Riverbats fly out of gates

Riverbats fly out of gates

The Genesee Valley Riverbats began the 2006 season by winning four of their first six games and held first place in the early going of their New York Collegiate Baseball League season.

The league is one of eight nationally recognized by the NCAA to "give college players who have not yet signed professional contracts the opportunity to develop their skills at a higher level of play," according to the league website. The NYCBL is joined by the Cape Cod Baseball League, the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League and five others based in West Virginia, Florida, Tennessee/North Carolina, Illinois and Ohio/Michigan that make up the National Alliance of College Summer Baseball.

The Riverbats play a 44 game schedule through July with all home games at SUNY Brockport's Clark Whited Baseball Complex. They play in the Central Division with the Rochester Royals, Geneva Red Wings and Watertown Wizards.

Local high school products Jake Dennstedt, Churchville-Chili, Nick Napolitano, Hilton and Ryan Sullivan, Hilton are joined on the team by SUNY Brockport players Tim Wilson, Dave Lehman and Rob Maxwell.

Maxwell was leading the team in batting average (.462), and slugging percentage (.462) and had appeared in two games as a pitcher with a 1.80 ERA. Lehman, an original Riverbat having played in all three of the team's seasons, had one RBI in five games including one as a starter. Wilson was hitting .300 over his seven starts with a teamleading seven RBI.

Sullivan had started five games at catcher with two RBI's and had added seven fielding assists as of this writing. He will play for Monroe Community College this fall.

Napolitano, in his second year with the team and on the roster at Boston College, had yet to allow a hit over his first two innings of work as a relief pitcher. Dennstedt, 4-3 as a reliever and starter for SUNY Brockport this past season as a junior, had appeared in a team high three games including one as a starting pitcher picking up one win with a 3.55 ERA.

The Riverbats have a seven game week on the way with home games Tuesday (6/27) versus Rochester, Wednesday against Geneva, Thursday against Hornell and Saturday versus Rochester. Monday through Thursday home games begin at 5 p.m. and Saturday home games at 1 p.m.