June 14, 2026
The Hornell Steamers continued their strong start to the season Saturday evening, erupting for 18 hits and cruising to an 11-3 victory over the Horseheads Hitmen. After falling behind 1-0 in the second inning, Hornell responded immediately with a four-run third and never looked back, improving to 5-3 on the season. The Steamers sent 10 batters to the plate in the decisive third inning. Marcus Brehm (Finger Lakes CC/St. Bonaventure) sparked the rally with a leadoff triple before John Greenwood (North Park) and Will Parker (Pomona Pitzer) followed with back-to-back singles. Emmett Heath (Pomona Pitzer) added an RBI single, and RJ Fiore (Centenary) capped the inning with a run-scoring hit as Hornell grabbed a 4-1 advantage.
Horseheads trimmed the deficit to 4-2 in the bottom half of the inning, but the Steamers delivered the knockout blow one inning later. After Parker and Luke Manders (Kalamazoo) opened the fourth with singles and Heath worked a walk to load the bases, Taylor Joseph (North Park) launched a grand slam to left field. The towering blast pushed Hornell’s lead to 8-2 and highlighted a career night for the Steamers second baseman. Joseph finished 2-for-5 with four RBIs, while Brehm turned in one of the best offensive performances of the season. The shortstop went 3-for-5 with a triple, a double, a two-run home run, two RBIs, and three runs scored.
Hornell added another big swing in the seventh when Brehm connected on a two-run homer following a Michael Duncan (Eastern Mennonite) single, extending the lead to 10-3. The offensive attack was relentless throughout the evening. Greenwood collected four hits and drove in a run, Manders added three hits, Parker finished 2-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored, and Heath reached base three times while scoring twice. The Steamers totaled 18 hits and scored in five different innings.
On the mound, four Hornell pitchers combined to limit Horseheads to three runs and eight hits while striking out 10 batters. Alex Spezzano (Hornell) got the start and struck out three over three innings before Eddison Wayman Bender (Houghton) earned the victory with 1.2 innings of relief. Gage Thomas (Mercyhurst) provided 3.1 scoreless innings out of the bullpen, allowing just two hits while striking out three, and David Philips (Houghton) closed the game with a scoreless ninth inning that included a pair of strikeouts. Horseheads was led by Mason Sanno, who collected two hits and an RBI, while Yahir Ortiz scored twice and reached base four times. The Steamers won their fourth game in a row and will host the Hitmen today at 4 p.m.
