By SPENCER BATES
DANSVILLE — While the 6-4 final scoreline may paint a picture of a close affair, the majority of the game between the Salamanca Lizards and the Dansville Gliders was significantly one-sided.
Through seven innings the Lizards had mustered up just two hits with neither yielding runs.
It was just about the opposite situation for the Gliders.
Opening the scoring for the game in the fourth inning, Dansville applied consistent pressure, putting traffic on the basepaths and jumping ahead 5-0 after six frames. A lead that could have been 8-0, but a three-run homer in the fourth was eventually wiped off the board after it was discovered the batter had used a composite bat and not a wooden bat.
But throwing in the towel is not something Salamanca knows how to do.
In the eighth inning alone, the Lizards connected for more hits than they had in the last seven combined. Matt Cardona (1-for-3), Connor Smith (1-for-3, run, RBI) and Matt Smith (2-for-3, run, 2 RBI, 2 doubles, walk) all were able to put bat to ball and get on base in the frame. Frank Kula (0-for-4, run) also reached on a fielder’s choice.
Connor Smith and Matt Smith’s hits both went down as RBIs, bringing across one and two, respectively, while the latter represented the final run Salamanca would score in the frame.
So, in one half inning, the Lizards were able to completely flip the script and pose questions of the NYCBL West Division’s third-place squad. But it all would not have been possible if it were not for the bottom of the order.
Nate Wolf, batting in the eight-spot on the day, managed to draw a leadoff walk on Dansville’s Owen Simoneoux who had entered to replace starter Caleb Brown, who had fanned six while walking just one through seven innings. Cardona in the nine-spot then singled to flip the lineup over and from then on is when the Lizards did their damage.
“Nobody was really putting the ball in play hard or having good at-bats up to that point, so for (Nate Wolf) to start the (eighth inning) out like that was kind of eye opening, I think, for the rest of the guys. It was a big moment, for sure.”
A double play got Salamanca off the field in the bottom of the eighth after seeing two batters reach base, but unfortunately for the visitors, they were unable to force Dansville into playing the bottom of the ninth as the Gliders responded well to the rally and sat the Lizards down in order to end the game.
It was ultimately the quicker start for the Gliders that gave them enough breathing room to close out the affair and a part of that was how they jumped on Salamanca’s starting pitcher Jase Burdon, who found himself struggling once he got into the middle innings. It was an off-color performance from Burdon, who sports one of the best ERAs and is one of only seven pitchers in the league to have thrown more than 35 innings.
And granted, a number of the 12 hits that ultimately went against him on the day were the result of errors by the Salamanca defense.
“Obviously it was not (Jase’s) best,” Higley said. “We’ve seen his best multiple times. But, I think he competed well, I think a couple of (the runs) weren’t on him. Obviously, he didn’t finish as many at-bats, walked a couple more guys than he usually does, but if that’s the worst we get out of Jase, we can live with that.”
But, for the Lizards, this loss carried a bit more weight as it officially put them out of postseason contention. But as unfortunate as that may be, the goal for Higley and the Lizards franchise, since its inception, has been about the improvement of the players. Winning is nice, and they intend to keep pushing for wins over the final stretch of the campaign, but it was and will always be about player development.
“(The message will be) take everything one pitch at a time,” Higley said. “If you look up at the end of the year, and you’re a better baseball player, we’ve won at the end of the day. Obviously, winning is important, but player development is the primary goal. We’ve had the luxury of having some hard working guys, so I think we can say we got better.”
Salamanca will hit the road for their next game on July 20, when they will face the NYCBL West Division-leading Genesee Rapids for the final time this season. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m.
AT DANSVILLE
Salamanca 000 000 040 R:4 H:5 E:1
Dansville 000 114 00X R:6 H:12 E:0
Sala: Burdon (1 SO, 5 BB), Prince (1 SO, 0 BB) and Cardona
Dans: Brown (6 SO, 1 BB), Simoneoux (1 SO, 1 BB), Bullinger (0 SO, 0 BB) and Roy
