Batavia (19-15) battled back and forth with Oneonta (17-17) to finally come through to prevail 5-3. Miguel Tapia (4-2) went five innings on the mound with two hits, two runs, one walk and two strikeouts to get the win. Adam Reifer got his tenth save in his usual fashion, pitching a hitless 9th with one strikeout.
The Muckdogs jumped on the board first in the 2nd inning when Blake Murphy doubled and was then driven in on a Domnit Bolivar sacrifice fly. The Tigers answered back with two runs of their own in the 3rd after Christopher White walked and Ben Guez hit a homerun. But Batavia tied it up in the bottom of the inning. Beau Riportella singled, Jose Garcia reached on a fielder’s choice and Colt Sedbrook was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Shane Peterson then flew out to centerfield for a RBI.
Batavia came through to break the tie and get the win in the 5th when the same three players loaded the bases again after Riportella doubled, Garcia was hit by a pitch and Sedbrook singled. Peterson then cracked a double to clear the bases.
Riportella went 2-for-3 at the plate while Murphy went 2-for-4, each with a double. Peterson had four RBI. The rubber-match between the two teams is set for an early 11:05 start on Thursday.
