Rapids advance in PGCBL Playoffs with win at Utica

MOHAWK VALLEY, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY/WWTI) – The Watertown Rapids made history in reaching the PGCBL East Division semifinals with a 4-2 win over the Utica Blue Sox on Monday night.

Watertown will now move on to play at top-seeded Amsterdam, who are the defending league champions. Game time against the Mohawks is set for 6:35 p.m. tonight at Shuttleworth Park.

Watertown Rapids 4, Utica Blue Sox 2

At Murnane Field, the Utica Blue Sox were determined to turn the tables on the Watertown Rapids, having lost four of their last five to the Rapids.

They looked to be well on the way to doing that, jumping out to a 2-0 lead after three innings. Yomar Carreras helped Utica jump out to a 1-0 lead thanks to a triple that scored Mike Benedetto. That triple was the Rutgers Scarlet Knight’s only hit of the game. In the third, Kevin Denty helped double the lead with an RBI single to right field to score Johnny Brucato. Denty would finish two-for-five on the night.

Unfortunately for the Blue Sox, those two runs were the only two they were able to get. SUNY Brockport product and former Watertown High School standout Ryan Peters held Utica to just five hits the rest of the way to keep the Blue Sox bats at bay.

Meanwhile, at the plate, the Rapids exploded for four runs in the sixth, helped along by a two-RBI single by Nick Bergamotto. The Siena College sophomore was responsible for three of the Rapids’ four runs, and was part of a streak of three at-bats where the Rapids scored runs.

Bergamotto went 1-for-3, while Ryan Kramer went 3-for-4 with a double for the Rapids.

Mason Collins relieved Peters in the ninth, and only needed to face two batters, retiring them both to pick up the save for the Rapids. Peters got the win in 8 1/3 innings of work, while Ryan King gave up all four runs in six innings of work to take the loss for Utica.

Utica finishes their season at 23-19-1.

The Mohawks and Rapids have met twice this season, with Amsterdam winning both games: 12-1 on June 1 and 6-5 on June 18.

Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs 12, Oneonta Outlaws 2 (eight innings)

The other Eastern Division game on Monday was an all-Mohawk Valley affair, and it couldn’t have gone any better for the home team.

The Diamond Dawgs jumped out to a six-run lead after three innings in Little Falls, thanks to a five-run third inning. From there, it was smooth sailing for the third seed, not allowing a single Oneonta hit in the final three innings of this game to take a 12-2 run-rule victory.

Seton Hall product Ryan Frontera continued his hot streak at the plate, knocking in another three RBIs for Mohawk Valley on Monday night. Frontera now has nine RBIs in his last two games.

Brody Rasmussen also had three RBIs for Mohawk Valley, going four-for-five with a double and a home run. Bryce Phelps went two-for-five with two RBIs for the Diamond Dawgs.

Two Gavins — Gomez and Miller — shut the Outlaws out completely in the final three innings, only allowing two walks between them. Meanwhile, starter Bryan Rios went five full innings for Mohawk Valley, striking out seven and allowing the only two runs for Oneonta in the game. Rios picked up the win for the Diamond Dawgs.

Darren Dengler had the only multi-hit game for the Outlaws, getting two of Oneonta’s five hits. Colton Harrison went one-for-three with a double as well for Oneonta.

On the mound, Daniel Mateffy only went 2 1/3 innings, while he and reliever Joel Hayner split the 12 runs allowed between them. Hayner struck out five, while Mateffy took the loss for Oneonta, who finished with a record of 15-22.

The Diamond Dawgs will move on to the Eastern Division Semifinal, traveling to Saugerties on Tuesday for a game with the second-seeded Stallions. Both teams took one-run games in the season series while tying the third on July 5.

First pitch at Cantine Field in Saugerties is scheduled for 7:05 pm.

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