Muckdogs Extend Winning Streak to Seven with 17-8 Comeback over Americans
Written by Intern WBTA on July 10, 2026
By: Cam Crossett
The Batavia Muckdogs extended their winning streak to seven games on Thursday night, erasing an early five-run deficit with a relentless offensive attack to defeat the Niagara Falls Americans, 17-8, at Dwyer Stadium.
Niagara Falls wasted little time jumping on Batavia starter Nolan Bonell. With runners on second and third in the top of the first inning, Anthony Savino delivered an RBI single to open the scoring. On the very next pitch, Tyler Foxcroft drove in Anthony Favata on a fielder’s choice to make it 2-0. Justin Gladfeltner followed with a two-run double, extending the Americans lead to 4-0.
The inning continued to unravel for Batavia as an error by newcomer Jaden Vasquez allowed David Harris to reach safely. The play brought home Loagan Stickler and Gladfeltner, giving Niagara Falls a commanding 5-0 advantage before the Muckdogs had recorded the final out.
Batavia got on the board in the second inning when a bases-loaded walk forced home Bryan Johnson, trimming the deficit to 5-1. Niagara Falls answered by taking advantage of another Muckdogs miscue and wild pitch from reliever Dean Hoshide, who entered for Bonell in the fourth inning, to stretch the lead to 7-1.
Despite the early struggles, Batavia never panicked.
The comeback began in earnest during the fifth inning. Joey Socorro and Braeden Eye each collected RBI hits to score Myles Monell, while Kyle Vaughn added a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Niagara Falls added another run in the sixth when reliever Erwins Branche uncorked a wild pitch that allowed Savino to score, making it 8-4. However, the inning quickly shifted in Batavia’s favor. Two consecutive bases-loaded walks brought home Jalen Roque and another run, narrowing the score to 8-6.
The biggest swing of the night came moments later. With the bases loaded, Socorro lined a bases-clearing single into left field, scoring Cooper Russell, Jackson Inman and Myles Monell to give Batavia its first lead of the night at 9-8.
“My approach in that at-bat was to not get in my head, let myself play the game instead of letting the game play me,” Socorro said. “We all do our jobs each and every game, that’s why we’re hot right now.”
The Muckdogs have shown that resilience throughout the season, refusing to let early deficits dictate the outcome and trusting every player to contribute when the opportunity arises.
Niagara Falls lifted starter Khyree Harmon in favor of Alex Glasscock, but Batavia’s offense continued to pour it on. Evan Brock followed with an RBI single to left, collecting his 39th RBI of the season to make it 10-8. Later in the inning, Vasquez redeemed his earlier error with a sacrifice fly that brought home Kyle Vaughn and Brayden Redmond, capping an explosive frame and extending Batavia’s lead to 12-8.
Assistant coach Trenton Wasserman said the team’s patience at the plate was key to overcoming the deficit.
“We had to be more selective with the pitches we were swinging at,” Wasserman said. “We were taking some good swings at not so good pitches. I knew we were going to win; it was only a matter of time, and a matter of discipline.”
The Muckdogs never looked back. Mason Davey took over on the mound in the seventh and Batavia’s offense kept rolling. Socorro added another two-run base hit in the seventh, scoring Cooper Russell and Jackson Inman to make it 14-8.
In the eighth, Matt Marsh drove in Evan Brock with an RBI single before Cooper Russell capped the scoring with a two-run double, plating Marsh and Vaughn to complete the 17-8 victory.
Branche (1-0) earned his first win of the season in relief, while Harmon (0-1) was charged with the loss for Niagara Falls.
The victory improved Batavia to 22-6 on the season as they continue to build momentum atop the standings. Batavia will look to keep the streak alive tonight when they travel to Jamestown before returning home tomorrow to host the Elmira Pioneers, with first pitch for both games scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
