Jamestown second baseman Aiden Nolasco receives a flip from shortstop Ty Lagoni before throwing to first base during Thursday’s PGCBL game against Batavia at Diethrick Park in Jamestown. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

The whiteboard that sat on a table in the manager’s office at Russell E. Diethrick Jr. Park on Thursday night offered a simple two-word admonition.

It read: “Be Pro!”

Jamestown obliged.

Sparked by timely hitting, strong relief pitching and solid defense, the Tarp Skunks rallied for a 6-4 victory over Batavia in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League opener for both teams before an announced crowd of 894.

“It’s always good to win the first game, for sure,” Jamestown manager and Dunkirk native Frank Jagoda III said. “It kind of sets the tone for the season. And the way we did it, too. We were down early and we stuck with it, grinding out at-bats and seeing more pitches. As soon as we got a base-runner and got the first knock, we felt we were going to be in a good spot.”

Nick Ianniello (Brockport) was the winning pitcher, one of five Jamestown hurlers. Anthony Serrano (Columbia State Community College) worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning for the save.

Offensively, the Tarp Skunks collected only six hits, but they certainly made them count.

Trailing 2-0 after two innings — Justin Espinal’s two-run double off Jamestown starter Easton Barnett (Lincoln Memorial) got the Muckdogs off to a good start — the Tarp Skunks took a 3-2 lead in the fifth inning, highlighted by a two-run double by Niko Frizell (Mercyhurst).

“Niko came up big,” Jagoda said. “He had two strikes. It was really a big moment and kind of broke the ice for us.”

Batavia responded with two runs in the sixth off Daniel Thomas on a sacrifice fly by James Bolton and an infield single by Sean Mindas, but the Tarp Skunks tallied three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take the lead for good. The big hits in that frame were an RBI double by Nathan Borchardt (King University), the No. 3 hitter, and a run-scoring triple by Justin Bremner (Canisius), who batted fifth.

“Those guys in the middle of the order really set the tone,” Jagoda said.

Jamestown’s bullpen did the rest.

Ianniello, Jase Rutkowski (Niagara County CC) and Serrano kept Batavia at bay in the final three innings to secure the win.

“Jase and Anthony really came in and did a phenomenal job throwing strikes and pouding the zone,” Jagoda said.

NOTES: Bremner finished with two hits and two stolen bases, and Borchardt also had a pair of hits for Jamestown. … Bolton collected two of the Muckdogs’ eight hits. … Evin Hollandsworth, one of five Batavia pitchers, took the loss. … There was a scary moment in the top of the fifth inning when Batavia’s Caleb Walker hit a fly ball to left-center field. Bremner, the Tarp Skunks’ left-fielder, and Matthew Dumas, the center fielder, collided as Bremner made the catch. Fortunately, both players stayed in the game. … Jamestown is back in action today at Elmira. Cohen Harris (High Point) will get the start. … After an off day Saturday, the Tarp Skunks head to Batavia on Sunday. … Jamestown’s next home game is Tuesday against Olean. First pitch is at 6:30 p.m.