By SPENCER BATES
OLEAN — The Olean Oilers offense continued to be lights out, running up the score on the Geneva Red Wings for its third victory by a wide margin in as many days.
After dropping five consecutive games between June 19 and June 25, Olean has turned the page in a major way, picking up lopsided victories over the Niagara Falls Americans, Auburn Doubledays and now, the Geneva Red Wings, who the Oilers dispatched 11-0 in a seven-inning mercy rule.
Rolling over its momentum from the last two nights, Olean shot out of the gates, chasing Geneva’s starting pitcher, Austin Deitz, out of the game by scoring eight runs before he could complete two innings. According to head coach Mike Threehouse, there have been technical improvements made by the team as of late which has contributed to their positive run of form, but what has really influenced the scorelines has been the infectious energy throughout the roster.
“The energy’s changed,” Threehouse said. “We went through that five-game (losing) stretch and we had lost a lot of energy. We lost all our mojo, and all of a sudden we just kind of picked it back up. And that’s just the mark of a good group. Because you’re gonna have ups and downs over baseball seasons, especially when you play so many games. So you gotta mitigate whatever’s going on, try to stop what’s going wrong, and that’s what the guys did. I mean, all of a sudden, they’re all swinging the bats and feeling good about themselves.”
Every player that recorded at least two at-bats for the Oilers on the afternoon tallied a hit — and all but two players overall picked up a hit.
It was a true full-team effort, which was spearheaded by Brian Fleming, who finished 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBI. A player whom Threehouse noted has been pivotal in changing the success of the entire offense.
“Well, I think the big part of it is actually us moving Fleming up into the middle of the order,” Threehouse said. “We kept him down a little bit, but he’s one of our guys who just spreads the ball around the park. And I think after just watching him produce, watching (Thomas) Bates produce, the rest of the team is following suit. That’s what we’ve been preaching. It’s a wooden bat league. When I played here with aluminum bats, we were all taking big swings. But when you got a wooden bat in your hand, it changes a little bit. I think what they’ve seen is the success of Bates and Fleming, and they’re like, ‘hey, we got to take those swings.’”
Olean’s Darek Staudt (23) celebrates with Aidan Willard (26) after scoring against Geneva. Staudt went 1-for-2 with two runs and two RBI for the Oilers in their win over the Red Wings. (Hunter O. Lyle)
Behind Fleming, Darek Staudt (1-for-2, 2 runs, 2 RBI) — who currently sits with 24 RBI, the fifth-best tally in the category in all of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL), Christo Hunsicker (1-for-2, 2 runs, 2 RBI), Aidan Willard (1-for-3, 2 RBI) and Brayden Rader (2-for-2, 2 runs, RBI) all contributed heavily in the win.
That being said, the shutout would not have been complete without a stellar effort on the mound, and Hudson Iacuessa delivered just that. Striking out five batters and allowing just four hits in 6.0 innings, Iacuessa, who Threehouse anticipates playing a major role the rest of the season, shined in his first game with the team.
“As soon as he got on the mound, you could see his presence,” Threehouse said. “Especially for a younger guy, he came in, he wasn’t fearful of anything, and pitched a heck of a game. We were proud of him, and he’s gonna be a big guy for us for the rest of the season.”
Jaxson Ross came in to relieve Iacuessa in the top of the seventh and promptly slammed the door shut on the Red Wings, sitting the visitors down in order.
But for as good as the Oilers’ arms were, their defense played just as much of a role in holding Geneva to four hits, only two of which were for extra bases.
“Anybody that we’re putting out there right now is fielding the ball pretty well, which is nice to see,” Threehouse said. “Dana (Williams) got the start at shortstop today and played a heck of a game out there today. We’re getting great defense from a lot of people. And that’s a big part of being a winning team. You’ve got to hit the ball, but you also got to stop the ball when it’s hit. We’ve been doing that pretty well, and I’m proud of it. We’re doing an excellent job.”
The Oilers will look to extend their win streak to four games on June 30, when they host the Jamestown Tarp Skunks at 6:30 p.m.
AT OLEAN (7 innings)
Geneva 000 000 0XX R:0 H:4 E:0
Olean 441 101 XXX R:11 H:10 E:0
Gen: Deitz (1 SO, 3 BB), Lipton (0 SO, 1 BB), Rude (1 SO, 4 BB), Abbate (0 SO, 0 BB) and Orrego
OL: Iacuessa (5 SO, 1 BB), Ross (1 SO, 0 BB) and Cordeiro
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