The Pioneers were forced to play the waiting game with mother nature during Saturday night's game against the Alfred Thunder. With the season winding down, Elmira had the opportunity to lock up a playoff spot with a win against Alfred.

The Pioneers sent Andrew Wall to the mound with his 4-1 record. Wall had picked up 3 wins in his previous 3 starts coming into the night and looked to go deep in the game against the Thunder. The was halted early on for Wall as lightning off in the distance forced the umpires to stop the game and wait out the bad weather.

While under the delay the skies above opened up as rain began to fall over Dunn Field and forced the field crew to bring out the tarp. The game would resume after an hour and forty eight minute delay with the Thunder at the plate and 2 outs in the 1st inning.

Elmira showed no signs of lag early on as Jake Rickenbach led off the inning with a double to center field. The next two Pioneer batters would draw walks to load up the bases for Ryan Ferguson who hit a ball all the way to the center field wall, clearing the bases and giving Elmira a 3-0 lead.

Jake Rickenbach started the second inning off the same way he did the first with a single and Elmira continued to pour on the offense early as they scored 3 runs in the inning to give themselves a 7-0 lead. The Pioneers would take Thunder starter Trey Frazier out of the game after an inning and two thirds. Frazier allowed 7 runs on 6 hits and walked 4 Elmira batters.

Wall continued to show his impressive stuff to the home crowd as he had an answer all night against the Thunder. Wall at one point struck out 4 consecutive batters and was able to pitch 6 innings of scoreless ball. Wall allowed just 6 hits on the night and struck out 9 Alfred batters, putting himself in good position to pick up his fifth win.

Elmira added a run in the bottom of the sixth to give themselves an 8-0 lead. The shut-out however would be broken up in the seventh inning as Alfred was able to plate a run off reliever Cody Normand. The Thunder would do the same in the eighth as they plated another run making it an 8- 2 ballgame. Elmira made one final charge in the bottom half of the inning as Mike Cleary drove a ball to the outfield scoring 2 Pioneer base runners and give him 4 RBI in the process.

Jordan Egan pitched a scoreless top of the ninth to seal the deal for Elmira as they move to 25-12 on the season and lock up a spot in the 2010 NYCBL playoffs. The Pioneers will have two more home games at Dunn Field to wrap up the regular season. The Pioneers will square off against the Hornell Dodgers on Tuesday, July 27th and Wednesday, July 28th. Tuesday is Fan Appreciation Night and the Party in the Park Concert Series will conclude with a performance by the Colin Markus Band.

Tickets can be purchased in advance from the Pioneers exclusive retail ticket outlet, Jubilee Foods, located at 2898 Westinghouse Road, Horseheads, NY.

For more information contact the Pioneers office at 607-734-2690 or visit www.elmirapioneers.com.

This Summer, Have Some Fun at the Dunn.