Pioneers Tested Early, Lose 11-6

Elmira went up to Geneva for the second time this season looking for some retribution from their first trip. With Kevin Teschko making his second appearance on the young season the Pioneers hoped to change the game and execute on the momentum from the win the previous night. 

The Red Wings got off to the hot start scoring three in the bottom of the first after a scoreless top half and it seemed as though the Pios were in trouble early, however with a lot of game left Elmira picked up their bats and went to work in the top of the second after a Trae Harmon walk and a Quinn Buffington double put the Pios on the board. 

The third brought more promise for the Pioneers as after a Nathan Berg double followed up by a Mason Ruhlman double, Elmira was back to within just a run. However in the bottom half the Red Wings scored two more runs to eliminate the hard work from Elmira and followed those runs up with another run a piece in the bottom of the fourth and after a pitching change another in the bottom of the fifth for a 7-2 lead. 

After five innings of being somewhat manhandled the Pios came out with a chip on their shoulder in the sixth and scored three times as Harmon, Bryce Moskiewicz, and Garrett Schultz all came up to the plate and came around to score to close the gap to just 7-5. Elmira brought in Alex Bardo to right the ship defensively and for two innings he did exactly that shutting down the Red Wings offense in the 6th and 7th. 

The Pioneers tallied one more in the top of the eighth to close the gap to just one as Berg crossed the plate one more time, but in the bottom half Bardo was lit up. After a quick out number one Bardo gave up a single and two walks to load the bases. After the next two in the lineup both made contact for a single and then a double the Pioneers saw their deficit sit at  5 runs. Steven Rossi came in to close down the bottom of the eighth but the damage was done.

The Pios were  unable to get anything started in the ninth and ended the game 11-6. Elmira has a day off before continuing their road trip an looking to get back into the win column. The next home game is Thursday night at 7:05 pm as the Geneva Red Wings come to town! Get your tickets now 607-734-2690!