GALLERY: Kids and families fill the ballpark for some great games, lots of fun, and autographs!!
From the Steamers, photos from JC’s Photography
The Hornell Steamers capped off a successful Kid’s Day at Maple City Park by sweeping a doubleheader from the Horseheads Hitmen on Tuesday, earning victories of 8-7 and 6-2 before a crowd of more than 800 fans.
The sweep improved Hornell to 7-3 on the season and extended the club’s winning streak to six games.
Game One: Steamers Walk Off Hitmen, 8-7
The opener featured plenty of offense and several momentum swings before Hornell pushed across the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Horseheads grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a first-inning solo home run by Marco Pulizzi, but the Steamers answered immediately. Marcus Brehm (Finger Lakes CC/St. Bonaventure) tripled home Nolan Winthrop (Pomona Pitzer) and later scored on a John Greenwood (North Park) RBI groundout to put Hornell ahead 2-1.
The Steamers added three more runs in the second inning. Winthrop drove in a run with a sacrifice fly before Greenwood delivered a two-run double to center field, extending the lead to 5-1.
Horseheads battled back with a four-run third inning to tie the game. Pulizzi doubled home a run, Michael Sabella added an RBI single, and Liam Annand’s two-run double evened the score at 5-5.
Hornell regained the lead in the fourth when Winthrop and Greenwood each contributed sacrifice flies, but the Hitmen once again answered in the fifth as Keon Lamarche lined a two-run single to center to knot the game at 7-7.
The deciding run came in the bottom of the seventh. Will Parker (Pomona Pitzer) drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third before scoring on a wild pitch with two outs, giving the Steamers an 8-7 walk-off victory.
Greenwood paced the offense with four RBIs, including a two-run double and a sacrifice fly. Brehm scored three runs while going 2-for-2 with a triple, RBI, and two walks. Winthrop drove in two runs and Wyatt Argentieri (Bethany Lutheran) added two hits and two runs scored.
Hornell’s bullpen shut the door. Zachary Emmer (Kalamazoo) tossed 1.2 scoreless innings, and Peter Pipikios (North Park) earned the victory by retiring all three batters he faced in the seventh.
Game Two: Pitching, Defense Lead Hornell to 6-2 Win
The Steamers completed the sweep behind a strong pitching performance and timely offense in the nightcap.
Hornell struck first in the second inning when Beno Ballard (Westminster) and Luke Manders (Kalamazoo) delivered RBI singles to build a 2-0 lead. Winthrop added an RBI single in the third to make it 3-0 before the Steamers broke the game open in the fourth.
After X Feng (Houghton) doubled and Michael Duncan (Eastern Mennonite) reached on an error, Brehm lined an RBI single to center. Moments later, Winthrop hit a two-run double to center field, stretching the advantage to 6-1.
The Hitmen managed single runs in the fourth and sixth innings, but Hornell’s pitching staff kept them from mounting a serious comeback.
Heath Betza (Mercyhurst) earned the win with four strong innings, allowing one run while striking out four. Ethan Davenport (Alfred State) followed with two innings of relief, and David Philips (Houghton) closed out the victory with a scoreless seventh inning.
Winthrop led the offense, finishing 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBIs. Brehm collected two hits and an RBI, while Ballard, Manders, Parker, Heath, and Feng each added hits as Hornell totaled 10 hits in the victory.
With the sweep, Hornell improves to 7-3, just two points behind first place Dansville.
