Jul 26, 2025
OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Jamestown’s Cohen Harris delivers to the plate against Niagara in Friday’s Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League contest at Diethrick Park.
JAMESTOWN — With a playoff spot already locked up, the Jamestown Tarp Skunks’ sole focus entering their final three regular-season games was securing a home game in next week’s playoffs.
They went a long way toward doing that Friday night.
Pinch-runner Nico Frizell scored on a walk-off walk in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Tarp Skunks beat the Niagara Ironbacks 3-2 in Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League action at Diethrick Park.
“Offensively, we hit some balls hard and we did some different things,” Jamestown manager Frank Jagoda III said. “We found a way at the end to scratch something across.”
With two games remaining in the regular season, second-place Jamestown trails first-place Batavia by mere percentage points in the West Division. The top two teams in the division will host a playoff game Tuesday evening.
OBSERVER Photo by Matt Spielman Jamestown’s Joaquin Rodriguez-Costa stands on second after a double during Friday’s PGCBL game against Niagara.
“One out of two we definitely get a home game,” Jagoda said, “and we still control our own destiny for the rest of the weekend.”
Niagara, seventh out of eight teams in the West Division, fought valiantly Friday and made things difficult for the Tarp Skunks, tying the game 2-2 in the top of the seventh inning.
But a stellar defensive play in the top of the 10th inning gave Jamestown the opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the frame.
First, in the top of the 10th, the Ironbacks’ Chase Hubbel started on second base. After a strikeout, a wild pitch and a walk left runners at first and third, No. 10 batter Devan Madore then tried a suicide-squeeze bunt to plate the go-ahead run, but Tarp Skunks reliever Will Taylor (5-0) made an acrobatic play to field the grounder and throw home to catcher Branston Lindquist, who was able to block home plate long enough to tag Hubbel for the second out.
“Will Taylor was phenomenal for us,” Jagoda said. “That was a great, athletic play there in the 10th to get that out at the plate and a great tag by Branston.”
Taylor then struck out Marcus Butts to strand two runners and finish his second scoreless inning of the night.
In the bottom of the 10th, Frizell started at second in place of Lindquist before leadoff batter Brady McGuire walked. A wild pitch with Nolan Smith at bat allowed both runners to move up and the Ironbacks elected to intentionally walk Smith to load the bases. Niagara proceeded to pull its right fielder into the infield to prevent a groundball from plating the winning run, but it didn’t matter as Ben Slanker walked on four straight pitches to send Frizell home with the winning run.
“We played clean baseball,” Jagoda said. “We had some tough ABs, but we had some team at-bats toward the end of the game.”
The Tarp Skunks struggled early against Ironbacks starting pitcher Ethan Catney-Forbes, getting shut out in every inning except the third. Catney-Forbes, whose previous longest outing of the summer was a five-inning showing against Jamestown on June 25, lasted 7 1/3 innings Friday, throwing 120 pitches while striking out nine.
“We may not have had a ton of offensive firepower tonight, which we’ve been used to as of late,” Jagoda said. “We found ways to make plays defensively. We have to win close games down the stretch.”
Joaquin Rodriguez-Costa led off the bottom of the third with a double and went to third on a single from Lindquist. McGuire then hit into a fielder’s choice to plate Rodriguez-Costa and Nolan Smith followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0.
“It was good baserunning by Brady McGuire on Nolan’s hit. There was no doubt we were going to send him there,” Jagoda said. “We put together team at-bats. … That’s team baseball. We’re going to need that moving forward.”
Niagara got a run off Jamestown starter Cohen Harris in the fourth inning. Cadyn Wilson led off with a single, moved to third on Andrew Bishop’s one-out single, and scored on a wild pitch.
Jase Rutkowski threw 1 1/3 innings of shutout relief before Nick Ianniello gave up the tying run in the seventh. Eddie Dolansky then threw a scoreless eighth inning before Taylor finished the game for the Tarp Skunks.
“Nick came in and (only) gave up one,” Jagoda said. “Eddie didn’t have a ton of command early, but he found a way to bear down, button it up and throw a zero.”
Jamestown will now go on the road for its final two regular-season games. Jack Bracken will start today at Niagara and Easton Barnett will start Sunday at Batavia.
Today and Sunday, the Bear Lake Rod and Gun Club in Chautauqua County will host the New York State Archery Shooters …
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