baseball

The Batavia Muckdogs showed up at Dwyer Stadium last night with their hitting shoes on, slapping around 15 hits and scoring 16 runs to drop the Lowell Red Sox 16-2.

The victory moved the Muckdogs to 13-13 for the year.

Nick Longmire hit his fifth home run of the season and he had, along with Joey Bergman and Colin Walsh, three RBIs.

Rainel Rosario had three hits and drove in a pair of runs.

Justin Edwards went seven innings and surrendered two runs to pick up his second win and lower his ERA to 2.93.

Tonight is fireworks night as the Muckdogs play one more home game against the Boston Red Sox farm team. On Saturday, longtime NY-Penn League rivals Jamestown open a three-game series at Dwyer.

Batavia's Little League All Stars put up a heck of a fight in a seesaw battle that hung in the balance until the final out, but the District Championship victory still went to Geneseo, 9-8.

More pictures after the jump:

After pushing a 2-2 tie into the 15th inning last night, Batavia and Staten Island lit up the scoreboard with seven runs in the decisive inning.

Fortunately for the Muckdogs, the balance of the runs tipped their way, giving them their 11th victory of the season, against 13 losses.

The 6-5 victory was powered by first basemen Victor Sanchez. The San Diego State University product hit a three-run blast in the 15th for his first home run of the season.

Yunier Castillo added what proved to be a much needed insurance run with a single later in the frame, driving in Adam Melker.

Relief pitcher and Riverside, Calif., native LaCurtis Mayes, in his third season with the Muckdogs, got the win. He's now 2-1.

Colin Walsh, playing second base, picked up three hits, as did third baseman Jonathan Rodriguez. Right Fielder Melker also had three hits, and Sanchez had two.

The Muckdogs return to Dwyer Stadium tonight to begin a six-game home stand, starting with a three-game series against the Red Sox farm club from Lowell, following by three games against longtime NY-Penn League rival Jamestown.

Wednesday is Volunteer Firefighters' Night. There will be fireworks after Friday's game. Saturday features a sun-visor giveaway, a community sleepover and music by Papa and Mama Root.

Andrew Moss, perfect in his last outing, wasn't quite as perfect Monday night, but good enough to notch his third win of the season.

The Batavia Muckdogs beat Tri-Cities 9-6 behind the hitting of catcher Audris Perez, a  third-year pro out of the Dominican Republic. Perez had three hits, driving in four base runners.

Second baseman Colin Walsh had the team's only other multi-hit game with two singles. Walsh, a first-year pro from San Diego and a product of Stanford, recently joined the team from Johnson City.

For the second time of the season, Nick Longmire homered in the lead off spot. It was his fourth homer of the season.

Moss went 5 1/3 innings, surrendering three runs on three hits, but he also walked five batters.

Jose Rada fanned two hitters in the ninth to pick up his fourth save.

The Muckdogs are in Tri-Cities again tonight, have Wednesday off and start a three-game home stand Thursday against Connecticut.

There were plenty of fireworks at Dwyer Stadium tonight, unfortunately, they didn't come while any Muckdogs were at the plate.

Four Auburn pitchers shutdown Batavia's offense, as the Doubledays (8-8) picked up a 4-0 win over the home squad in front of more than 1,500 fans.

Starter Justin Edwards, of Guyton, Ga., and making his second swing through Batavia, held the Doubledays to only four hits in 5 2/3 innings, but he also walked three and the lone run he surrendered was enough to tag him with the loss.

Batavia is now 7-9, but trailed first place Jamestown (9-7) by only two games in the Pinckney Division.

The Muckdogs will be out of town for July 4, starting a three-game series against Tri-Cities.

The team returns home July 8 against Connecticut.

More pictures after the jump:

Andrew Moss, a 24-year-old, second-year pro from Piedmont, Mo., dazzled at Dwyer Stadium tonight.

Moss went seven innings -- the typical NY-Penn League starter is pulled after five innings -- and surrendered not a single hit, and of course, no runs.

The Muckdogs notched a 3-0 victory, with Jose Rada tossing two scoreless innings, giving up one hit, and picking up his second save of the season.

Moss (2-1) lowered his ERA to 1.69.

