By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
OLEAN, NY – Squaring off for the third time in a Fourth of July showdown, the Dansville Rapids were able to tally their first win in the season series against the Olean Oilers, winning 11-3 as they capitalized on early errors.
The Rapids made the most of their opportunities early, starting with a lead-off single from Emmett McLean. Using his speed and impeccable timing, McLean would cycle through the bases, moving to second on a passed ball and third on a pure steal before being brought across home plate from an RBI-single from Jeremy Aylward. Moving into scoring position from another passed ball, Dansville punched in two more runs with RBI-singles from Caleb Brown and Caden Roy.
During their first at-bat, the Oilers would be retired sooner rather than later, however, they would return the favor with a Dansville three-and-out immediately after. On their second appearance in the batter’s box, Brian Fleming would carry Olean onto the scoreboard. Starting with a lead-off double to left field, Fleming moved to third on an error before closing the gap to home on a wild pitch. Despite finding a spark, the Oilers’ wouldn’t carry Fleming’s torch, instead suffering three consecutive strikeouts.
In the third, Olean’s self-inflicted wounds resurfaced. After earning the first out, an error in the infield would give the Rapids real estate on second before a steal put them in scoring form once again. Loading the bases with a single and a walk, yet another passed ball put the Rapids up 4-1. A sac-fly and consecutive singles would then inflate the Rapids’ lead to six.
Dansville’s Emmett McLean slides into third base during the Gliders’ win over Olean on the Fourth of July. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
“I just thought we didn’t play our baseball today. We showed up, we had our energy and then we started getting hit around a little bit and we kind of lost it,” said Olean Oilers co-manager Jake Meeker. “We just have to be able to maintain. You’re giving up hits, it is what it is. What we can’t do is get lazy and throw the ball around a little bit.”
While the Oilers would again find production at the plate in the bottom of the third, it failed to erase the deficit. Brodie Collins reached on a walk before Olean then suffered back-to-back outs. Josh Wilson would break the slump with a single, setting the stage for Bryce Neely to smack a line drive down the first baseline, putting him on second and the Oiler’s two runner at home. Through the next five frames, however, they struggled to find any significant way to get back on base.
Meanwhile, Dansville would add to their lead. In the fourth, McLean hit another single, cycling through the bases once again before a passed ball brought in the Rapid’s eighth run of the day while in the sixth they would drive in two more scores with RBI-singles from Justin Colpack and Brown. Another passed ball in the seventh would add one final run to Dansville’s lead.
Despite scoring once more in the eighth – an RBI-double from Neely that scored Caden Wolfley – the Oiler’s comeback never materialized. Rather, Olean tallied their eighth loss of the season as they fell to this in the West.
Bryce Neely puts a ball in play amidst Olean’s eighth loss of the season. Against the Gliders, Neely ended 2-for-4 with three RBIs. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Wilson and Neely both ended with two hits in four trips to the batter’s box, with Neely driving in three of the Oilers’ four runs. Wolfey (1-for-3), Wilson, Fleming (1-for-4) and Collins (1-for-3) all rounded home once.
“Today, the difference was (Dansville) hitting the ball. Our starter today pitched to them once and threw a no-hitter through five or six innings. The next starter shut them out the whole time,” said co-manager Jackson DeJohn. “Today, (the Rapids) did a good job of jumping on our starter early and they were able to get three in the first off some hits and some not-covering-home with balls scooting by. When a team is getting base hits here and there, it’s all that free stuff that’s in between.”
Up next, Olean stays at home for a rematch with the Horseheads, their third faceoff of the season. The first pitch for that game is slated for 7 p.m. on Saturday.
“We want to get through the end of the season healthy, first off, and be able to compete in every game,” said DeJohn on his team’s goals through the final month of the season. “This first half of the summer has been a struggle, but we’ve done a good job of managing the pitching staff that’s so limited. I think our goal as a staff the rest of the summer is to keep these guys up, keep playing good baseball and if we can manage the pitching staff to the best of our ability, it’s going to give us our best shot to finish off with one last good month and give ourselves a shot at getting into the playoffs.”
AT OLEAN
Dansville 304 102 100 R:11 H:14 E:1
Olean 012 000 010 R:4 H:7 E:2
DV: Donahue (10 SO, 2 BB), Simoneoux (8) (1 SO, 1 BB) and Roy
OL: Pitcher 1 (X SO, X BB), … and catcher
