Geneva trims Skunks
Jamestown’s season ends with 4-3 loss
JAMESTOWN — For a few moments Friday night, it seemed like the Jamestown Tarp Skunks might have a little more magic in their bats.
Then in the blink of an eye, it was over.
The inning.
The game.
And the Tarp Skunks’ inaugural season in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
Geneva’s Jackson DeJohn struck out DiMaggio Cazares with two men on in the bottom of the ninth inning as the sixth-seeded Red Wings beat No. 3 Jamestown 4-3 in a winner-take-all quarterfinal game at Diethrick Park.
Geneva moves on to today’s winner-take-all semifinal game at No. 2 Saugerties. Today’s other semifinal will feature No. 5 Auburn at No. 1 Amsterdam.
For most of Friday, Red Wings starting pitcher John Gassler was the story.
The left-hander from New York University took a no-hitter into the seventh inning, striking out 10 along the way.
No. 9 hitter Nicholas Serce provided the offense for Geneva.
In the top of the third inning, the left-handed hitting first baseman from Alfred State University cleared the pine trees in right field with a long home run that gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.
An inning later, Serce struck again. Benjamin Griffin led off with a single and stole second before scoring on DeJohn’s one-out single. After another stolen base and a strikeout, Elliot Good walked and Thomas Latham was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
The man of the hour was Serce, who laced a two-run double down the first-base line to give Geneva a 4-0 lead.
That looked like it would be plenty for Gassler, who retired the side in order in four of the six innings he finished. He struck out two in the first, second and fourth innings while striking out the side in the third for nine strikeouts through four innings.
But Gassler had to be bailed out of the seventh inning. Mark Tucker and Luke Turner walked back-to-back to open the frame before a flyout to right field and a pop-out to third base. Johnny Kampes then hit an RBI single before DiMaggio Cazares had the biggest hit of the night for the Tarp Skunks with a two-run single to left field.
Geneva then turned to relief pitcher AJ Gartland, who struck out Justin Bowers to end the inning.
Gartland also got through the eighth inning unscathed before handing the ball over to DeJohn, who started the night as the designated hitter. After a pair of flyouts to the outfield to open the ninth, DeJohn walked Padraig O’Shaughnessy and hit Kampes with a pitch to move the tying run to second base.
But a first-pitch fastball and a second-pitch breaking ball put Cazares in an 0-2 hole before DeJohn finished him off with another fastball.
NOTES: Justin Guiliano started for Jamestown and allowed four runs on four hits while striking out five through six innings. … Ryan Bradarich pitched the final three innings and struck out four. He was aided by a 4-6-3 double play to end the eighth inning. The seventh-inning hits by Kampes and Cazares were the only two for Jamestown all game. … Auburn beat Utica 7-0 in Friday’s other quarterfinal.