Niagara Power manager Sam Kirby has been waiting for his team to crack open a game with a big hit.

On Wednesday at reigning New York Collegiate Baseball League champ Brockport, the host Riverbats did the cracking for him.

A pair of errors in the top of the 10th inning proved to be the difference as Brian Goodwin and Jake Gill scored to give the locals a 5-3 victory, snapping a five-game losing skid in the process.

“That was a big one for us,” Kirby said. “We needed that. We’ve been one big hit away a number of times and this game was the same. We had the bases loaded in the first, then had runners on second and third in the next two innings.”

While Niagara (6-8) was stranding 15 runners on offense, Shelby Robertson shined on the hill for the Power, going all 10 innings in earning his second win of the season. Robertson has been a horse for Kirby, going more than six innings in each of his four starts for the club.

“He had command of the strike zone,” Kirby said of Robertson, who worked that deep into the contest, yet barely went over 100 pitches. “He did an excellent job, but he’s done an excellent job for us every time out. He’s been everything we could have hoped for.”

The Power led 3-1 heading into the ninth, but Brockport rallied to tie and send the game into extra innings.

Kirby was happy to see his team respond with two runs, ending the skid, especially in light of Tuesday’s heartbreaking extra-inning loss to Geneva.

“I usually don’t believe in moral victories, but (Tuesday) might have been one of those for this club,” Kirby said. “We built some confidence in that game and now we won this one.

“We’ve got to feed off this energy and hopefully put a string together here.”



Contact sports editor Tim Schmitt at 282-2311, ext. 2266.



GAME NIGHT

• WHO: Brockport at Niagara

• WHAT: New York Collegiate Baseball League game

• WHEN: 7 p.m. today

• WHERE: Sal Maglie Stadium

• NOTES: After ending five-game losing streak to Brockport on Wednesday, it’s Anthony Powell’s turn in the rotation, although Powell has a 7.20 earned run average in two starts. ... Niagara’s Jake Gill has four doubles and has been one of the team’s few offensive bright spots.