The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
VVS beats Oneida in Stop DWI Classic
Nell earns win, Most Valuable Player for VVS
UTICA >> The Oneida baseball team was unable to dig itself out of an early hole on Friday night, falling to Tri-Valley League rival Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 10-2 in second game of the Fifth Annual Stop DWI Classic underneath the lights at Murnane Field in Utica.
Devin Long and Matt Nell combined to go the distance for VVS, allowing only two Oneida hits on the evening. Long pitched three innings, allowing two runs on zero hits. He struck out five and walked six before turning the ball over to Nell. Nell gave up two hits and no runs over four innings of work with seven strikeouts and one walk.
Casey Rich took the loss for Oneida, allowing seven runs over three and one third innings.
Dewey Roden and Nate Palmer led VVS offensively. Ro-
den went 1-for- 3 at the plate with a double and two RBI while Palmer went 2-for- 4 with three RBI.
Nell was named MVP af ter shut t ing down Oneida for the final four innings of the game. Oneida’s Jordan Cavallo earned the game’s sportsmanship trophy.
Long retired the first three Oneida batters he faced before VVS jumped out to an early lead, capitalizing on defensive miscues by Oneida. Nate Palmer and Blake VanDreason reached based following consecutive errors by the Oneida infield. After Ryan Palmer flew out to right field, a botched throw to first base gave VVS its first run of the game.
After the unearned run, Rich walked Davey Moffet to put runners on first and second. With one out, Roden smacked a double to the outfield gap, scoring VanDreason and Mof- fet. Two batters later, Dylan Shlotzhauer’s base hit scored Roden, increasing the VVS lead to 4- 0.
Nate Palmer would add a two-run single for the Red Devils before Oneida escaped the bottom of the first. After an inning of play, VVS held a commanding 6- 0 lead, one they would not relinquish the rest of the contest.
Rich bounced back in the second inning, retiring the side in order. Long matched his pitching counterpart, breezing through the second inning with three strikeouts.
VVS would add another run in the bottom of third to increase their lead to 7- 0, before Long lost control of the strike zone in the top of the fourth inning. Of the first five Oneida batters he faced in the inning, Long walked four. With the bases loaded and no outs, Oneida’s Brad Mallinder and Rylan Baker drew walks, forcing in two runs and cutting the lead to 7-2 before VVS coach Chad Hodkinson called on Nell for the relief effort.
Nell rose to the occasion, striking out the first two batters he faced before inducing a Tucker Rodgers popout to end the inning.
“Huge,” Hodkinson said of Nell’s performance in the fourth inning. “Bases load and nobody out, and he got out of it. That was just as important as the first inning.”
That would be as close as the blue and orange would come to evening the score.
In the bottom of the fourth, Palmer and Nell helped chase Rich from the game, both players hitting doubles off the Oneida starter. Cavallo entered the game in relief for Oneida and struck out the first two hitters he faced to escape the jam with Oneida trailing 9-2.
VVS added another run in the bottom of the fifth to bring the score to 10-2. Neither team would score again as first night of the STOP DWI Classic came to an end.
This year, the annual event was held in honor of Kane Buss. Buss, a 2013 graduate of Oneida High School, was killed by a drunk driver in January 2015. Buss was an aspiring law enforcement student and the Madison County Sheriff’s Department, Oneida County Sheriff ’s Office, Oneida City Police Department, Rome Police Department and Utica Police Department participated in an opening ceremony that honored him and his family. Buss’ parents Mike and Claudette were in attendance for the game, watching as their younger son Dalton threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
“Kane was a passionate and dedicated leader, a true friend, an amazing brother,” echoed across Murnane Field as the Buss family stood near the pitcher’s mound, surrounded by all the players and teams invited to the tournament. “He is extremely missed by the Oneida and VVS community.”
“It’s an honor for us to be here,” said Oneida coach Ryan Kramer. “It’s great for the kids and the community to remember that there are a lot bigger things [than baseball]. It’s a joy to play the game. For a cause like this, it’s a great thing.”