By HUNTER O. LYLE
lyleoleanstar@gmail.com
OLEAN, NY – In their third and fourth face off in six days, the Olean Oilers found a glimpse of revenge in their double-header against the Salamanca Lizards, tying the first game, 4-4, before notching another win to their season, 6-2.
After a couple of early-season postponements, including their would-be season opener, the Oilers and Lizards had only seen each other once before Wednesday’s meeting. On Saturday, the Allegheny River rivals squared off in a double-header in Salamanca, where the Lizards came away with two closely-fought victories. With the sting of those losses still fresh in their minds, the Oilers were ready for their chance at redemption.
“That’s the beauty of these kinds of leagues, you play the same teams over and over. At the end of the year you want to be able to say you said you had the edge on everybody,” said Olean Oilers co-manager Jackson DeJohn. “A team that’s 20, 25 minutes away from us is one that we’d love to take a W every single time. The other day hurts a little bit and when you see them on your schedule a couple days later, you definitely want to take it to them.”
The Oilers took to the field ready to put on the clamps. Besides an early error that allowed a Lizard one base, Olean denied Salamanca with six quick outs through the first two frames. Avoiding another late start, they then got to work putting balls in play, starting with a line-drive double from Alex Myers. After suffering their second out, the Oilers then brought their man across home plate with another double, this time from Chase Fischer.
In the second, their efforts with the sticks continued to produce, with a first-pitch single from Ryan Cainzos and another from Brian Fleming. Taking to the plate immediately after, Owen Smith cranked a ball past the Lizard’s second basemen for their second score of the game.
Alex Myers slides into third as he avoids a tag during game one of the Olean Oilers’ double header against the Salamanca Lizards. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
“They’re going up with a plan. They’re trying to execute the plan and they’ve been doing a really good job of it,” said Olean Oilers co-manager Jake Meeker.
Olean’s early lead would quickly be erased, however, as the Lizards found a way to open the valve in the top of the third. Facing a full-count, Timothy Johnson took the march to first off a walk before an error at first put another man on the baseline. With two outs, a double to centerfield from Connor Smith evened the score before a subsequent single put the Lizards in front by one.
While the Oilers would leave two men stranded following a double-play during their next at-bat, they would dispatch Salamanca in three in the top of the fourth. As the momentum swapped hands once again, Olean would put Fleming and Owen Smith on base with back-to-back singles, with Fleming making it to third on a fielder’s choice, before Josh Wilson knotted the game at three with an RBI-single. Facing two outs, Noah Gerrick put Olean in front with a hard-hit shot that broke through the infield and scored the go-ahead run.
With the game hanging in the balance, the Oilers stumped Salamanca, retiring them in six sluggers through the fifth and sixth. However, going scoreless themselves, the Oilers left the door open for the Lizards.
Tacking on two outs in their first three batters, Salamanca looked desperate. But luck seemed to be on their side as they were granted real estate on first and second with a pair of walks before Owen Smith stepped into the batter’s box. Already having two RBIs, he added to his resume with a shot into right field. With time of the essence and a tag out just a matter of seconds away, Salamanca’s Johnson cruised past third before eyeing home. Kicking up a cloud of dirt as he hit the deck, Kula narrowly avoided the tag as he scored the game-tying run. Knotted at four, the Lizards had beat the odds and forced extra innings.
Timothy Johnson cleared two bases on his way to scoring the game-tying run during the Lizard’s 4-4 tie against the Oilers. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Through the lone bonus frame, neither team could find a rebuttal, bouncing each other in three-each and leaving the contest in a deadlocked tie – Olean’s first and Salamanca’s second.
Owen Smith led the Oilers in the batter’s box with a perfect 3-for-3 performance that included one RBI. Chase Fischer (2-for-4), Cainzos (2-for-3) and Fleming (2-for-3) all counted multiple hits and combined for one run and one RBI.
“(Ending with a tie) should just piss you off. Ties in baseball are like the worst thing ever. This ain’t hockey,” said DeJohn. “All that does is fire you up and you have to be pissed that you weren’t allowed to play more baseball and go get that win.”
After a brief intermission that included a Salamanca jersey change and a ceremonial first pitch from the St. Bonaventure men and women’s basketball teams, the stalemate continued.
