In the afternoon, Dunkirk went with Peyton Ahlstrom on the hill and got a strong performance. Peyton Ahlstrom pitched five innings and gave up only one run on two hits, while striking out nine in the winning performance.

Dunkirk got both a strong performance from their pitching and defense early. The Marauders scored four runs in the first and three in the second, giving them a comfortable lead. Koty Leeper was the driving force behind the Marauder offense, driving in two RBI, including a home run. Alex Ahlstrom added a two hit performance with three RBI and Lucas Porpiglia added a two RBI double.

“I think the first game we hit early and often,” said Dunkirk head coach Frank Jagoda “We were hitting the ball real well. Took a 7-1 lead and went up 9-1. I was very pleased with how we hit the ball around. Leeper got his big home run, a big pick me up for. I thought kids adjusted well to different types of pitching took advantage of 10 walks.”

Nick Putcher was the losing pitcher for the Bulldogs on the day.

OBSERVER Photo by Ron Szot. Pictured above is Dunkirk’s Michael Norton during the first leg of Dunkirk’s double-header on Thursday.

“I thought Brocton played a strong game,” said Coach Jagoda. “The kids never put their heads down. I think they have played four of our division team this year, so they have seen some good pitching. So they should do well going into their playoffs.”

Against Orchard Park, the Marauders saw the run differential flip, as they were the team that lost by eight runs.

“It was like two stories,” said Coach Jagoda. “We took advantage of 10 walks in game one, OP took advantage of some walks in the fourth. Quite honestly there aren’t any negatives today. We held our own against them.. we smacked the ball around all day — we can take a lot of positives out of today. This is really going to benefit us going into our league season next week.”

Dunkirk put up a good fight against a strong team in Orchard Park, but were unable to keep the lead late into the game.

Mike Norton added two hits in the second game, giving him a four hit total on the day and Koty Leeper knocked in another RBI with a double.

The losing pitcher for Dunkirk was Tristan Skelly. Skelly pitched three innings and gave up five runs, over six hits and three walks.

Dunkirk is back in action on Monday, as they travel to Southwestern.