Joe Bergman, 22 and in his first pro season, picked up two hits. The second baseman is now hitting .394.

Catcher Luis Miguel De La Cruz, a fourth-year pro from the Dominican Republic, and in his second tour with Batavia, homered and picked up two RBIs on two hits.

The Muckdogs are now 6-7 and open a three-game series against Auburn, also 6-7, on Thursday.

There is no home game on July 4, but there will be fireworks following the games on Friday and Saturday nights.

Challenger baseball opened last weekend, but I wasn't able to make it, so I stopped by the games today to take some pictures.

More pictures after the jump:

The Batavia Muckdogs dropped its third straight game at Dwyer Stadium, losing to State College 4-2 in 10 innings.

Second-year pro Keith Butler, of Morgantown, Ky., surrendered two runs in the top of the 10th to get tagged with the loss.

Reliever Nick McCully was impressive in four innings, striking out three and giving up only two hits.

Meanwhile, the Cardinal's 5th-round draft pick, San Diegean Nick Longmire, continued his hot hitting. Today, Longmire had two hits, including a triple and a run scored that tied the game 2-2 in the 7th inning.

Longmire tops the league in several offensive categories, including hits (15), triples (3), home runs (3), RBI (16; next best is 9), total bases (33; next best, 23), slugging (.892). He's second in average at .405.

The Muckdogs, now 4-6 and in last place in the Pinckney Division, begins a three-game home series tomorrow against Mahoning Valley. Auburn leads the division at 5-4, only a 1.5 games ahead. Mahoning Valley comes to town with a 4-5 record.

On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, the Muckdogs host Auburn. Friday and Saturday's games feature post-game fireworks. This no home game on Sunday, July 4, so the team is providing an extra fireworks show on Saturday.

Top photo: Longmire arrives at third base after his 7th inning triple.

More photos after the jump:

A grand slam home run in the 7th inning from Nick Longmire broke a 2-2 tie and powered the Batavia Muckdogs to a 6-3 victory over Mahoning Valley on Thursday.

It was Longmire's third HR of the season, giving him the league lead, and with 14 RBI over the first seven games, he's well ahead of any other player in that category as well.

The Muckdogs are in second place with a record of 4-3.

Jose Rada (1-1) threw three scoreless innings to pick up the win. Starter Kevin Siegrist went five innings and gave up two runs.

Left fielder Rainel Rosario had three hits.

Batavia faces off against Mahoning Valley again tonight, and then return home tomorrow to begin a five-game home stand. First up, State College. Game time Saturday is 7:05 p.m.

Reliever Jose Rada was handed a one-run lead in the eighth inning Tuesday and let it slip away, surrendering two runs to State College and giving the Batavia Muckdogs their second straight loss.

Batavia (2-3) lost 5-4 to the Spikes (2-3).

The only Muckdogs with two or more hits Tuesday were catcher Audris Joel Perez, with three, and DH Adam Melker, with two. Perez had 2 RBIs and a stolen base.

No Muckdog managed an extra base hit.

Starter Ron Russell went four innings and gave up two earned runs. Reliever Travis Lawlor gave up one run in three frames.

The Muckdogs are in State College again tonight. Game time is 7:05 p.m.

Nick Longmire's lead off home run at State College on Monday night might have provided a spark, but it wasn't enough to carry the Batavia Muckdogs to victory.

Batavia (2-2) dropped the game 8-7.

Longmire provided most of the offense, going 4-5 and driving in four runs. He also tripled and stole a base.

Shortstop Yunier Castillo added two hits and two RBIs.

Starter Nicholas McCully surrendered two runs on three hits in five innings. Houston Summers was charged with a blown save after giving up three runs in two innings, but because the Muckdogs regained the lead while he was still the pitcher of record, he could have picked up a win.

But reliever David Kington was also tagged with a blown save and a loss after giving up three runs on four hits in his one inning of work.

The victory was the first of the year for State College (1-3).

The Muckdogs have two more games at State College before moving on to Mahoning Valley.

The Batavia Muckdogs (2-1) put 10 runs on the board in Auburn on Sunday to edge out the Doubledays (1-2), 10-8.

Victor Sanchez, Patrick Biserta, Matt Valaika each contributed a pair of RBIs while outfielder Jon Edwards smacked two doubles in a three-hit performance.

