Oilers’ bats absent in Game One but erupt in Game Two
By HUNTER O. LYLE
OLEAN, NY – In a tale of two contests, the Olean Oilers split their Sunday double-header with the Horseheads Hitmen, swapping blowout wins as the Hitmen won Game One 9-1 before the Oilers took Game Two 15-0.
Coming into their fifth and sixth meeting with the Hitmen, Olean was in the midst of a win streak. In the three previous days, the Oilers managed to sweep the Hornell Steamers 13-5 and 10-1 in back-to-back days before notching their first win over the Western Conference-leading Genesee Rapids, 7-2.
“Our offense was just being aggressive. We were going out to get pitches that they can hit,” said Olean Oiler co-manager Jake Meeker. “We scored 30 runs in three games. That’s pretty awesome. Knowing that the sticks are there and that they’re going right before playoffs is good to see.”
Any momentum the Oilers carried into their Sunday evening showdown was put to the test early. Giving up a lead-off walk, Olean found themselves in an early hole as the Hitmen’s second man in the order, Jack Mathis, crushed a deep homer over left field, scoring two. However, Jaxson Ross then sprung into action. Despite letting two more runners on base, Ross righted the ship with three consecutive Ks to end the inning.
Jaxson Ross started on the mound for the Oilers, ending with four strikeouts while giving up just three hits to the Hitmen. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
With their bats failing to find the same kind of production as in their previous games, Olean was sent back on defense after just three batters. Returning to the field, the Oilers would see the beginning of a Hitmen surge as they loaded the bases with their first three sluggers. Then Mathis stepped back into the batters’ box, primed for another highlight. Ross would earn a bit of revenge, striking out the power hitter, however, that would be the highpoint for the Oilers.
Still facing a full diamond, an error at second gave up the third run of the day followed by a full-count walk, a passed ball and a double up the middle that all combined for a 6-0 Hitmen lead heading into the bottom of the second.
In desperate need of a kick start, Olean’s offense continued to sputter at the plate. They would once again go three-and-out in the second before Brodie Collins, Dustin Hendrix and Thomas Bates tallied the Oilers’ first hits of the day in the third – all singles. However, despite finding scattered hits through the next handful of frames, they still couldn’t plot a way to home. Meanwhile, Horseheads stretched their lead in the fourth with an RBI-single from Domonic Vogel before doubling down in the sixth with two more scores.
“I thought we were good and aggressive at the plate, taking pitches that they didn’t want to hit which is good to see,” said Meeker. “They just didn’t fall.”
In the sixth, Josh Wilson put it upon himself to put his team on the scoreboard. Leading off the frame, Wilson crushed a curveball into the atmosphere and past the left field wall. Yet, with a mountainous deficit in front of them and only an inning and a half to change the tide, Wilson’s hot shot went in vain. Olean would be shutout through the remainder of the sixth before once again suffering a three-and-out dispatching in the seventh.
Alongside Wilson’s one run scored and one RBI, five other Oilers finished 1-for-3. On the mound, Smith finished with eight strikeouts while only giving up four hits.
After the intermission, the Oilers came back to their home field ready to take control of the second game.
“I told our team in the postgame (of Game One) ‘please just give me energy for this next game,’” said Meeker. “‘Just go out there, stick to our gameplan no matter what they throw at us.’”
Coming out of the gates hot and ready, Olean retired Horseheads in three in the first before Brendan Roche found three consecutive strikeouts in the second.
On the other side of the plate, the Oilers quickly became unstoppable. Scoring just one run in the initial frame from a Brian Fleming sac-fly that scored Bates, Olean exploded in the second. The mayhem began with singles from Matthew Boffalo and Owen Smith, both of whom rounded home on a Jake Ambrosio triple. Hendrix then grounded out, scoring Ambrosio and clearing the bases, but Bates was quick to put a body back on the baseline, notching the second triple of the inning.
With two outs and a man in scoring position, the next four Oilers would all have a hand in adding to the scoreboard. Wilson (single), Fleming (triple), Chase Fischer (double) and Boffalo (single) all batted in RBIs in succession as Olean pulled ahead by eight.
“We always say that hitting is contagious. One guy gets on and you never know what’s going to happen. Maybe someone gets a barrel on the next pitch and everyone starts to get more confident,” said Meeker. “They want to pick up their teammates, they want to score them so I think that’s what their mindset was going in.”
Still searching for answers, the Hitmen were baffled. Throughout the final four frames, Horseheads recorded just one hit and were retired in three on three separate occasions. In the meantime, the Oilers continued to put the ball in play and to their lead any chance they could.
After their seven-run second inning, Olean would tag on six more runs: three in the third and fourth before capping off their night with their 15th run in the fifth. Although they were ultimately stunted for the first time in the sixth, their massive lead and effective defense held strong, picking up a tick-for-tack win over the Hitmen.
Coming away with 19 hits during the win, seven Oilers ended with multiple hits including Bates’ perfect 5-for-5 performance that included four runs scored. Fleming (3-for-3) also was flawless in the batters’ box, tallying seven RBIs and two runs scored. Ambrosio (2-for-4) drove in three runs, Fischer (2-for-5) batted in another two while Wilson (2-for-4) recorded one RBI and scored three times. Meanwhile, Roche tended the mound for six solid innings, fanning nine Hitmen while giving up just four hits.
“Roche pitched an absolute gem of a ball game. He hasn’t thrown that long and I don’t think he does at school either so I was talking to him mid-game and just said ‘give me one more,’” said Meeker. “He just kept asking for another so we rode him as long as we could. Obviously having a 15-run lead helps but he looked phenomenal.”
Brendan Roche started on the mound for the Oilers for Game Two and immediately played a crucial role in Olean’s subduing of the Hitmen. Pitching for all but one frame, Roche allowed just four hits. | Photo by Hunter O. Lyle
Sitting at 19-13-3 and in second place in the Western Conference, the Oilers have just five games remaining on their regular season schedule, including just one more appearance at Bradner Stadium. Three of those games are matchups against the Dansville Gliders (20-15, 3rd in West) including their Monday double-header on the road. Then, Olean will swing back into familiar territory for a game at Salamanca (13-19-4, 6th in West, eliminated) on Tuesday before their final home game on Wednesday against the Genesee Rapids (23-12-2, 1st in West). Finally, their season closer will take place on Thursday against the Gliders on the road at 1 p.m.
With a playoff berth still lurking, the Oilers are more than confident that they have the talent and mentality to make some noise in the postseason. When asked about his outlook on the final stretch of the season, however, Meeker chose to keep things simple.
“We want to keep winning ball games and keep having fun,” said Meeker.
GAME ONE
AT OLEAN
Horseheads 240 102 0 R:9 H:7 E:1
Olean 000 001 0 R:1 H:6 E:2
HH: Duque (5 SO, 0 BB) and Vogel
OL: Ross (4 SO, 6 BB), Smith (2) (8 SO, 0 BB) and Ambrosio
GAME TWO
AT OLEAN
Horseheads 000 000 0 R:0 H:4 E:0
Olean 173 310 X R:15 H:19 E:0
HH: Deloach (0 SO, 0 BB), Klemann (2) (1 SO, 1 BB), Larkin (3) (0 SO, 0 BB), Humphries (5) (1 SO, 0 BB) and Vogel, Meisner
OL: Roche (9 SO, 1 BB), Arreola (7) (0 SO, 1 BB) and Ambrosio
