The best news, however, came after the Tarp Skunks’ 10-3 loss to Batavia when head coach Joe Reitebach confirmed that his do-everything all-star Eric Weeks, who was hit by a pitch on the left wrist in the fourth inning, “should be OK” as the regular season nears its final week.

In between?

Well, it was all Muckdogs.

Winning pitcher Eric Woodley (4-1), normally Batavia’s closer, scattered five hits and gave up one run over seven innings to help the the Muckdogs improve to 25-8-1 (.750) and return to first place in the West Division, while Jamestown dropped to 24-8-2 (.735) and into second place.

OBSERVER Photo by Scott Kindberg Jamestown Tarp Skunks shortstop Jackson Enders throws across the infield during Wednesday's PGCBL game against the Batavia Muckdogs at Diethrick Park in Jamestown.

Rocco Almonte (1-1) took the loss. The right-hander worked the first inning and gave up five earned runs, courtesy of two hits, a walk, four wild pitches and two hit batters.

Armed with a 5-0 lead, Batavia cruised from there, building its advantage to as much as 10-1 before the Tarp Skunks scored two runs in the bottom of the ninth.

“We decided to (use) what we had available (to pitch),” Reitebach said. “That’s what the decision came to. We thought our best move was to go with four or five guys over a nine-inning span.”

Jalen David, Braedon Reina and Glenn Brooks all had two hits for the Muckdogs, and Evan Brock added a double, which was more than enough, especially with Woodley so effective through seven.

“It feels like I’ve seen him every time we’ve played them for the last two years now,” Reitebach said. “He fills up the zone, gets ahead early and throws three pitches for strikes. Anytime a pitcher does that, it will be tough to handle.”

OBSERVER Photo by Scott Kindberg Jamestown Tarp Skunks pitcher Nate Muncy delivers to the plate during Wednesday's PGCBL game against the Batavia Muckdogs at Diethrick Park in Jamestown.

For Jamestown, Grant Moore and Anthony Trommer (two RBIs) both had two hits, and Nolan Smith collected a double.

The Tarp Skunks travel to Niagara Falls today and then return home Friday for a 6:30 p.m. game against Newark. No matter what happens in the next eight days, however, they know they’ll be playing postseason baseball.

“It’s a breath of fresh air,” Reitebach said. “Our goal originally was to make the playoffs. Obviously, it’s good to know that we’re in and now we can move on to bigger goals. These guys did a fantastic job working toward the goal. We’ve had a super-good year so far. I think these guys are really motivated and they kind of know what the next goal is.”

NOTES: Grady Mee, who played for the Tarp Skunks in 2023, was in attendance. He recently signed with the Sioux Falls (South Dakota) Canaries of the American Association of Professional Baseball.