Dragons swept by Mohawk Valley in doubleheader

Heading into Friday evening, the Glens Falls Dragons were not looking for not one, but two wins as they took on division foe Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs. However, the Dragons were not able to salvage a win out of the night.

Game One

As the Dragons rallied in the late innings, their efforts were simply not enough as they fell in the first game of the day by a final of 6-3 in 10 innings of an originally scheduled seven-inning game. The Dragons grabbed the first lead in the first inning, but soon after, Mohawk Valley took a 2-1 lead in the second inning following an RBI single from Dan Deely with an additional run scoring on an error. The Dragons tied the game courtesy of an RBI single from Brian Uliana, part of a 5-5 game for him.

Mohawk Valley re-took the lead in the top of the sixth on an RBI double from Austin Pollack, but Glens Falls was not going to be outdone as they tied the game in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single from Miles Moore. The dominant pitching from Mohawk Valley starter Joe DeSarro and Glens Falls starter James Varela sent the game into extra innings. The pair went eight innings each before they turned it over to their respective bullpens.

In extra innings, both teams had numerous chances on clutch hits from both sides, but nobody could get someone all the way back around until the top of the 10th inning when Clay Koniencki and Ben Porter hit back-to-back RBI singles to give Mohawk Valley a 6-3 advantage, one they would hold onto and take game one.

“They got the big hit when they needed it in the first game, we had plenty of opportunities in the late innings to get the big hit and it didn’t come through,” Dragons head coach Cameron Curler said.

Game Two

After they took the lead from Glens Falls in the fourth inning, Mohawk Valley didn’t look back as they won game two by a final score of 2-1. The Diamond Dawgs went into the top of the fourth inning trailing 1-0 after Glens Falls had scored in the second inning, but they were determined to score and sweep the day. Outfielder Bronson Grubbs scored all the way from first on a ground ball to second base following a pair of Dragon throwing errors. The next batter, Alexis Monge-Rodriguez, hit an RBI single to give Mohawk Valley a lead they did not relinquish.

Diamond Dawgs starter Jack Fossand was dominant on the hill, as he went five innings while only giving up one run on three hits and struck out six Dragon hitters.

The Dragons looked as if they had a rally going in the bottom of the sixth inning as they had runners on second and third with one out and had Mohawk Valley reliever Levi Abrahamson on the ropes. Diamond Dawgs head coach Blake Nation made a move to go to closer Zach Vennaro, who had pitched in the first game as well for the five-out save. He got the next two hitters, Brandon Torres and Brian Wasilewski, to fly out then strike out to end the threat and pave the way for Mohawk Valley to finish off the doubleheader sweep.

“One big hit would have totally changed momentum. It didn’t happen and we weren’t able to gain any momentum in the second game,” Curler said of the second game.

Following the two wins, Mohawk Valley improves to 18-7 on the season, second in the East Division and sitting two games behind Amsterdam for the top spot. They will be back in action on Saturday as they take on Utica at home in Little Falls. That game will begin at 6:35 p.m.

The Dragons fall to 9-19 on the season after being swept and have now lost four in a row. They will be on the road this weekend as they face Oneonta on Saturday and Utica on Sunday. They return home on Monday, July 10 as they take on Saugerties. Start time for that one is set for 7 p.m.