Once the Marauders offense heated up, they were able to put the game away themselves.

Anthony Cosme went 2 for 3 with a double and two RBIs, and also tossed 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball as Dunkirk beat the Warriors 12-2 in six innings of Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division 1 baseball at Al Stuhlmiller Field.

“Ant threw first-pitch strikes and he threw his breaking ball pretty well. He was quite dominant for the first five innings,” Dunkirk head coach Frank Jagoda said of Cosme. ” … He had some big base hits as well.”

The Marauders took a 2-0 lead on a pair of dropped two-out fly balls in the first two innings and made it 3-0 in the third with the help of a wild pitch and Cosme’s two-out RBI double.

Head coach of the 1988 state champion Dunkirk Marauders baseball team, Bill Walters, throws out the honorary first pitch ahead of Monday’s CCAA D1 game against Salamanca at Al Stuhlmiller Field. OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman

They knocked Salamanca starter Cory Holleran out of the game in the fourth inning thanks to Greg Orcutt’s RBI single.

Once Dunkirk got into the Warriors bullpen, the game began to get away from Salamanca.

Davian Alvalle walked and Anthony Piede reached on a fielder’s choice ahead of Henry’s Leone’s two-run single and Cosme’s RBI single.

“We’ve been trying to get to the second guy because we think that our guy, and our second and third guys, can hold people down,” Jagoda said. “This pitch-count thing is just crucial, especially when you are putting three or four games together in a week. You have to have four or five kids who can come out here and throw strikes.”

After Warriors reliever Calum Farnum rebounded with a scoreless fifth inning, the Marauders offense got fired up again.

Orcutt walked to open the sixth inning and was bunted to second before a fly ball for the second out. Leone and Cosme then walked, spelling the end of Farnum’s day.

Designated hitter Ryan Kinney greeted Jake Herrick with a two-run double to the fence in left-center field and two batters later, Paul Trippy hit what turned into a walk-off two-run single when a throw went out of play, allowing Gabe Valentine to score the 12th run.

“We’re trying to get lightning in a bottle to strike a couple of times and it did today,” Jagoda said of Kinney. “He had a couple of bad at-bats, but he came back like a champ and hit the ball hard.

“Paul is a headlight. He doesn’t really have bad at-bats,” he added of Trippy. “He finally poked one through. He’s been struggling trying to find a hole. Today he did that in his last at-bat.”

A close game early turned into a celebration for the Marauders, who were honoring their 1988 New York state championship team. The squad, with more members present, was supposed to be recognized Friday, but weather forced that game to be postponed. Instead, head coach Bill Walters was in attendance Monday to throw out the first pitch and show off his championship ring.

“Coach Walters did a lot for the program. He spent so much time as the jayvee coach and then got an opportunity to be the varsity coach and won a state title,” Jagoda said. ” … He’s a great man. He was a great teacher and he was a great baseball player. … He was a mentor to me. … I’m so proud that he came back today and threw out the first pitch.”

NOTES: Cosme struck out eight, walked three and allowed just one hit — a line-drive single off his foot in the second inning. … Kruz Coustenis had both hits for Salamanca, his second single driving in the Warriors’ second run of the game.