BATAVIA -- After falling behind 2-1 in the second inning, Batavia's Joe Aguilar came in as reliever and held Oswego scoreless in the remaining five innings as the Bulldogs rallied for a 5-2 victory Saturday.
"Joe came in early and he just pitched a few days ago," said Batavia head coach Matt Holm, who looked to Aguilar after starter Brian Krolikowski suffered an apparent shoulder strain in the early going. "For (Aguilar) to come in so early as a reliever and pitch so well was big for us. His cut fastball was right on today."
Aguilar struck out six and walked two in his five-inning performance.
After taking a 1-0 lead in the first, Batavia gave up both of Oswego's runs in the second inning. With the bases loaded, a wild pitch by Krolikowski allowed the Panthers' Kevin Zmuda to reach home for the tying run. Two at-bats later, Tony Tidaback singled up the middle to drive in Brandt Stone to give Oswego the 2-1 lead.
The bottom of the second didn't go well for the Bulldogs with a three-up, three-out showing. However, Batavia's offense turned things around in the third when Alex Beckmann doubled to right center to bring in Matt Witt and knot the ballgame at 2-2. The Bulldogs took the lead in the next at-bat when Brad Brandenburg singled up the middle to bring home Beckmann.
Aguilar shined in the fourth, striking out three of the four batters he faced.
In the top of the fifth the Batavia infield took over, first with a great throw by catcher Stone to thwart a steal attempt by the Panthers' Ryan Prinzing. Two-batters later, Batavia turned a 6-4-3 double-play to quickly end the inning.
The Bulldogs got an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth when Tim Drish earned his second RBI on a two-out double to deep center that brought in Brandenburg, who scored his second run of the day.
Batavia's final run was scored in the sixth inning by Kai Baker -- who was pinch running for Ryan Welter, who reached base on a double to right. Baker advanced to third on a Beckmann single and scored on an Oswego wild pitch.
"This is the third tight ballgame in a row we've played and we made some big plays to take control of the game," said Holm of the victory. "We had an attitude adjustment earlier in the week and reevaluated what we are doing and it showed today." Baseball: Batavia 5, Oswego 2
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