Cannoneers Struggle in Little Falls

Jefferson Baseball traveled to Little Falls, NY on Thursday to finish their 4 game series against Herkimer College. JCC just faced Herkimer two days ago, and was well aware of what the Generals are capable of doing when you give them free bases and extra outs to work with. The Cannoneers knew they had their work cut out for them. 

While the games on Tuesday did not go in JCC favor, they were able to learn from those games and understood what it would take to stay competitive in today's games. Game one started off on a good note for the Cannoneers as they were able to strike first and score in the top of the first inning. Hunter Holliday reached base on a hit by pitch, and then 3 batters later scored on a single by William Sanborn. But again, Herkimer was able to deny JCC of starting a big inning. Joshua Harvey took the mound for JCC to start game one, and against a team that swings like Herkimer, he understood that you can't give them free base runners. Harvey was pounding the strike zone all day, but Herkimer was up for the challenge, as they scored 6 runs in the 1^st inning. Jefferson was held at shore in the 2^nd and 3^rd inning, as they were not able to get a base runner on. While Herkimer continued to stay aggressive and added 2 runs in the 2^nd and 2 more runs in the 3^rd, extending their lead to 10-1 going into the 4^th.  Naim Bibovic hit a solo homerun in the top of the 4^th inning, making the score 10-2 now. In the bottom of the 5^th inning, Herkimer hit a 2 run homerun to take a 12-2 lead and end the game there with the 10 run mercy rule after 5 innings. 

The start of game two was very familiar for the Cannoneers. As Nicholas Lavin reached on a walk, and the Joshua Navarra hit a double to bring Lavin around to score, giving JCC an early 1-0 lead. Randolf Flores was the starting pitcher for game two, and was in a rhythm early on, striking out 2 batters and only allowing 1 run in the first two innings. In the 3^rd inning, Herkimer made their adjustments at the plate. Flores got into trouble as he walked the bases loaded with 2 outs, and Dylan Klock hit a grand slam for the Generals to break the 1-1 tie and take a 6-1 lead by the time the inning ended. The Cannoneers weren't able to answer back, only getting 1 run across through the next three innings, while Herkimer tacked on another 6 runs to win game two 12-2. Joshua Navarra went 2-3 at the plate, with one double and two RBIs.

The Cannoneers drop to 4-6 in conference play, but look to get back on track next week as they take on the Vikings of Hudson Valley home at the Alex Duffy Fairgrounds.  First pitch is set for 2:00 pm.