Filed by the Amsterdam Mohawks:
Blake Logan was the hero. Logan went 1-for-4 with two RBI, both of which came in the bottom of the ninth inning on his game-winning single. Zach Brown (Kentucky) had a solid performance for the Mohawks on the mound. Brown struck out eight over six innings of work, and only allowed one run.
John McGinty (Hartford) pitched well for the Brewers. McGinty struck out and walked six over eight innings of work, while only allowing two runs. Crachard Laing (Bluefield State) had the biggest hit for the Brewers. He had a two-RBI single to give the Brewers a 4-2 lead in the top of the ninth inning.
The Mohawks took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI single by John Razzino (Franklin Pierce). The Mohawks had an opportunity to add on to that, but they left the bases loaded.
Cody Burton (Alabama-Huntsville) tied the game at 1 in the top of the sixth inning with an RBI single through the right side. Cedric Mullins (Louisburg) came around to score.
The Mohawks got the run back in the bottom of the sixth inning with an RBI double by Jack Czeszewski (Illinois State). After the RBI double, the game was unexciting until the ninth inning.
The top of the ninth inning was a great inning for the Utica Brewers. Zach Breen(Barton) came out to try to save the game for the Mohawks, but had limited success. Breen walked the first two batters of the inning, Hayden Kelly (Polk State) and Zach Torriente (New Mexico State). Anthony Villa (St. Mary’s) laid down a bunt that advanced Torriente to third, and Mike Wright (Coppin State) to second after Wright pinch-ran for Kelly. Breen struck out the next batter Reno Rankin (L.A. Mission College), and had Crachard Laing down to his final strike. However, Laird singled up the middle and gave Utica a 3-2 lead. Adam Pexton (Utica) added an insurance run with an RBI single to make it 4-2 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
The bottom of the ninth inning provided some theatrics for the Shuttleworth faithful that stayed trough an hour-long rain delay at the beginning of the game. Chad Moss (Davidson) came in to try and save the game for the Brewers. Joey Aiola (Marist) singled to lead-off the inning, but was quickly erased when Jack Czeszewski grounded into a 1-6-3 double play. Down to their last out, just like the Brewers, the Mohawks started a rally. Marcus Carson (Kentucky) walked, then Tommy Kain (Lynn) pinch-hit for JaVon Shelby (Kentucky) and got hit by a pitch. Josh Gardiner (Radford) then grounded towards the shortstop Torriente, and Torriente misplayed the ball, which loaded the bases. Moss threw a wild pitch and Marcus Carson came into score to make the game 3-2. John Razzino was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and that brought Blake Logan to the plate. After falling down 0-2 in the count, Logan battled back to bring the count even at 2-2. Blake Logan then punched one out into right field, and Jake Salpietro (Fairfield, pinch-ran for Tommy Kain) and Josh Gardiner came in to score the winning runs. The Mohawks won in walk-off fashion!
The Mohawks improved to 30-9 on the season, and Utica dropped to 7-31. The Mohawks play Elmira on Thursday, and Utica will play Adirondack in Boonville.
