By SPENCER BATES
ALLEGANY — For the second time this season, the Allegany-Limestone baseball team has had a win over CCAA Div. I leaders Dunkirk within its grasp.
Unfortunately for the Gators, their May 9 affair was also the second time they’ve let the Marauders slip away with the win.
Down 7-1 through four innings of play, A-L managed to bring across five unanswered runs between the fifth and sixth innings, cutting its deficit to just one and setting itself up to complete the comeback in dramatic fashion. However, the answer from the Dunkirk offense did come and with four runs in the top of the seventh inning, put the comeback out of reach for the hosts as they fell 11-6.
“We struggled a little bit early on, we gave up a bunch of free passes,” A-L coach Eric Hemphill said. “We dug ourselves a hole, but to our kids’ credit and to what we’ve been trying to preach all year, we stayed in the fight. We fought back. We got it to a one-run game, trying to give ourselves an opportunity. We had some opportunities, we had the bases loaded with one out, we had a chance to tie it or take the lead. That’s all you can ask out of your kids.”
Early on the struggles for the Gators were on the mound, and the Marauder spared no time taking advantage of the situation. Khyree Harmon got the start on the bump for the former and walked four of the first five batters he faced, allowing for a lone hit to give Dunkirk a 3-0 lead after one half inning.
But after that rough start, Harmon was able to dial back in and, with the trust that his defense would back him up when needed, pounded the strike zone, blanking Dunkirk over the next two innings. He was eventually knocked out of the game after a fourth inning in which he conceded four more runs, but his replacement, eighth-grader Tayden Margeson, was able to prevent that damage from being built upon and shutout Dunkirk through two innings before he too saw four runs come across, this time in the final frame.
But still, according to Hemphill, the positives he saw on the mound far outweighed any negatives.
“Khyree has been a dog for us all year,” Hemphill said. “He struggled with some location today, got himself into some trouble, but then he also dug himself out with our defense. He only gave up a couple hits. He struggled with command a little bit, but he stayed in the fight. I mean, if I’d have left him out, he’d have stayed out there, but I thought we had to show (Dunkirk) a different look, and Tayden did that. They really didn’t get to him until two outs in the seventh inning. What else can you ask for from an eighth grader?”
Allegany-Limestone’s Vinny LaBella (7) connects on a pitch against Dunkirk. (Spencer Bates)
Confidence has been a big talking point within the A-L program this season and even in the early goings against Dunkirk, Hemphill was reminding his players to approach their at-bats with confidence.
Throughout the campaign thus far, Hemphill noted, he has seen players, after giving up some runs to their opposition, take a negative mindset to the plate. A habit he has seen fading as of late, but still one that has yet to be fully erased.
“I mean, that’s baseball, there’s highs and lows,” Hemphill said. “You’re still dealing with 15, 16, 17 year-old kids. They carry that frustration for a few minutes. We talk about clearing our heads before we get up to bat. If you make an error, you can’t take it to your bat. If you give up a home run, you can’t take it to your bat. We’re starting to do that a little bit better, but it’s still there, and it’s still a part of learning the game too.”
It is the younger players on the A-L team that have typically wound up as the target audience of Hemphill’s morale-boosting talks. And against the Marauders, he found himself thrilled to see his messages had been taken to heart as a good amount of the production the Gators had on the night wound up being generated from some of those more youthful players, a trend he hopes to see continue.
Dylan Rhodes, a sophomore, led the Gators, going 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI on the day. Behind him, Margeson also went 2-for-4 and tallied a run and an RBI.
“I think today was a good example of (the younger players) starting to turn the corner,” Hemphill said. “Tayden has been really struggling and he had two big hits today. Dylan Rhodes, he’s been struggling and he had two big hits today. They’re starting to take the stuff that we practice and that we preach, they’re putting it to use, and they’re seeing the success. … I think we’re starting to learn from it, which means we’re starting some growth.”
And the prospect of being able to get his entire roster firing on all cylinders ahead of the home stretch of the regular season and before the postseason is one that excites Hemphill.
“Now, if you put those young guys starting to produce with the older guys, … (if we) continue taking steps forward, it doesn’t have to be a negative season,” Hemphill said. “There’s going to be a bunch more tough games, but they prepare us for the playoffs.”
Allegany-Limestone has two league games remaining in its regular season schedule, the first of which will be the beginning of a two-game home-and-away series against Fredonia. The Gators will hit the road to face the Hillbillies on May 16 at 5 p.m.
AT ALLEGANY
R H E
Dunkirk 300 400 4 11 4 1
Allegany-Limestone 100 032 0 6 7 4
Dunk: Orcutt (8 SO, 5 BB), Smith (0 SO, 0 BB), Shaffer (2 SO, 0 BB) and Valentine
A-L: Harmon (2 SO, 11 BB), Margeson (2 SO, 4 BB) and Crowley
