LITTLE FALLS, NY – Ryan Hernandez picked up three RBIs for the Mohawk Valley, while Ryan Toohers and Mark McKenna picked up two apiece en route to a 12-5 victory over the Newark Pilots.

The Pilots finally got to Mohawk Valley starter Sam Beck (Warren, NJ/Skidmore) in the top of the fourth inning, when Allen Murphy (Richburg, NY/St. John Fisher) parked his third home run of the season over the left-center field wall. That hit would score St. John Fisher classmate Justin Graham (St. Mary's, PA) as well.

Mohawk Valley grabbed the lead right back in the bottom of the fifth, starting off with a long home run to straightaway center field by Mike Young (Chester, NJ/UMass Lowell). An RBI single by Joey Castellanos (Nutley, NJ/UMass Lowell) with two outs, scored JD Davis (Goose Creek, SC/The Citadel) as well. Hernandez (Boston, MA/SUNY Albany) gave Mohawk Valley the lead just one batter later, lacing an RBI single to right field to score Mark McKenna (Grand Island, NY/Canisius)

James Walter tied up the score in the top of the sixth with a blooper to right field to score Jared DeSantolo (Tampa, FL/Florida Atlantic).

The bottom of the sixth was Mohawk Valley's and they battered both starter Matthew Walczak (Levittown, PA/Lincoln Memorial) and reliever Alec Teska (Cato, NY/St. John Fisher) for six runs in that inning. In all, ten Diamond Dawgs made their way to the plate and four would be credited with RBIs, including Toohers (Florham Park, NJ/Villanova), who would loop a ball to the wall to score two runs and break the game wide open for Mohawk Valley.

McKenna extended the Mohawk Valley in the seventh with a two RBI double that would score Young and Stephen Furman (Brookhaven, PA/Iona) . He would score on an RBI single by Hernandez that would get all the way to the wall.

Matt Cerfolio (Indian Springs, AL/Columbia) would get a run back for the Pilots in the ninth, coming home off of the wild pitch. Alexander Hernandez would get an RBI single as well to score Stephen Edgett (Webster, NY/St. John Fisher). However,that was all the Pilots could muster, as Alexis Calderon (Bethlehem, PA/Manhattan) and Eddie Rives (Hialeah, FL/Barry) managed to only allow those two runs in the ninth to put away the Pilots (2-9).

Ben Wager (Johnstown, NY/Herkimer) was rewarded with the win for Mohawk Valley, while Walczack was saddled with the loss for Newark.

The Diamond Dawgs (8-5) will take Father's Day off before heading back to Veteran's Memorial Park on Monday for a rematch of the 2017 PGCBL Championship Series with the Jamestown Jammers. The last time the Jammers visited Little Falls, Mohawk Valley struck early and often to take a 1-0 lead in the series with an 11-1 victory. The Pilots, however, will have a Father's Day game on Sunday, heading south to Dunn Field to take on the Elmira Pioneers.