By SPENCER BATES
OLEAN – Through the fledgling days of its debut season in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL) the Olean Oilers have tallied a lot of ‘firsts.’
They added another to the growing list after a 7-2 win at the expense of the Niagara Ironbacks gave them their first back-to-back wins at home.
For the second day in a row, the Oilers got stellar performances on the mound that were complimented by an effective and aggressive offense.
According to head coach Mike Threehouse, this comes as a result of his players operating with a high level of confidence.
“I’ve been coaching a long time. Baseball, softball, and everything else, everything comes down to confidence,” Threehouse said. “Once they start believing in themselves and believing in their team, everything just starts to flow, and that’s what you’re seeing. You’re seeing a bunch of guys walk up to the plate with confidence, you’re seeing a bunch of guys fielding ground balls with confidence and you see pitchers going out there and getting ahead of batters with real confidence. If they just stick with this confidence, everything is good.”
On the mound, Olean got great performances from each of the three arms it utilized. Starter Brendan Roche was resilient, stranding a number of baserunners early in the game, and ultimately going 3.0 innings while striking out four batters. He was relieved by Xander Gendics, who pitched the majority of the contest and made quick work of the Ironbacks, striking out three in 5.0 frames. Bryson Huwar then sealed the win with five strikeouts over the final two innings.
“It was a good mixture. Obviously, all three of them pitched extremely well,” Threehouse said. “Roche had a little trouble early on, but … he threw some big pitches to get himself out of it. Then Gendics came in and did a great job. He went four or five innings and was fantastic. And then Huwar comes in and strikes out five or six batters, and we’ll take that. That’s how we’d like to end the game every day.”
The offense worked well in parallel with the pitching staff, combining for 10 hits on the evening. However, unlike how the Oilers got their runs last night, just two swings did a lot of the heavy lifting against Niagara. One of which was a three-run home run from Cooper Tarlie in the bottom of the second inning — the first PGCBL home run for the franchise in Bradner Stadium — with the other being a two-run triple courtesy of Darek Staudt.
Still, in the eyes of Threehouse, there was more that was left out there by his team’s bats.
“I think we lead the league in walks, but I want to lead the league in runs scored,” Threehouse said. “So I think we took maybe too many strike 3’s looking tonight. I think we got to fix that just a touch. But we’ve been waiting for Cooper Tarlie’s power, man. When he takes BP, it’s amazing. That was a big home run. … That really picked us up and got us going in the right direction.”
Olean’s Christo Hunsicker (8) swings at a pitch against Niagara. (Spencer Bates)
Highlighting the offense was Randolph-Macon’s Brian Fleming, who went 3-for-3 with three runs and gunned down a runner at home plate from right field — a run that would have been a second in the seventh inning for the Ironbacks. This is Fleming’s second summer in Olean, having been a part of the roster last year and according to Threehouse, his experience and leadership has been extremely welcome.
“Right now I gotta say he’s one of the best hitters I’ve ever seen with the way he’s swinging the bat,” Threehouse said. “It’s fantastic. When he’s up there, we know we’re gonna have a good battle. And obviously, his throw out at the plate got us fired up as well. Flem is just one of those guys, he’s a leader in the dugout and just an all-around great kid. I’m glad that he’s here. I’m glad he’s playing good baseball and we’re looking for a big summer from him.”
Other standout players on offense included Brady Smith (2-for-4, run) and Staudt (1-for-3, run, 2 RBI).
Next up for Olean is its third game at home in a row, set for June 7 at 4 p.m. against the Batavia Muckdogs.
AT OLEAN
Niagara 010 000 100 R:2 H:6 E:3
Olean 030 003 01X R:7 H:10 E:1
NIA: Fitzpatrick (7 SO, 1 BB), Sfyndilis (2 SO, 0 BB), Hayes (2 SO, 0 BB), Locatelli (1 SO, 1 BB) and Cutler
OL: Roche (4 SO, 4 BB), Gendics (3 SO, 0 BB), Huwar (5 SO, 0 BB) and Smith
