CEDAR
RAPIDS, Iowa – With the 2015 Perfect Game Collegiate League (PGCBL)
Championship Series beginning last Wednesday night, new faces emerged
to do battle in the fifth annual title series. Both No. 2 seeds in
their respected divisions, few people expected the Victor RailRiders
and Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs to battle for the 2015 PGCBL crown.
Ending
the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the PGCBL, Mohawk
Valley didn’t cool off during their 2015 playoff run. Stunning the
three-time defending champions Amsterdam in the semifinals, the
DiamondDawgs scratched and clawed their way to the PGCBL championship
series after trailing Amsterdam 1-0. Coming from behind to win
back-to-back games, Mohawk Valley answered the bell that many others
have failed to do in past seasons.
“We
knew the championship ran through Amsterdam,” Mohawk Valley two-way
contributor Anthony Herrera said. “Our team played with pride even
after the game one loss and left everything out on the field and
that’s what got us over the hump.”
One
week later, game one of the PGCBL Championship series began in Victor
with all eyes on the DiamondDawgs and RailRiders. Mohawk Valley
wasted no time scoring in the first inning off a Chris Rave RBI
single, and an error and a passed ball proved to be enough for the
DiamondDawgs pitching staff to pick up a game one victory.
Pitching
six innings and allowing only three hits, Payton Coddou kept the
RailRiders in check on the mound. Picking up another postseason win,
his performance left the DiamondDawgs one game shy of their goal and
Victor reeling to find answers offensively.
“Our
pitching has been dominate throughout the year,” Herrera said.
“Without our staff and their depth we wouldn’t be where we are
today.”
Returning
home for game two of the series, the DiamondDawgs played a crucial
clinching game in their own backyard and the home of the 2015
All-Star festivities in Little Falls, N.Y. Facing an early 4-1
deficit, Mohawk Valley once again started to claw their way back in
the fourth inning when Ryan Stekl hit a leadoff triple. Stekl later
scored on an RBI groundout in the inning and cut into the RailRiders
lead.
With
the lead now at 4-2 in the eighth, Sam Machonis lead off the inning
with a single and eventually came around to score on an RBI single by
Andrew Turner cutting the lead to one. Later in the inning, the
DiamondDawgs took over, tacking on five more runs on two RBI singles
by Herrera and Matt Pagano and a sacrifice bunt by Chris Rave.
Taking
a four-run lead into the ninth, Mohawk Valley’s pitching staff
closed the door on the RailRiders once again, and the celebration
began in Little Falls.
“I
haven’t gotten much sleep,” General Manager Travis Heiser stated.
“It’s a surreal feeling and something I’ll always look back
on.”
The
DiamondDawgs really started to cement themselves as a championship
caliber team in early July. Colin Hawk, the DiamondDawgs shortstop,
knew his team could compete for a championship, but as he states, it
didn’t always look that way.
“We
had a rough start, but as the season moved along we all grew as
leaders on and off the field and gained a lot of confidence. By the
end of July, we knew the winning mentality we had garnered and the
hard work we had put in could take us to the next level.”
A
blue collar team, Mohawk Valley’s 2015 roster was full of
grind-it-out baseball players. With a few Division I athletes on the
roster, the DiamondDawgs had a chip on their shoulder and wanted to
prove they belonged in the upper echelon of the PGCBL. Hawk believes
much of this credit goes to the bond that the team shared and the
leadership shown by Head Coach Blake Nation and his staff.
“We
trusted each other and stepped up in the biggest of moments,” Hawk
added. “Coach Nation did a great job of installing a winning
mentality within us and we ran with it.”
With
the team rattling off 23 wins in the month of July alone, they soon
began playing their best baseball to date. Little did they know that
as August hit New York they would battle their way towards a PGCBL
Crown and become the champions of the league.
“We
were a family that had tons of support,” Heiser said. “With the
town of Little Falls behind us, we came together and made this season
one I will never forget.”