Anthony Ferrera (1-0) picked up the win in five innings of scoreless relief. Starter Matthew North lasted only one-and-a-third innings, yielding six runs.

The Cardinals 2010 5th-round draft pick, Nick Longmire, provided just about all the offense the Batavia Muckdogs (1-1) needed to win their home opener 7 to 5 over the Auburn Doubledays (1-1).

Longmire hit his first professional home run as well as two doubles and a sacrifice fly to produce 6 RBIs.

More than 1,400 of your friends and neighbors were on hand for the opener.

The winning pitcher was Andrew Moss, of Piedmont, Mo., who scattered five hits over five innings and gave up only one run. Moss (1-0), in his second tour with Batavia, walked one and struck out five.

Jose Gregorio Rada, of Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, picked up his first save of the season.

Batavia travels to Auburn tonight for a 6:05 p.m. game. The next home game is Saturday, June 26, at 7:05 p.m. against Scranton.

More pictures (including fan pictures)  after the jump:

As the Batavian Muckdogs head into their 2010 home opener at Dwyer Stadium, the team will feature a roster stacked with experience.

The majority of players on the 30-man roster has prior minor league experience, with a few familiar names to Muckdog fans.

Topping the list of familiar names are Alan Ahmady and Jon Edwards.

Ahmady was a 2009 NY-Penn League All-Star for the Muckdogs, hitting .292 with a .409 on-base percentage with 32 RBI and 42 runs scored.

Ahmady suffered an off-season set back when he tested positive for amphetamines. Ahmady told his hometown paper that when he was asked to start doing some catching, he felt he needed to get back on medication for attention-deficit disorder.

Right fielder Edwards was part of the 2008 championship team, hitting .304 with 6 HR and 16 RBI. In 2009, Edwards split time between Batavia and Quad Cities. While he smacked 13 HRs (11 in Quad Cities), he hit a disappointing .205. Edwards was a 14th-round pick in 2006. This is his third trip through Batavia.

Among the fresh new faces is Nick Longmire, a native of San Diego, who was selected in the 5th round this June by the Cardinals. As the highest draft pick on the squad, Longmire is expected to patrol center field.

Other players from last year's Muckdogs roster include pitcher LaCurtis Mayes and catcher, Luis De La Cruz, who was also part of the 2008 championship team.

Manager Dann Bilardello is in his first season with the Muckdogs. A first-round pick of the Dodgers in 1979, Biladello spent MLB time with the Reds, Expos, Pirates and Padres.

Game time tonight is 7:05. The first 1,000 fans will receive schedule magnets.

Jason Molino can hit. He's no Mickey Hyde, who easily won the "home run" hitting contest at Dwyer Stadium tonight, but he looked good at the plate and hit some shots.

It was the "Pep Dog Rally" in preparation of the season opener on Saturday. The turn out was good, and the evening was a heck of a lot of fun.

After the contest, the players of the 2010 Muckdogs introduced themselves and then fans were invited onto the field to collect autographs.

The player in the center of this picture is Nick Longmire. He's a 5th-round draft pick of the Cardinals, which means he's a legitimate prospect. He's a center fielder who has some power. That's cool. But what's really cool: He's a graduate of my alma mater, Grossmont High School, La Mesa, Calif. His mother also graduated from GHS, in 1978, two years ahead of me. So guess who will be my favorite Muckdog this season? Go Foothillers!

More pictures after the jump:

When you attend a Batavia Muckdogs game at Dwyer Stadium, if you think you're there to watch a baseball game, you've missed at least 65 percent of the reason to be there on a warm summer night.

The main reason to be at Dwyer is the people the stands -- your neighbors, friends and family -- and if you don't know anybody, just start talking, you'll soon make a new friend.

Bill Kauffman writes a lovely tribute to his friend Dennis Bowler for the Front Porch Republic, St. Dennis of the Bleachers.

The home opener for the Muckdogs is Saturday.  I hope to see you there.

My new 70-300 mm zoom lens arrived today, and since I bought it primarily to improve my sports photography, I thought I'd head over to MacArthur Park for some Batavia Minor League baseball action. I caught the Astros and the Athletics in a game of 8-10 year olds.

Mor pictures after the jump: