AMSTERDAM, N.Y. — The red-hot Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs fell short in their comeback bid against the Amsterdam Mohawks, losing 8-5 at Shuttleworth Park on Friday night.
Mohawk Valley had won four games in a row entering the game, and got on the scoreboard when Ethan Pues scored on a passed ball in the top of the first inning. The Mohawks tied the game up in the bottom of the second inning on an RBI single by Jon Young Jr., scoring Danny Perez. Pues would give the DiamondDawgs the lead back in the top of the third when he scored on a wild pitch, putting his team up 2-1.
The Dawgs’ lead held until a bottom-of-the-fifth solo home run by Chris Hoalcraft. Amsterdam stuck again in the seventh inning when Perez doubled home three runs, putting the Mohawks up 5-2. He would then score on an infield error to give the home team a commanding four-run lead.
Facing a deficit for the first time in the game, the Dawgs bit back in the top of the eighth inning. Ian Oehlschlaeger doubled home JP Kuczik to make it 6-3. Sean Stoney then drew a bases-loaded walk, followed by a sacrifice fly by Pues that scored Oehlschlaeger to get the Dawgs within one before being retired for the inning. Perez was a menace to Mohawk Valley all game and capped his night with a two-run home run to seal the 8-5 victory.
Mohawk Valley starting pitcher Andrew Gendi went four innings and gave up one run on two hits with four walks and a strikeout. He was relieved by Walter Garrett (two innings, two hits, and two runs against), Jake Beck (0.2 innings, one hit, and three runs against), and Cole Geedy (two innings, two hits, two runs against, and two strikeouts). Beck took the loss.
Oehlschlaeger led the Dawgs in RBIs with two, while Pues led in runs with two.
The Dawgs are now 17-14-1 and sit in fourth place in the PGCBL East Division. They are off on Saturday before returning home to Veterans Memorial Park in Little Falls for a rematch against Amsterdam. The first pitch is scheduled for 5:05.