NEWARK, N.Y.  – The Newark Pilots and Geneva Red Wings split a double header at Colburn Park.  Geneva took game one 4-0 to improve their record to 28-19.  Alex Bellardini (Youngstown State) picked up his sixth win, going 6 scoreless frames, striking out 3.  Chris Vitale (Erie CC) took the loss.  In game two, Newark won 6-4 to improve their record to 19-28.  Kyle Griffen (Louisiana Tech) picked up the win in relief, pitching 4 innings, striking out 5.  Stephen Larson (Iowa Wesleyan) took the loss.

The Red Wings got the game one scoring started in the top of the first.  TJ Byrd (Rend Lake) led off the game with a walk off of Vitale, he then moved to second on a Dominic Toso (Bucknell Commit) sacrifice bunt.  Byrd would score on a Will Simoneit (Cornell) single to take a 1-0 lead.

In the top of the third, the Red Wings doubled their lead.  Toso led the inning off with an infield single, he then moved to third on a Mikey Arman (Kenyon) double.  Simoneit drove him in for his second RBI, and the games second run, to take a 2-0 lead.

Geneva doubled their lead in the top of the fifth.  After Vitale retired the first two batters in the frame, the Red Wings started a two-out rally.  A Toso walk, Arman single, and Simoneit single loaded the bases with two outs.  The next batter, Joseph Tassin (Bossier Parish CC) lined a single up the middle to drive in Toso from third.  Arman would come around to score on the play on an error from Pilots center fielder Mark McKenna (Canisius) to give Geneva a 4-0 lead.

The 4-0 lead was all Bellardini would need in game one.  He scattered four singles over six innings of work, while striking out three.  Tyler Key (Mendocino) pitched a scoreless, 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh to end the game.

Box Score for Game One: http://pgcbl.bbstats.pointstreak.com/boxscore.html?
gameid=426688.

In the bottom of the first of game two, the Pilots would finally get into the run column.  McKenna led off the frame with a walk, then moved to second on a Hunter Wells (Tyler JC) single.  McKenna would come around to score on a Will Allocca (Virginia) one-out single to give the Pilots an early 1-0 lead.

In the Pilots half of the second, they would add more.  Jonathan Parker (Jones County JC) led the inning off with a first pitch double off of Larson, then moved to third on a fielders choice, groundout from Josh Loeffler (UConn).  Parker would score on a Zach Santoro (Notre Dame College) single to make it 2-0.  McKenna doubled the score when he took Larson deep, for his first home run of the summer.  Santoro also came around to score on the HR to give the Pilots a 4-0 lead.

In the top of the third, the Red Wings would cut the lead in half off of Pilots starter Alec Teska (St. John’s Fisher).  Matt Chamberlain (New Haven) led the inning off with a walk, then moved to second when Toso was hit by a Teaka pitch.  Chamberlain came around to score on an Arman single.  After Simoneit was hit by a pitch, Tassin lofted a sacrifice fly to left to drive in Toso to cut the lead to 4-2.

The Pilots answered the call in their half of the third.  On the first pitch of the inning from Larson, Allocca took him deep off of the Colburn Park scoreboard in left, to give the Pilots a 5-2 lead.  In the top of the fourth, Geneva got that run back when Ben Terwilliger (Maine Commit) led off the inning with a walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored on a Justin Etts (NJIT) single to make it 5-3.  The Etts single knocked Teska out of the game two batters into the fourth.

The Pilots would add an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth.  Parker led the inning off with a walk, and Loeffler moved him over with a single.  The next batter, Santoro, laid down a bunt, the pitcher, Domenic Nardone (Siena) tried to get the lead runner at third, but over threw Tassin, and Parker came around to score on an E1 to extend the Pilots lead to 6-3.

Geneva would make it interesting in the top of the seventh off Griffen.  Arman led the inning off with a single, then moved to second on a Tassin single.  Arman would come around to score on a Justice Bigbie (Western Carolina) single.  With the tying run on first, the Red Wings sent up a pinch hitter, Will Hampson (Southwest Tennessee CC) to face Griffen.  On a 3-2 count, Griffen got Hampson to ground into a game ending, 4-6-3 double play.

Newark will travel to Onondaga tomorrow to play the Flames at 7:05.  Geneva will play at Elmira.