By SPENCER BATES
DANSVILLE — While the Salamanca Lizards may have fallen to the Dansville Gliders for their third loss in a row, the way in which they battled in their 4-3 defeat was a positive sign for the program.
Salamanca entered the game against the Gliders on the back of two hefty defeats against the Syracuse Salt Cats in a doubleheader the night before, losing by a combined score of 27-6. And while the Lizards started off their fixture against the Gliders on a slower note, they grew into the affair and forced Dansville to answer their challenges.
The Salamanca offense did not record its first hit of the game until the fourth inning. In that time, Dansville had already connected for four hits and jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead.
However, there was a positive Lizards coach Jerico Weitzel was able to take away from the early innings. In the third frame, the Gliders loaded the bases with just one out on the board and threatened to break the game wide open early. After his side was pummeled 18-1 in the second game against the Salt Cats the night before, this was a worrying sign. But much to Weitzel’s relief, his team was able to dig in and limit the damage, allowing just one run in the inning. Specifically, he highlighted the seven-inning performance of his starting pitcher Dylan Kinney (4 SO, 2 BB) for keeping them in the game.
“Dylan made some really big pitches when he needed to,” Weitzel said. “It was the bottom of the seventh when they took the lead, they got a couple of guys on and got some bloop hits … that’s the game right there. It’s a tough break, but (Dylan) made some really big pitches in key situations to really limit damage in a game that really could have gotten away from us.”
And it was withstanding that pressure that seemed to ignite the Salamanca offense as it not only saw its first hits of the game in the fourth inning, courtesy of Connor Smith (1-for-4) and Hunter White (2-for-4, RBI), but it also halved the deficit it faced with White’s ground-rule double bringing in Frank Kula (run, RBI, walk).
Putting a two-inning halt to the Dansville offense, Salamanca was then able to knot up the scores in the sixth inning by means of a Matt Smith (1-for-3, run, RBI, walk) solo shot that cleared the right-field fence. The home run was Matt Smith’s third of the season, and with each having come in pivotal moments, he has established himself as one of the more clutch players on the Lizards roster.
“Matt was a redshirt this year from injury, and I think as the season’s going, he’s having more and more really good at-bats and making adjustments,” Weitzel said. “The at-bat before (his home run) the guy got him to chase a high fastball. (Dansville’s pitcher) threw him another one in his next at-bat, Matt was ready for it, made the adjustment and drove it out of the park. He’s having a really good season for us. I think he’s going to be one of those kids that is going to keep getting better the more at-bats he gets, because he was limited in the spring. … He’s been a big presence for us in the middle of the lineup and will continue to be as the summer goes on.”
Unfortunately for Salamanca, Dansville was able to conjure up a response to the homer, swiping the lead back yet again. And after the sides exchanged blows in the seventh inning, the Gliders were able to escape with the win as Salamanca came up empty in the final two innings of play.
Despite the result, Weitzel was still left satisfied with the fight he saw from his team.
“I thought we battled well,” Weitzel said. “I thought we played hard, had a really good performance on the mound from Dylan, hit some balls really hard, just at people. It was just a good, close game that came down to a few bounces that didn’t go our way.”
Up next for Salamanca is a short road trip to face Olean in a June 25 doubleheader at Bradner Stadium. In the last meeting between the sides, the Lizards swept the Oilers in a doubleheader in Salamanca. The first game of the day is slated for 5 p.m.
“They’ll be good games, our boys will be ready,” Weitzel said of the doubleheader rematch. “You just kind of treat it as another game: you go out, try to put up a good performance and see what happens.”
AT DANSVILLE
Salamanca 000 101 100 R:3 H:6 E:4
Dansville 101 001 10X R:4 H:10 E:2
Sala: Kinney (4 SO, 2 BB), Bourdon (1 SO, 0 BB) and Lasko
Dans: Brown (9 SO, 3 BB), Hernandez (0 SO, 1 BB) and Roy
