses on it.”
Hermes got more run support in the 5th, thanks to more erratic pitching by the Thunder. After Dan Gliot led off the inning with a single, Andrew Crismon walked five more Red Wings hitters, forcing in three more runs making the score 6-0 Geneva.
Alfred would finally get on the board in the 7th. Zach Buckler and Kyle Davis walked and came around to score on a pinch hit single by Justin Fahy.
With their lead cut to four, the Red Wings broke out the lumber in the top of the 9th. Adam Stacy led up with a single and advanced to third on a double by Kevin Stephens. Matt Ray drove them both home with a screaming double down the third base line. Ray came home on an RBI groundout by Andy Mix.
Manager Dave Herbst was pleased to see the bats break out in the 9th. “It was nice to score early, but it was really nice to score late.”
The win improves the Red Wings to 8-9 on the year heading into a Friday night home game against Webster.

Red Wings Shut Out
For the second time in just 4 days, the Webster Yankees silenced the Red Wings bats.
Bryant Guilmette tossed a complete game shut out to lead Webster past Geneva 2-0.
Guilmette held the Red Wings to just 4 hits on the night and never allowed a runner past second base. Red Wings manager Dave Herbst thinks aggressiveness keyed Guilmette’s success. “He threw a lot of first pitch strikes. We were always behind in the count 0-1 or 1-2.”
Along with his aggressive approach, Guilmette mixed in his changeup, keeping the Red Wings hitters off balanced and inducing sixteen fly outs.
The lack of offense for the Red Wings spoiled a great outing by starting pitcher Kevin Dooley. Dooley tossed 7 innings of six hit ball allowing only two unearned runs. “Kevin’s a great pitcher and he shows it,” said Herbst. “He works fast and changes speeds.”
Those two unearned runs came off of Dooley all the way back in the top of the first inning. Johnny Brill led off the game with a single. Cory Goeggleman followed by hitting what should have been a double play ball, but a botched exchange allowed Brill to advance to third and sent Goeggleman to second. Matt Delewski followed with an RBI single to right that scored Brill and Goeggleman came home when Ollie Bertrand grounded into a double play.
Geneva had its best chance to score in the second inning. Matt Ray and Andy Mix walked with two outs, but Paul Speicher lined out to left center field to end the threat and Guillmette cruised from there.
Dan Gliot was 2-4 with a double for the Red Wings and Mix and Brantley Miller each singled.
The loss drops the Red Wings to 7-9 on the season.

Errors plagued the Red Wings in their season opening 7-4 loss to the Alfred Thunder. Defensive lapses were key in the Thunder’s five run 7th inning which broke open a one run game.
Geneva got on the board first when Brantley Miller walked, advanced to third on a Dan Gliot single, and came home on a passed ball in the top of the 5th inning. Alfred came right back in the bottom of the 5th. After Red Wings starter Boomer Hermes retired the first two Thunder batters, an error allowed Jonny Walker to reach base. Zack Buckler followed that up with a walk and then Justin Fahy flared a double into right field just in front of a diving Gliot allowing both runs to score.
Alfred loaded the bases with nobody out in the 7th inning on two singles and a walk. Geneva reliever Ryan Fennel got the ground ball that he wanted but second baseman Paul Speicher’s errant throw allowed two Thunder runners to score. Zach Buckler made it 5-1 with an RBI single and 9 hole hitter Nate Shipp capped off the inning with a two out two run double to the right field wall.
The Red Wings responded with 3 runs in the top of the 8th to draw within 3, but Thunder pitcher Trey Frazier struck out two Red Wings en route to a scoreless 9th.
Hermes took the tough luck loss after pitching 5 1/3 innings and allowing just four hits and two unearned runs. David Wynn threw 6 innings of two hit one run ball to pick up the win for the Thunder.
Even with the costly errors, the Red Wings had their chances. Geneva had at least one base runner in all but one inning and left ten men on base. After the game, manager Dave Herbst remained positive. “I’m not worried about this team,” he said, “We have a lot of good ball players on this club.” The Red Wings return home for an exhibition game with Sherrill of the ECBL today at 1 and then play their NYCBL home opener against Elmira Friday night at 7pm.