The Elmira Pioneers picked up their first win of the season in comeback fashion against the Olean Oilers at Dunn Field on Thursday, June 4. Elmira gave up three runs in the top half of the first, but scored a whopping 14-unanswered runs through three innings and held on for a 14-4 victory.

Brandon Doubek put the Pioneers on the board in the bottom of the first with an RBI single. The Pioneers tied the game at 3-3 with a pair of runs off wild pitches. Another wild pitch gave Elmira a 4-3 lead. Jalyn Tidwell capped off the first inning with an RBI single to put the Pioneers on top by two.

Centerfielder, Brett Baker worked a 3-2 count with runners on first and second. Baker fouled off the sixth pitch of the at-bat before making solid contact on an RBI-single. The Pioneers continued to churn out runs with RBIs from Jack Tubman, Alex Davis and Ryan Kristof.

Already up 9-3, the Pioneers took a nine-run lead off a Tyson Gingerich three-run triple.

The Pioneers added two more runs in the third to take a 14-3 lead. The Oilers got one run back in the seventh but the Pioneers held on for the win.

After the three-run first inning, Brenden Hayes settled in on the mound and held Olean scoreless through the next four innings. Hayes finished with seven strikeouts, five hits and three earned runs as he picked up the win.

The Pioneers tallied 11 hits. Thomas Cheplick and Baker led the team with two hits each.

Elmira improved to .500 with an 11-1 victory against the Geneva Red Wings at Dunn Field on Saturday. The Pioneers racked up five extra-base hits including a solo-home run from Michael Gardner in the seventh inning.

On the mound, Landen Burch allowed just one run in six innings while striking out seven en route to his first victory of the season.

The Pioneers maintained a .500 record as they split a double-header against the Niagra Ironbacks on Sunday. After a 7-0 loss to start the day, the Pioneers made the most of a complete game shutout by Larsen Burch and picked up a 3-0 victory. The Pioneers were held scoreless until the fifth inning when Ryan Gabinalli hit a single to start the inning. Gingerich reached first on an error to put two on with no outs. Then, Michael Ferranti hits a two-run single to give the Pioneers the lead and eventually the win.

The Pioneers returned to the diamond for the first of a two game series against the Newark Pilots on Tuesday, June 9. Newark was still looking for their first win of the season when they entered Tuesday’s contest. Elmira was in fourth place in the west standings, just one game behind Batavia and 2.5 off the first place Jamestown Tarp Skunks.

The Pioneers picked up a 7-3 victory over the Pilots. Elmira pitcher Kannon VanDuzer threw a career high 7.1 innings and allowed six hits and three runs. The Pioneers offense took a 3-1 lead in the third with sacrifice fly to centerfield from Gardner. Tidwell gave the Pioneers two more runs in the fourth when he hit an RBI triple to left center and then scored on a wild pitch.

The Pioneers added a couple more insurance runs in the eighth and ninth innings, but the game was well in hand.

Tidwell and Tyler Adamo led the Pioneers with two hits each. The Pioneers were scheduled to square off with Newark again on Wednesday night, the score from this game will be in next week’s paper.