A chilly night in Batavia. Temperatures dropping. No problem!

The noisy and spirited fans who showed up at Dwyer Stadium last night were well rewarded, as their Batavia Muck Dogs advanced to the NY-Penn League championship series, with a hard fought 3-2 win over the Lowell Spinners. The Muck Dogs won their best of three series two games to one.

And who will they face for the hardware? None other than the Jamestown Jammers, owned by Rich Products, and part of the same umbrella organization which owns the Buffalo Bisons. Their best of three series starts in Jamestown on Friday night, before shifting to Batavia on Saturday, with the third game, if necessary, Sunday night.

Batavia’s success last night came via stellar pitching. Starter Adam Veres only allowed one run on two hits in seven innings, with reliever Ramon Delgado then striking out the side in the eighth inning. But closer Adam Riefer then ran into a patch of trouble in the 9th, and with the ‘Dogs nursing a 3-1 lead, he gave up a run scoring single with two outs, but then managed to get the game’s final punchout with the tying run stranded at second base.

This franchise was teetering on the brink of insolvency just last winter, until the Rochester Red Wings management stepped in to take over operations of the team. For the community owned Muckdogs, this arrangement has proved to be a big success, wth interest in the team at a new high.

Red Wings General Manager Dan Mason was beaming after the game, standing near the main exit and thanking exiting fans for their attendance and support. “Yeah it’s been a nice ride here this year, and hopefully we can bring Batavia a championship for these fans” Mason said.

Always one of the friendliest and gregarious GM’s in the International League, we asked Mason if the coming Jamestown/Batavia showdown is an offshoot of the Bisons/Red Wings rivalry. “Well you could say that” Mason laughed, “although I’d much rather have Buffalo and Rochester on the field facing each other this time of year.”

Here is the complete finals schedule. If you want to see some great playoff baseball and watch the Western New York showdown for NY-Penn League supremacy, then hop into your car and head out to the ballparks!

Game 1 Batavia at Jamestown - 7:05 PM Friday, Diethrick Park
Game 2 Jamestown at Batavia - 7:05 PM Saturday, Dwyer Stadium
Game 3 Jamestown at Batavia - 6:05 PM Sunday, Dwyer Stadium

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