Sponsoring Wednesday’s game, members of the St. Bonaventure men and women’s basketball team threw out ceremonial first pitches in between games. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
The first two and a half innings passed without much action as both teams combined for four hits. However, with each passing frame, the pressure built. Following a handful of controversial calls, a cacophony of chirps from both dugouts and a Salamanca ejection, the tension was as palpable as the heat that swamped Bradner Stadium.
Salamanca’s Harley Hoag throws a pass to first during the Lizard’s double-header against Olean. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Everything came to a head in the third. Retiring the Lizards in four, Olean finally broke through. After being hit by a pitch, Wilson breezed to third on a tag out attempt that soared over first base. Another Lizard error that put Thomas Bates on first brought Wilson in for the initial score of game two. Facing just one out, Bryce Neely turned frustration into production as he rocketed a shot beyond center field, bringing in two.
“I think we did a good job of letting everything play into the game. We didn’t try and get too big,” said Meeker. “You get fired up when someone or the other team says something to you so it definitely plays a part. You can’t let it get too much into your head because then you get up there and start thinking about that instead of our plan at the plate. I think we did a really good job of sticking to the plan instead of letting it get to us.”
Over the next two frames, Olean consistently added to their lead. With the bases loaded in the fourth, Neely sacrificed himself with a fly out to bring in Wilson while in the fifth, Caden Wolfley bounced a hit off the center field wall for an RBI-triple. All the while, the Lizards were held at bay, largely in part by Owen Wilson’s performance on the mound.
“It was fantastic. He was limited before, he red-shirted at St. Bonaventure last year, hasn’t really pitched in a long time and has had prior UCL surgery. Easing him back into it at first was the plan, but with the quantity of pitchers we have, we haven’t really been able to do that so he’s been thrown into some high leverage spots already,” said DeJohn of Wilson, who notched six Ks while giving up just one hit during his three-inning tenure. “We had to put him in today and ride him as long as we could, so now he’s shown us he can give us three, he can give us four. He fills it up and does it in 40 or 50 pitches. I mean it’s phenomenal to see him succeed in spots that we didn’t necessarily know he was ready for.”
However, in the sixth, the Oilers bullpen had run dry, forcing them to pull from other parts of their roster to fill the void. First, Hartley Rahman stepped up. Although he allowed Salamanca’s only runs of the game – a RBI-triple from Matt Smith and a full-count RBI-single from Nate Wolf – his slow-pitch delivery was good enough for Olean to escape with their lead intact. Closing out the seventh was Fleming, who, although walking three, carried the Oilers to their ninth win of the season.
Neely finished 1-for-2 at the plate with three RBIs while Caden Wolfley (1-for-4), Myers (1-for-1), Wilson (1-for-1) all contributed hits in the win, combining for one RBI and three runs scored.
The Oilers return to their home field on Thursday, hosting the Genesee Rapids who had previously routed Olean on Monday, June 16. Then, they will see the Lizards for a fourth contest, also at home, on Friday.
“We’re going to build the momentum into tomorrow,” said Meeker. “We have a big one against Genesee, I think they’re leading the NYCBL right now so hopefully Kiayuan can go out and give us six, seven strong innings.”
GAME ONE
AT OLEAN
Salamanca 003 000 1 0 R:4 H:4 E:0
Olean 110 200 0 0 R:4 H:12 E:2
SA: Rumfola (1 SO, 0 BB), Jackson (8) (2 SO, 0 BB) and Lasko
OL: Colunga (6 SO, 1 BB), Arreola (5) (4 SO, 4 BB), Roche (7) (1 SO, 1 BB) and Ambrosio, J. Smith
GAME TWO
AT OLEAN
Salamanca 000 002 0 R:2 H:4 E:6
Olean 003 111 X R:6 H:4 E:0
SA: Stranko (3 SO, 5 BB), Wight (5) (2 SO, 2 BB) and Cardona
OL: Laieta (3 SO, 2 BB), O. Smith (3) (6 SO, 0 BB), Rahman (6) (0 SO, 1 BB), Fleming (7) (1 SO, 3 BB) and Collins
