By Josh McMullen – Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs
LITTLE FALLS, NY – A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.
The one that plays for the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs is named Cedric, and on Tuesday night, he certainly came out smelling like his namesake.
The UMass Lowell product had a total of four RBIs and a home run in the Diamond Dawgs’ sweep of the Watertown Rapids, 7-3 and 9-5.
Game One, a suspended game from July 17, started out with a bang for the Diamond Dawgs in the starting inning (bottom of the fourth). Rose (Pittsfield, MA/UMass Lowell) got things going with a 2-RBI single, scoring Matt Venuto (Mansfield, MA/Fairfield) and Tyler Cannon (Clayton, NJ/Iona). Brady Fureno would follow with a 2-RBI double, scoring Evan Berta (Yorktown Heights, NY/Fairfield) and Rose.
The Rapids would cut the lead to one on a Dixon Black (Archbald, PA/Monmouth) double that scored Dylan Broderick (State College, PA/Pitt-Johnstown). Mohawk Valley would push their lead back to two in the bottom of the fifth with a Cannon RBI single and to three with a Rob Taylor (Wolcott, CT/New Haven) walk with the bases loaded. Mike Becchetti (Eastchester, NY/Fairfield) would get into the fun in the sixth with an RBI single to score Ryan Morash (Califon, NJ/Hofstra).
That would be all the Diamond Dawgs would need in the suspended game, as Troy Butler (Fort Plain, NY/Binghamton) put the Rapids down in order in the seventh to slam the door in Game One.
Butler got the win for Mohawk Valley in Game One. Brendan Williams (Auburn, NY/Cayuga CC) was hit with the loss for Watertown.
Black got things going in game two with a 2-RBI double that got all the way to the center-field wall. That hard-hit ball would score Broderick and Christian Layne (Brooklyn, NY/Central Connecticut State). The Rapids would add another on an RBI single by Matt Tobin (Newport, NY/Herkimer), scoring Black.
Cannon got the Diamond Dawgs on the board in the bottom of the inning, hitting a bouncing ball into left field that scored Morash. They added another on an RBI single by Taylor, scoring Becchetti.
Rose gave Mohawk Valley the lead in a big way in the second, hitting a towering ball to center field to score himself and Vincenzo Castronovo (Utica, NY/Bryant). The runs would continue coming, this time off the bat of Cannon, whose two-out, two-RBI bouncer to left field scored Morash and Venuto.
Castronovo would pay back Rose in spades, getting his own home run, a solo shot to center field, to give the Diamond Dawgs a 7-3 lead in the third. They’d add another on a fielder’s choice that scored Rose.
Watertown cut the lead to four in the fourth on a double-play ball that scored Rob Conley (Utica, NY/Herkimer). Conley had tripled a couple of batters earlier. Rose would score once again in the fifth, however, this time on an RBI single by Brady Fureno (Canajoharie, NY/LeMoyne).
The Rapids would not say die, however, plating another run in the sixth on an RBI double by Jack Winsett (Voorhees, NJ/Rider) that scored Conley. But that would be all Andy Gre
John Archer (Dobbs Ferry, NY/St. Thomas Aquinas) got the win for Mohawk Valley (23-18) in Game Two. Jon Sylvester (College Station, TX/Montreat) was saddled with the loss for Watertown.
The Diamond Dawgs will start their final home-and-home of the season on Wednesday when they visit the Auburn Doubledays at Falcon Park with playoff hopes still alive. They need to win both, however, if they want to see their season continue.
Meanwhile, the Rapids will finish their season with a home-and-home as well, traveling to Donovan Stadium to face the Utica Blue Sox on Wednesday.
Photos by Dave Warner
