The Geneva Red Wings worked at a quick pace on Friday night at McDonough Park, defeating the Newark Pilots in 2 hours and 15 minutes.
A large part of the quick pace was the result of starting pitcher Alex Bellardini (2-0, Youngstown State) throwing an 8 inning gem. Bellardini didn’t give up a hit until there was one out in the sixth inning, and he only surrendered 2 total in the contest. He finished his outing with a pair of strikeouts.
The Wings got the only runs they would need in the 4th and 8th innings. Newark’s starter Henry Martinez (Cal State Dominguez Hills) came into the game fresh off a 5 inning shutout performance against the Geneva lineup on June 2nd. This streak would continue until the bottom half of the fourth frame, when a 2 RBI Matt Collins (Cornell) double would start the scoring for the evening. The next batter, Ben Terwilliger (Maine University), would double the lead with a 2 RBI single of his own. A bases loaded walk in the bottom of the 8th would score William Simoneit (Cornell), and give the Wings their fifth run.
Free pass woes continued for the Pilots against Geneva. On Opening Night at McDonough, six walks in the final two innings lead to a 4-3 Red Wings walkoff victory. In this most recent contest (June 9), 4 of the 5 runs that Geneva pushed across were either put on base via a walk/HBP or scored as a result of a walk.
Brent Holcombe (Bossier Paris CC) closed things out for the Wings in the 9th, with the final score being 5-1.
A fun storyline in this contest was the American debut of Yohei Ishiyama. Ishiyama is a native of Japan and a student athlete at Nihon University. He batted leadoff for the Wings on Friday night and played right field. In his first plate appearance, he walked on five pitches. He would finish the night 1-3 with his first American hit (a single up the middle) and his first stolen base.
The Wings continue action tonight on the road against Elmira. This will be the first contest between the two teams since the Rally Cat legend was born this past Wednesday. Geneva looks to improve to 5-2 on the season, and will send Brian Reed (RIT) to the mound to start against the Pioneers.
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