HORNELL – As Hornell's playoff fate was put into the hands of the Olean Oilers on Saturday, the final day of season turned into a day filled with fun for the Dodgers, as they played for the last time in front of their home crowd.

Everyone in the Dodgers dugout got a chance to see the field in positions they haven't had a chance to play in before. Pitchers playing in positions in the field, a position player taking the mound, the list goes on and on.

In the end, Hornell managed to split their final twinbill of the season straight down the middle, as they rolled their way to a 13-3 win over the Mansfield Destroyers to start the day, and then fell to the Western Division champion Niagara Power by a 13-1 count to officially close out the year.

“Obviously, it's not the greatest brand of baseball, but you want to give them a day to just go out, and have some fun,” said Dodgers manager Justin Oney. “Those names you see on the roster online, or on the lineup, or in the programs, those names may never been in the same dugout ever again. I told them to do what they wanted to do, and go have fun, and Mansfield and Niagara were really understanding of it.”

In game one, the Dodgers (16-24-2) came back from an early 3-0 deficit to the Destroyers through an inning and a half of work, scoring the last 13 runs on an unanswered basis to place the 10-run mercy rule in effect.

Hornell found the board in the second and third innings to cut the Destroyers lead to one, scoring a run off a Sean Flannery groundout to the right side of the infield, and then a Matt Martinez infield single to score a run from third. Flannery then added a second RBI on a turned double play in the infield with the bases loaded to tie the game at three to start the eight-run fourth inning.

The Dodgers would use special teams to score their next two runs to go ahead of Mansfield before the bats came into play, as Maddux Minton and Colin Johnson went back-to-back with a pair of two-run singles with the bases loaded again behind the Destroyers defense.

That would be all the scoring until the bottom of the seventh, when the Dodgers closed out the game with a three-run frame, led by a walk-off single down the right field line by Dakota Borman to plate the winning run from third.

In the game, Hornell recorded 13 runs on seven total hits at the plate, with Minton and Andrew Littlefield leading the way with a pair of hits each. Johnson and Flannery had two RBI respectively. On the mound, Brody Burdett picked up the win with three strikeouts, and two walks.

For the Dodgers in game two, it was turned upside down by the Niagara Power, who recorded a huge nine-run second inning of play to set the tone for the rest of the day. The beginning of the frame saw the top of the order score the bottom of the order on three straight RBI, as Adam Purdy, Dylan McNary, and Eric Wentz each drove in a run.

On the next few at-bats, Niagara added to it with a pair of two-run hits from both Noah Almond, on a double to left, and later by Isaiah Corry on a single into right field to close out the second with a nine-run lead.

Hornell would find their first baserunner after Niagara eclipsed the 10-run mark, as JP Nolan reached on an infield single, scoring Alex Foppe, who rode his high horse around from second and into score. The Dodgers would add one last hit on the next at-bat, as Nick Wimmers reached on a single into center field, but would be left on.

The Power would add three more runs in the next four innings of play, two of them coming on a pair of Almond RBI's, the first coming in the fourth on a sacrifice fly, and later on an RBI single in the sixth inning. Niagara finished off their scoring in the top of the seventh with one final run before closing up shop with a 1-2-3 on defense to end the regular season of play.

Flannery recorded a strikeout, and four walks in his start for the Dodgers. The game also saw four other position players taking the mound, including Allelo, Wimmers, Josh Laurie, and Kevin Higgins. Jon Ward also came in the final inning of play to catch for Wimmers.

“I went Little League with it, and I think I got everyone in to play,” said Oney. “The bats, the people that wanted to pitch got to pitch, and some people surprised. Jon (Ward) caught, and Nick (Wimmers) pitched in the second game. At one point, we had seven pitchers playing positions, and we had a position player pitching. It was a really great time.”

The 2019 season of Hornell Dodgers baseball is officially in the books, as the team finishes with a record of 16-24-2. For Oney, he bids farewell to the city of Hornell one last time as he makes his way back down south to Eastern Oklahoma State College, where he will begin preparations for next season – a season he's hoping will be a successful one.

“I'll be heading back to Eastern Oklahoma State College,” he said. “I along with our coaching staff are really excited with our recruits that we have coming in for next season, along with the guys that will be coming back. Things are really looking up, and hopefully things kind of align the way we're expecting it to. Hopefully we have a great year, and just go from there.”

As for his farewell message to the community, Oney handed out his thanks to the Dodgers organization, as well as his thanks to the city of Hornell for welcoming him back with open arms.

“I just want to give a big thank you to every that took the time to come out, and see all the games you got a chance to see. Obviously, we didn't get the favorable results that we wanted every day, but like I said when I first took this job, the city of Hornell is awesome. They do a great job here, Paul (Welker) does an awesome job along with everyone that helps him.”

Oney added, “It was everything that I expected it to be, and the community does a great job supporting this team. I've never seen a place that's as welcoming as Hornell is. I appreciate everything they've done for us. They've made this a great place to play summer ball.”

Game 1
Mansfield        210 000 0 –  3  8 2
Hornell            011 800 3 – 13 7 1

MAN – Austin Parker (BB), Ty Garner (LP, 3) (5BB), Nick Colton (4) (2BB), Kipp Hillson (5) (3K), David Higginbotham (7) (3BB), Pierce Hendershot (7), and Blake Murray.
HOR – Brody Burdett (WP) (3K, 2BB), Tucker Holden (6) (K, BB), and Nick Wimmers, Colin Johnson (6).

Game 2
Niagara        091 101 1 – 13 15 4
Hornell        001 000 0 –   1   2 3

NIA – Billy Blair (WP) (4K, BB), Alex Friesen (4), Peyton Birch (5) (3K, BB), Simon Heck (7) (K), and Bryce Gargus, Dennis Gagliardo (7).
HOR – Sean Flannery (LP) (K, 4BB), Jon-Michael Allelo (2) (K, 6BB), Josh Laurie (4) (BB), Kevin Higgins (6), Nick Wimmers (7), and Wimmers, Jon Ward (7).