By Shannon Bickert

Box Score

The Amsterdam Mohawks extended their win streak to 13 straight games with a 17-13 victory over the Glens Falls Dragons on Sunday, June 28. The Mohawks offense was on fire with 23 hits on the game. 

Gabriel Rivera (Rutgers) and Tyler Correa (Chipola) both went 5-6 on the night. Rivera hit his league-leading eighth home run of the summer. The 5 hits tie a team record with John Valente who did it twice in 2017 and the eighth home run moves Rivera into a tie for the fourth most in a Mohawks single season.

The Mohawks attacked early, putting up two runs on two hits and capitalizing on an error in the first inning. Mason McCraine (Auburn) singled and Taylor Belza (Auburn) reached on an error. Zach Johnson (Alabama) made the Dragons pay for their mistakes with a two-RBI single. 

The Dragons answered with a run of their own on Tyler Worth’s (FDU) RBI single to right field. 

Amsterdam extended their lead with their second straight two-spot. Chris McLaughlin (Columbia) got the inning started with a base hit and Evan Taylor (Alabama) homered in his first at-bat for the Mohawks to give Amsterdam a 4-1 lead.

Amsterdam continued to tack on in the third inning starting with Rivera’s solo-shot, his league-leading eighth long ball of the summer. Johnson put pressure on Glens Falls’ defense, reaching on an error and swiping second. Tyler Figueroa (Wake Forest) ripped an RBI-double and Correa followed with an RBI-triple. McLaughlin moved the line, drawing a walk and Taylor hit an RBI-comebacker to cap off the four-run frame. 

The Mohawks extended their lead, taking a 9-1 advantage in the fourth inning. Brady Mills (W&M) and Rivera opened the fourth with back-to-back singles. Johnson walked, loading the bases for Correa who hit an RBI-single to right field. 

The Dragons chipped away in the fifth with a three-run inning. Worth worked an RBI walk, Brady Fandl (FDU) scored on a wild pitch and Tyler McKillop (Lowell) hit an RBI-ground out to make it a 9-3 game.

The Mohawks bats stayed red-hot in the sixth. Rivera led off the inning with a single up the middle and Johnson worked a walk. Figueroa, Correa and McLaughlin strung together three consecutive RBI-singles, extending Amsterdam’s lead to eight runs. 

Glens Falls rallied in the sixth with a four-run inning. Kaden Barmer (Goldey-Beacon) hit a sacrifice fly, Fandl walked in a run, Giorgio Pantepinto (Iona) knocked an RBI-single to left field and Worth capped off the inning with a sacrifice fly. 

The Mohawks continued to put runs on the board in the seventh inning, giving them a 15-8 lead. Anthony DeCesare (UDel) wore a pitch to lead off the inning and Mills reached on an error. Rivera made the Dragons pay, knocking an RBI-double. Mills came in to score on a wild pitch and Figueroa added the third run of the inning on a sacrifice fly. 

The Dragons cut the deficit to two runs with a five-run bottom of the seventh inning. Enrique Diaz (Northern Oklahoma) started the scoring with a two-out two-RBI single. Fandl followed with an RBI double and Pantepinto ripped a two-RBI two-bagger to make it a 15-13 ballgame. 

In the ninth, Amsterdam added insurance with Rivera’s double and Johnson’s two-RBI single to left field. 

The Mohawks head to Oneonta to face the Outlaws in a doubleheader on Monday, June 29. First pitch from Damaschke Field is set for 5:00 pm.

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