By HUNTER O. LYLE
HORNELL, NY – In their first taste of the summer action, the Olean Oilers’ slim advantage faded quickly as they witnessed the Hornell Steamers steal the win with a walk-off two-run RBI single.
Having formed less than a week ago, the Oilers only experience came in the form of two exhibition games which they swept. Entering the season on the road against Hornell, their focus started on the mound.
“On the pitching side of things, we just wanted Kiayuan (Baskerville), our starter, to go out there and pound the zone. We’re a little low number-wise on pitchers so before the game we were asking him for five or six (innings,)” said Oilers’ co-manager Jaxson DeJohn. “Offensively, our goal was to just come in, swing at fast balls early in the count, be ready to hit, get your swings off and not hit from behind.”
The Oilers’ ace Kiayuan Baskerville fires a pitch down range during Olean’s first game of the season against the Steamers. During his five innings on the mound, Baskerville ended with three Ks. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Pregame jitters would follow the Oilers off the bus. During their first time seeing action at the plate this season, Olean would struggle to put the ball in play, instead being dispatched in three as Hornell’s defense protected their home field. However, Olean refused to let the game get out of hand early.
Despite letting up a double on Hornell’s lead off batter and a walk two sluggers later, Olean’s infield refused to give up any more ground, keeping the Steamers off third with a play from Chase Fischer before a snap pass to first would bring the Oilers back to the plate. Settling in, Olean began to produce base runners. Fischer again led the charge, cracking a single before he was joined on base by Caden Wolfey via walk. A baulk moved the pair to second and third, setting the stage for Dustin Hendrix to drive in the first run of the day with a sacrifice groundout.
Picking up where they had left off in the first, Hornell’s sticks would find an answer sooner rather than later. Putting two men on in their first two at-bats, the Steamers would then suffer their second out of the frame, but remained unrattled. A double to right field evened the score before a passed ball put the Steamers in scoring position once again. Reaching the top of the order, Dylan Wash found his second hit of the day for an RBI-single as Hornell pulled out in front.
To that, the Oilers’ response would fall flat, going three-and-out once again. However, they would return the favor in the bottom of the third, with a double play at second and first that clipped the Steamer’s momentum.
In the top of the fourth, Olean’s Bryce Neely kicked off the frame with a double before moving to third on a fielder’s choice. Wolfley then made it to first base again with an RBI single that knotted the score at two.
Although things settled down through the next frame and a half, Hornell would come close to sucking the wind out of Olean’s dugout in the fifth. After a lead-off double that hit the left field wall, the Steamers would create the biggest lead of the night with a deep home run over the centerfield fence from Cooper McEnroe.
Down but not out, Olean was then forced to start the grueling process of mounting a comeback. After tallying their first out with their first batter, the Oilers then put two men on base with a full-count walk from Noah Gerrick and Fischer single. Wolfley again came up big with another RBI-single before Olean shut the Steamers out in the bottom of the sixth while forcing a runner stranded on third.
“I think (our defense came down to) our pitchers. When we have a guy on first, we have to get a ground ball and they executed their pitches whether it was 0-1 or on the first pitch,” said co-manager Jake Meeker. “No matter what it was, they got those ground ball outs. Those are inning killers. When we get guys one, we have to minimize them and our pitchers executed.”
Thomas Bates turns a double-play to first after during the Oilers’ 6-5 loss to Hornell on Saturday. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
In the seventh, Olean again put two men on before moving them to second and third with a sacrifice bunt. With one out, Josh Wilson cranked a single past the infield scoring one run while another Oiler rounded home on Hornell’s throw to first.
Having just two and a half more frames ahead of them, their chances of a win in hostile territory came down to defense. Olean kept the Steamers at bay in the seventh and eighth with back-to-back three-and-outs, however, their bats couldn’t add to their lead, failing to put a man past first base.
Coming into the back half of the final inning, the Oilers’ defense was worn thin. Through four batters, the Steamers had the bases loaded and faced just one out. At that point, there was no stopping Hornell. Caleb Cassidy would punch in the final base hit, nailing a hard hit shot to right field that would score their fifth run while another would come in before Olean could make the play at home. After three scoreless innings, the Steamers jad flipped a switch and stormed back into the lead at the perfect time, sending the Oilers home with a loss.
“It was exciting. Yeah, the first one didn’t go our way but it was a good college baseball game. It’s fun to be a part of, especially on the managing side of things, not only it being (the team’s) first game of the summer but our first game managing baseball,” said DeJohn. “Just a lot of excitement and we’re looking forward to getting going here and playing games every single day.”
Fischer ended with two of Olean’s three hits on the night, ending 2-for-4 and scoring once. Wolfley ended with a pair of RBIs while Neely, Myers and Collins would combine for four runs.
Up next, the Oilers travel to Salamanca for a double header against Salamanca on Sunday. The first game of the double-feature begins at 6:30 p.m.
“I think if we can get these guys in a rhythm, it’ll be huge. A lot of them are coming from high school so they’re not used to playing nine-inning games or they’re not used to playing back-to-back days,” said Meeker. “So, hopefully these guys can come out, get into a rhythm and start swinging a little bit better.”
AT HORNELL
R H E
Olean 010 101 200 5 3 1
Hornell 020 020 002 6 13 4
Olean: Baskerville (3 SO, 2 BB), Roche (6) (2 SO, 1 BB), Manendo (7) (4 SO, 1 BB) and Collins
Hornell: Pasquesi (1 SO, 1 BB), DiFranco (4) (1 SO, 1 BB), Wilson (7) (2 SO, 1 BB), Ecker (9) (1 SO, 0 BB) and Groves
