Harvester Bees Hurdle Herkimer in World Series Opener

PHOTOS

GREENEVILLE, Tennessee – Dallas College Eastfield's baseball team opened the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III World Series with a 10-6 win over Herkimer College Saturday.

The second-seeded Harvester Bees (46-11) advanced to play third-seeded Niagra County Community College (43-5) on Monday. Niagra was a 5-1 winner in the opening round over Camp Community College Saturday.

Eastfield's win avenged a pair of losses to Herkimer in last year's World Series – the last in the championship round.

Angel Rodriguez went 3-for-4 with a home run, two runs batted in and a walk, and Gus Witt was 3-for-5 with a double and two RBI for the Harvester Bees, who extended their winning streak to 14 consecutive games.

Rodriguez's solo homer to right in the bottom of the first gave Eastfield a 2-0 lead. Seventh-seeded Herkimer (38-8) answered in the second when Felix Larose hit a two-run homer to right-center to tie the game.

Witt's double to right in the third scored Cade Conway to put the Harvester Bees back in front, 3-2. The Generals took a 4-3 lead on Kendall Haney's RBI single to first base in the fourth. Conway singled to the pitcher, scoring Griffin Tarter to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth, and Jayden Morgan's RBI single to left in the fifth pushed Eastfield ahead, 5-4.

In the seventh, Hunter O'Shea singled home a pair of runs to extend the Harvester Bees' lead to 7-4. Kyson Snelson's two-run single to left made it 9-4. Morgan's sacrifice fly in the eighth gave the Harvesters a six-run lead.

Herkimer added a run in the ninth on Ethan Duda's RBI single to left in the ninth, but that was it.

Ryan Dickey picked up the win in relief, going the final five innings, allowing two runs, one earned on five hits and two walks. He struck out a season-high nine batters to improve to 9-2. Nick Lozano worked the first four innings, allowing four runs on seven hits and a walk.

Joel Hayner (8-2) took the loss for Herkimer after surrendering five runs, four earned on seven hits and four walks.

Snelson went 2-for-4 with two RBI and two stolen bases. Conway was 1-for-3 with two walks, an RBI and four stolen bases. Morgan went 1-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and a stolen base. O'Shea was 1-for-4 with two RBI and a stolen base. Manny Moore was 1-for-5.

Larose was 2-for-3 with two RBI, Duda and Haney each went 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Nick Dagnello was 2-for-5 with an RBI for the Generals.

Both teams had 12 hits.