On a nights with many hits, but few runs, the Niagara Falls Americans fell to the Jamestown Tarp Skunks 3-2 in extra innings. After three of the five combined runs were scored in the 1st inning, the Tarp Skunks slowly tallied their way to a win, culminating in a 10th inning run to take the lead. This loss ends the Americans‘ win streak at seven games, and moves their record to 14-7. Jamestown Climbs back above .500, moving to 11-10 on the season.
The Americans offensive performance was led by Greydon Miller, Grant Moore, and Gavyn Boyle. Miller hit a single in all four of his at bats, driving in one run. Moore was the only other American with multiple hits, batting 2-of-3, with one walk and a steal. Boyle hit a RBI double in one of his four at bats, the only extra base hit of the game.
Niagara Falls threw five pitchers on the night. Hudson Boring pitched the first 5.1 innings, allowing two runs and striking out five. Brady Toney entered in relief first, pitching 1.0 inning. Toney allowed no runs and struck out two of his nine batters faced. Jake Roscher came in next, pitching the next 1.2 innings. While Roscher hit two batters, his other five at bats ended with an out, two of them by strikeout. Carmen Panaro subbed in to pitch the full 9th inning, allowing one hit, striking out one, and was credited with the 10th inning ghost runner that scored the winning run. Austin Barton pitched the 10th inning, and recorded an out on all three batters he faced.
In the late-winning performance, Brady McGuire, Justin Bremner, and Nathan Borchardt led the Tarp Skunks. McGuire batted 2-of-5, scoring two of Jamestown’s three runs, including the game-winner, and drove in the team’s third run. Bremner and Borchardt both batted 2-of-4 and tallied a walk.
Four Tarp Skunks stepped on the mound in the win. Hunter Bell pitched the first 4.0 innings, allowing two runs and striking out four batters. Daniel Thomas took the mound for the next 3.2 innings, allowing three hits and one walk, but no runs and tallying one strikeout. The winning pitcher, Will Taylor, threw the next 1.1, striking out two of his six batters faced. Eddie Dolansky pitched the full 10th inning, allowing just one walk, but recording an out on his other three batters face. Dolansky struck out one and earned his first save of the season.
Despite being a night that ended with just five total runs scored, the 1st inning appeared to be the start of a potentially high-scoring fair. In the top of the 1st, the Tarp Skunks took an early lead. After a leadoff walk by Nolan Smith, the next two batters were recorded out. The next batter, Nathan Borchardt, started his day by singling up the middle, moving Smith to 2nd. A Brady McGuire single to right field scored Smith, putting the Tarp Skunks up 1-0.
The bottom of the inning start with Grant Moore working a walk. Moore was able to advance to 2nd on a groundout during the next at bat. With one out and a runner in scoring position, Gavyn Boyle hit a double to right center field that allowed the speedy Moore to score from 2nd, tying the game. After a strikeout put the 2nd out on the board, Greydon Miller singled through the left side, allowing Boyle to come home and give Niagara Falls an early 2-0 lead. Despite having numerous chances, and leaving 16 runners on base during the game, the Americans did not score another run.
The tying run was scored in the top of the 6th. After a lineout, then single by McGuire to start the inning, the Americans turned to Hudson Boring. After a single by his first batter, a strikeout put runners on the corners with two outs. After a stolen base and walk, Boring found himself in a bases loaded, two outs jam. Boring struckout the batter, but a run would score on the dropped strike three. The batter reached first base, as catcher Dalton Harper chose to instead attempt to apply a tag to McGuire coming home from 3rd base. McGuire jumped over Harper near the plate, and was able to sneak his hand on the back side of the base, scoring the game-tying run.
The winning run was scored on the first batter of the 10th inning. With McGuire placed on 2nd to start the inning, a flyout to right field allowed him to tag up and advance to third. In an attempt to tag him out at third, the throw came in from right field, and the third baseman was not able to field the ball, allowing McGuire to run home and score on the error. The next two batters grounded out to put the Americans on offense. Despite loading the bases with one out, Niagara Falls could not capitalize and tie the game.
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Catch the next Americans home games tomorrow, June 29th, when we host the Elmira Pioneers for a doubleheader, with games scheduled to start at 2:00 and 4:00pm. It is Faith and Family Night, so bring your family and religious groups to the game and cheer on your Niagara Falls Americans! To purchase single-game or season tickets, call 716-215-6161 or visit niagarafallsamericans.com for more information. Season tickets start as low as $99! If you or someone you know is interested in sponsoring the Americans, or organizing a group outing to an Americans game, please contact General Manager Marc Witt at mwitt.canusa@gmail.com.
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