By Sam Federman

Box Score     Photos     Photos Jules     Photos Brady

AMSTERDAM, N.Y. - 2,114 Amsterdam Mohawks fans came to Shuttleworth Park to see a firework show after Saturday’s opening night game against the Watertown Rapids.

Mohawks’ infielder Tyler Figueroa made sure that they felt the fireworks all night.

While the Siena freshman didn’t touch the sky to the soundtrack of Baba O’Riley, he sure made a loud noise with a three-hit performance, driving in six of Amsterdam’s 12 runs in a 12-1 victory.

With the final swing of the game, Figueroa laced a double the opposite way into right field, scoring two runs and completing the mercy and adding a second win to the Mohawks’ 2024 tally.

His second consecutive three-for-five display provided an apt opening act for a rowdy Amsterdam faithful excited about both a quest for three PGCBL titles in a row and a frenzy of flashes in the sky.

“Everything was clicking, that’s just another day,” Figueroa said in a post-game interview.

He’s not the only Mohawk swinging a hot bat to open up the season. Cade Ladehoff (NJIT) singled three times, including a decisive two-run knock in the fourth, opening the floodgates to extend the lead to seven runs. Amsterdam’s six-run fourth inning, where the team batted around, reached two outs before a single run was scored, after Zach Eldred (SUNY Brockport) struck out swinging. However, Figueroa, who moved up in the lineup from sixth to third, delivered a run-scoring base hit, and the two-out rally was underway.

From 4-1 at the outset of the frame, the Mohawks jumped out to a 10-1 lead after Ben Huckans (St. John Fisher) nearly took a pitch out of the yard, hitting the top banner on the left field wall, driving in a run.

Starting pitcher Justus Agosto (North Alabama) pitched the first four innings, allowing just the single run, while striking out five. In both the third and fourth innings, the right-hander struck out two consecutive batters with runners in scoring position to end the threat.

In the opening two trips to the plate for the Rapids, Agosto put the leadoff hitter on base, but he still faced the minimum thanks to strong defense. Jackson Natili (Rutgers) caught Dominic Morabito stealing second in the first (and later, Nolan Widrick in the seventh), and Agosto coaxed a 6-4-3 double play in the second.

After spending the spring playing for Mohawks head coach Keith Griffin at Coastal Alabama North, Jesse Kuzmich made his Amsterdam debut in relief of Agosto. The Cambridge, NY native dazzled in his first inning of work, efficiently mowing down the three Watertown hitters that stood in the box, before running into a little bit of trouble in the sixth. Kuzmich escaped the bases-loaded jam in the sixth when Tyler Jacobsen flew out and nailed down the 7th for a three-inning save.

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