PIONEERS TAKE ON UTICA AFTER SUCCESSFUL WEEKEND

The Pioneers won both PGCBL games this weekend, defeating playoff rivals Jamestown and Geneva. 

The Pioneers had a huge victory over Jamestown on the road, winning 12-2 after an incredible start from Tristian Ciampa (Northern Essex CC).

Ciampa pitched 7.2 innings of no run ball, before an unlucky base hit sent two runs home. Ciampa got five strikeouts, and his ERA is now at 2.76. Ciampa credited his defense with help, but also mentioned that his new two-seam fastball he's been working on could be his strongest pitch, as he said,

"This summer, my goal was to be able to throw a two-seam fastball. I've been struggling with that for the last year, but this summer, that's hands-down been my best pitch."

Meanwhile, Joe Olsavsky (John Carroll) mentioned that Ciampa's pitching helps the defense do better, as he said, 

"I think, just everybody backing each other up. A lot of confidence in Ciamp, every time he goes out there. He's gonna ball-out for us, so I think all of us go out and ball-out there for him! It's a lot of fun."

Max Mandler (Seton Hill) had a tough night, going 0 for 6. However, on the next day's victory in Geneva, he got on base four times and in the ninth inning got a clutch 2 RBI double to give the Pioneers a 9-5 victory.

Ethan Errera (UMass-Boston) did well starting for the Pios, surrendering four runs in a tough fifth inning, but battled through it to complete a solid outing. New Pioneer Anthony Keefe (Clark University) came in, and pitched four one-hit innings to seal the victory. Sadly, the one hit was a solo home run from Shane Dux, the Red Wings' catcher.

However, Keefe recovered well from the homer and got right back to work, as he said,

"Yeah, I mean It's baseball. It's gonna happen. Just going onto the next batter, that's all I care about."

The Pioneers followed this victory with a fun victory in a inter-league game against the Finger Lakes Falcons. There, Coach Andrew Drum took the mound and secured the save in the seventh inning.

The now 13-15 Pioneers take on the division-leading Utica Blue Sox, hoping to keep their winning streak alive.

-Taylor Stolworthy