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Sunshine and Boulders for the Win

By Ashley Columbia, 05/25/16, 4:15PM EDT

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Rockland Boulders take second game of the series against Ottawa on the first School Day of the season.

(Pomona, NY) - Palisades Credit Union Park came to life Wednesday morning, as hundreds of kids piled in to soak up the sun and some baseball. The stadium was full of excitement as the Boulders kicked off the day right, winning 5-3.

The left fielder, Mike Schwartz, was the first Boulder to get on base with a ground rule double in the first inning. That is as far as he would get as Ottawa pitcher Randy Hamrick got the team out of the inning before he could make it home. 

Fast-forward to the top of the third inning when the second baseman, Albert Cartwright, struck first for the Champions giving them a 1-0 lead. He hit a homerun in the stands behind right field.

Hamrick, with eyes in the back of his head, had a pair of pickoffs. He caught Jared Schlehuber off guard on first base in the second inning, and Riley Palmer on second in the third. 

Schwartz had himself another double in the bottom of the fourth. He would eventually come in to tie the game up, 1-1, after a wild pitch issued by Hamrick. Boulders catcher Marcus Nidiffer, who was hit by a pitch prior, stayed stranded on base. 

It all began to fall apart for Hamrick in the bottom of the fifth. He issued his first walks on the day to the second baseman and center fielder, Ray Frias and Jared McDonald. Junior Arrojo would take his base after being hit, loading up the bases. A parade of wild pitches and errors at the hands of Hamrick and Daniel Grauer, the catcher, made it easy for Frias, McDonald and Arrojo to come in and score.

Hamrick exited the game after pitching five innings. His outing consisted of four runs, two of them earned, four hits, strikeouts and three walks. Kevin Perez would come in to pitch a 1-2-3 sixth inning. 

Pat Butler took over for the Boulders starter as well. Alex Gouin allowed only one run, two hits, walks and four strikeouts over five innings. 

Donnie Joseph subbed in for Butler, and took the mound in the eighth. After a couple of quiet innings, Ottawa center fielder Sebastien Boucher crushed one deep to right field. This cut the Boulders lead down to 4-2. 

Tyler Wilson came in to relieve Perez. He gave up a homerun to Schlehuber, his first of the season. The Boulders lead it 5-2 in the eighth. A couple of nice plays by the Champions shortstop, Robert Garza, helped to get them out of the inning before the Boulders could do any more damage. 

The Boulders ran into some trouble in the ninth after Edgar Valle gave up a single, and a double to Brian Erie and Ryan Brockett, respectively. A sacrifice fly to right center field by Jason Coker made the score 5-3 in the ninth. The Boulders held on to their lead and advance to 4-2 on the season, while the Ottawa Champions add to their losing record, now 2-5.

The Boulders look to sweep the series against Ottawa tomorrow at 7pm. Tickets are available by visiting the box office, www.RocklandBoulders.com, or by calling (845) 364-0009.