By HUNTER O. LYLE
OLEAN, NY – On the country’s 250th birthday, Bradner Stadium saw it all. Between tick-for-tack sluggers, a faceoff of opposing coaches and waves of erupting dugouts, the Olean Oilers’ 11-7 exhibition win over the Dansville Gliders would prove to upstage the fireworks show that followed soon after.
“I told the guys, ‘remember why you play.’ We play because we have fun playing the game,” said Oilers head coach Mike Threehouse on taking the field for an exhibition game. “When you play loose and free, that’s when you play your best baseball. So I told them to play for the love of the game, have fun and just go out and play as hard as you can.”
The action started immediately. After hometown ace Austin Miles led the charge on defense, dispatching Dansville in just four at-bats, Keegan McElligot replicated the effort on the other side of the plate. Following a 3-for-4 performance in his first time suiting up for the Oilers on Friday, he carried his hot bat into Saturday, leading-off with a crushed shot into centerfield that gave him real estate on third. Armanis Romero swiftly brought him around the corner with a single immediately after, sparking a stretch that saw Olean build a 3-0 lead heading into the second frame.
The Oilers continued to keep Dansville on a leash through the early afternoon, repeatedly retiring their former NYCBL rivals without allowing a man first through the next two innings. Meanwhile, Olean tagged on a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, with Anthony Radice and Logan Koslin scoring on back-to-back wild pitches.
However, the Gliders could only be contained for so long. Heading into the top of the fourth, they managed to break through with a burst of six runs off four hits, two errors and one errant pitch.
Having the lead ripped away from them, Olean was quick to respond. In the bottom of the same inning, the Oilers saw two men swiftly reach first and third before tallying their first out. Then, the next three would muster some retaliation, with Radice, Koslin and Aiden Cowburn recording an RBI each as Olean retook the lead at 8-6.
Although Dansville snuck another run onto their side of the scoreboard in the next frame, Olean’s confidence provided a cushion, and with confidence came some let-loose fun.
Seeing Olean coach Jake Meeker step behind the plate to reprise his playing-days role as catcher, the Gliders then sent their own coach out to the mound in the bottom of the sixth. Emboldened and with a smile on his face, Meeker stepped up and stared him down, bat in hand. With two outs and one man on first, Meeker cocked back and cracked a hard hit shot into the outfield, driving in a run with a double to left field.
“It was fun to watch him come back out and play. He loves the Oilers, he loves Olean and gives himself an opportunity to go out and play,” said Threehouse on Meeker, who played with the Oilers before taking up a one-year head coaching position last year. “He did a great job for an old guy.”
As the dugout erupted, Olean capitalized on the excitement and momentum, scoring another two runs before the end of the frame and coasting to an exhibition win.
Having no rest for the weary, the Oilers (10-14) will snap back into league play on Sunday, putting their nose to the grindstone with a double-header against the Newark Pilots at home. One day later, they will see another double-header at Geneva as they open the final stretch of the regular season with eyes towards a playoff spot.
“We’ve had some close games. We’ve had a really tough schedule, but looking at things and looking at how we’re doing, we’re about to go on a heater here. I think within the next 10 days, we’re going to be looking at a playoff spot,” said Threehouse. “Our record doesn’t exactly show what kind of team we are. We’ve got to make some hay. We’ve got to win some games, play our best baseball over the next couple weeks and I think that’ll put us right back where we need to be.”
AT OLEAN
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