LIGHTNING STRIKES TWICE AT DUFFY FAIRGROUNDS

WATERTOWN - On Saturday, the Watertown Wizards used back-to-back, walk-off singles to shock the Little Falls Diamond Miners in both ends of a doubleheader. In game one, Ryan Femath (St. Mary’s TX) singled up the left field line off Matt Bowman (South Dakota State), with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, giving the Wizards a 3-2 win. Gerry Spessard (Maryland) belted a one-out, bases-loaded single in the eighth inning to give the Wizards the night cap, 4-3. The sweep propels Watertown to 13-7, and the Wizards now have won eight out of their last ten games. The Diamond Miners fall to 9-8, having lost their last six inter-division doubleheader games.

Little Falls brought a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the seventh inning of game one. Matt Bowman started for the Diamond Miners and pitched effectively through the first six innings. After allowing a James Donaldson (Northeastern) lead-off single, Bowman forced Wes Henderson (Alabama) into a check swing, double play groundout. The Wizards were then down to their final strike with Dylan McMaine (Eastern Kentucky) at the plate. McMaine connected for a solo home run over the left field wall on a 2-2 pitch to tie the game. The game went downhill after that for Little Falls.

Pinch hitter Cody Pyle (St. Mary’s TX) hit a pop up in front of home plate. There was miscommunication between third basemen David Flores (Sacramento State) and catcher Ryan Overland (Fresno State). Flores attempted to make a last second catch, but the ball fell to the ground and Pyle was safe at first. A fielding error on Miners shortstop Tommy Fitzgerald (Fort Scott CC) kept the inning going and placed runners on first and second. Ryan Femath bounced a single up the third base line into left field, plating pinch runner Alex Jaffee to win the game.

James Donaldson led the Watertown offensive effort going 2-for-3 with one RBI. McMaine’s seventh-inning home run was his first of the summer. For Little Falls, Kyle Hartz (Santa Clara) was the hitting standout. Hartz went 1-for-3 with a RBI triple and run scored. David Flores contributed two hits and scored one run.

Matt Vieira (Cal State East Bay) earned his first win in relief. Vieira pitched an inning and a third of scoreless baseball and retired all four batters he faced. Jason Brown (Central Michigan) started for Watertown and earned a no decision. Brown pitched five innings and gave up two earned runs on four hits with one strikeout. Matt Bowman took the loss for Little Falls. He allowed three runs (two earned) on six hits and struck out three. Bowman, however, did set down 14 straight Wizards before the seventh-inning rally.

The Diamond Miners did not arrive to Watertown until 3:00 PM due to a scheduling mishap. The first game got underway at 3:50 PM and the Wizards jumped on top of the Miners in the first inning. With two outs, Gerry Spessard singled through the left side. Drew Madia (Purdue) connected for a base hit to right-center field, moving Spessard to third. James Donaldson lined a single into center field to score Spessard and put Watertown on top, 1-0.

The Diamond Miners would not strike until the top of the fifth inning against Brown. David Flores led off with a double to the left field corner. Ryan Overland (Fresno State) sacrificed Flores to third. Kyle Hartz tied the game at one with a RBI triple to the right field wall. Alex Bardeguez (Cal State Northridge) flied out to deep center field, driving in Hartz on a sacrifice fly to give the Diamond Miners a 2-1 lead.

The second game proved to be even more exciting. The Diamond Miners and Wizards went to extra innings, tied at three. Cody Pyle singled to lead off the eighth against Little Falls reliever Kyle Necke (Cal-Irvine). Pyle advanced to second on a Matt Davis (Eastern Kentucky) sacrifice bunt. Diamond Miners manager Kevin Tucker took out Necke in favor of right-hander Holden Sprague (Fresno State). Sprague intentionally walked Ryan Femath to set up a potential, inning-ending double play. Chris Rosenbaum (Tampa) hit a line-drive single into left field to load the bases, still with only one out. Gerry Spessard slapped a hard single past a drawn-in infield, driving home the game-winning run.

Spessard finished the game, 2-for-4 with one RBI. Cody Pyle tallied three hits in four at-bats and scored two runs. Chris Rosenbaum also contributed two hits and scored one run. Daniel DeMarco (Santa Clara) pitched two and two-thirds innings of scoreless relief to grab his second win.

Kyle Necke took the loss for Little Falls. He pitched three innings of relief, allowed one run on two hits and walked two. Joe Cravens (Hanover) started and lasted only three and two-thirds innings. He gave up a run on five hits and walked one. Kyle Schlecht (Charleston Southern) also pitched for the Miners. Ollie Linton (Cal-Irvine) paced the Diamond Miners offense with two hits and two RBI. Joe DiGeronimo (Wagner) had two hits as well. But, for all the Little Falls offense, they scored just three runs, stranded 13 runners base and could not take advantage of six Wizards errors.

Little Falls threatened in each of their first two at-bats. The Miners had runners on first and second when Watertown starting pitcher, Bobby Carrington (Northeastern), forced David Flores to ground into one of the three Diamond Miners double plays. With one out, Little Falls loaded the bases in the second inning on a fielding error, base hit and fielder’s interference. EJ Daws (Michigan State) hit into a fielder’s choice, eliminating the lead runner at the plate, for the second out. Then Carrington fanned Ollie Linton to end the inning, without allowing a run.

Watertown struck first in the bottom of the third. Cody Pyle smashed a lead-off, solo home run off Joe Cravens to give Watertown a 1-0 lead. Little Falls took the lead in the next half-inning. With one out, Kyle Hartz reached first on a Wizards throwing error. Joe DiGeronimo reached first on a bunt single, advancing Hartz to second. The Miners loaded the bases after a Kevin Fujii (Hawaii) fielders choice and an EJ Daws (Michigan State) walk. Ollie Linton smashed a ground ball up the left field line, scoring two runs, to put the Diamond Miners into the lead, 2-1.

The Wizards responded with two runs of their own in the fifth inning off reliever Kyle Schlecht (Charleston Southern). Chris Rosenbaum walked and Gerry Spessard singled. Alex Jaffee hit a chopper to third. David Flores fielded the ball, but his force-out throw to second went into the outfield, scoring Rosenbaum to tie the game. Schlect walked James Donaldson to load the bases for Watertown. Kyle Necke replaced Kyle Schlect on the mound. But, Necke walked Dylan McMaine to force home Watertown’s go-ahead run.

The Wizards allowed Little Falls to tie the game in the sixth against Bobby Carrington. An EJ Daws walk and Ollie Linton slash bunt single placed Miners on first and second. Tommy Fitzgerald hit a ground ball to the right side at first basemen Wes Henderson. Henderson fielded the ball cleanly, but his force-out throw to second sailed wide, and Daws came home to score, tying the game at three. After Carrington allowed runners to second and third, Daniel DeMarco was brought in from the bullpen. After an intentional walk to Jimmy Baker (Centenary), DeMarco quietly induced an inning-ending, around-the-horn double play to end the threat.

The Wizards return to Duffy Fairgrounds on Sunday afternoon. The Wizards will host the West Division leading Allegany County Nitros in a doubleheader, beginning at 3:00 PM. You can hear all the Wizards games, home and away, live on TEAMLINE.