CHESTER, N.Y. – The Wildcats second double-header in as many days took place against the MCLA Trailblazers at The Rock Sports Park. The Wildcats were able to take both games from the Trailblazers by the way of good pitching and timely hitting.
Game 1
Senior Michael Rose (Chatham, N.Y. / Chatham H.S.) took the hill for the Wildcats in game one. Rose threw 4 innings giving up only 1 earned run and striking out 3 batters. He held the Trailblazers in check long enough to allow the bats to wake up. The Wildcats struck for 3 runs in the bottom of the 4th to give them the lead 3-2. Devin Frye (Barneveld, N.Y. / Holland Patient H.S.) came through with a clutch bases loaded line drive single that scored 2 Wildcats in the bottom of the 4th. Frye went 1-2 in the game with a walk. Although the Wildcats were out hit 12-8 by MCLA, they still managed to score in the bottom of the 5th and 6th innings thanks to 2 RBIs each from Joseph O'Rourke (Camden, N.Y. / Camden H.S.) and Connor Passalacqua (Whitesboro, N.Y. / Whitesboro H.S.) to push the game out of reach 8-3. After Rose's day was done, M.J. Hajec (Whitesboro, N.Y. / Whitesboro H.S.) shut the door on the game and earned his first win of the season. Hajec finished out the last 3 innings scattering 3 hits and recording 1 strikeout. The final score of the game was 8-3 Wildcats.
Game 2
Game two also went to the Wildcats, but this time in a dramatic 1-0 game. Senior Daniel Wiecek (Fort Plain, N.Y. / Fort Plain H.S.) pitched a brilliant complete game shutout recording 7 strikeouts, walking no one and only allowing 5 hits over 7 innings. The only run of the game came in the top of the first inning when Connor Passalacqua (Whitesboro, N.Y. / Whitesboro H.S.) singled to score Jim Sass (Kingston, N.Y. / Kingston H.S.) from third base. Sass went 2-3 on the day and had 2 stolen bases. He also made an incredible diving play up the middle, tagged second base, and made a throw from his knees to turn an un-assisted double play in the bottom of the second inning. The Trailblazers threatened to tie up the game in the bottom of the seventh inning with a man on third and 1 out. Their hopes were cut down by a good play by shortstop Ryan Wegner (Rochester, N.Y. / Brockport H.S.) to get the runner at home on a groundball and a good throw. The final score of the game was 1-0 Wildcats.
The sweep brings the Wildcats overall record to 5-7. The teams next game will be in Cortland, N.Y. on Tuesday to take on the #3 ranked Cortland Red Dragons. The Single 9 inning game is scheduled to start at 3:00 pm.