Athletics escape Mohawks
Strong late inning relief and clutch hitting leads to 3-2 win
AMSTERDAM, NY » The Albany Athletics bested the Amsterdam Mohawks on Monday night by a score of 3-2, in a single game that included an ejection, many baserunners early on and would come down to late inning relief.
“We left some people on base early in the game. We had some opportunities to score some runs, but we completed the whole night,” said Mohawks manager Greg Christodulu. The Mohawks stranded two runners in the first and two again in the second.
“We had very good pitching performances across the board, which allowed us to stay in the game. We have very good quality at-bats and I was pleased with everybody’s effort and focus.”
The Athletics would get on the board first in the bottom of the second. After Nate Novak walked to start the inning, Mohawks starting pitcher Will Van Buesekom (Albany/ Marist) seemed to find his groove, striking out the next two batters. With two outs, Buesekom loaded the bases with a walk and hit batsmen. Tim Carroll (Ballston Lake, Siena) and Connor Pingitore (Perth/ Alfred) knocked through back-to-back RBI singles, giving the A’s their 2-0 lead.
“The Mohawks always throw out good pitching and we have to play good, if not perfect baseball. Early on, we had a little trouble with a couple fielding errors. You can’t really have fielding errors when you’re playing such a good team, but at the end of the day, pitching was huge for us today,” said A’s manager Joe Altieri.
A’s pitchers made one mistake on the day and that was in the top of the third inning against Brian Hart (Saratoga Springs/ Marist). Nick Zuba (East Greenbush/ Saint Rose) entered the game in relief for the third inning and Reilly Hall (Cooperstown/ Coker) worked a leadoff walk. Hart then launched a game-tying, two-run home run over the right field wall.
“Brian got a good count and he was able to put the barrel on it. He had a little period there where he was struggling, but his atbats recently have been very, very good,” Christodulu said.
That would be all the runs the Mohawks would manage off the A’s pitching on Monday night, as Bryan Carr (Saint Rose ‘15) took over with two outs in the third. Carr’s only blemish in 2.1 innings would be a single off the bat of Danny Moshier (Saratoga Springs/ Radford), who would be caught stealing second after over-sliding the bag. Carr would face the minimum seven batters, striking out three.
The middle relief for the Mohawks was stellar, as Matt Gonzales (Scotia/ Barton) worked two scoreless innings, getting out of a jam in the fifth. Devyn Fahnestock (Matamores, PA/ Lock Haven) worked himself into and out of trouble in the sixth.
The Monday night game was complete with an ejection from arguing balls and strikes, with the lone umpire officiating from behind the pitcher’s mound.
While arguments may help things feel a bit more like normal, Donovan Rhoden (Ballston Spa/ HVCC) decided against reenacting the scene from St. Louis on Saturday afternoon. After a pinch hit strikeout, he let his displeasure be known from well across the field.
Joe Gratton (Pittsfield/ Castleton) took over for the A’s in the sixth, working two scoreless innings where he struck out three and walked one.
“Not only did they work out of situations, but we didn’t allow them to rally. Especially the later guys, Joe Gratton and Bryan Carr. Those guys allowed us to get the win today,” Altieri said.
In the bottom of the sixth, the A’s got their chance to go ahead. Nick Hansen (Troy/ LeMoyne) started off the inning with a walk. A wild pitch bounced off the backstop right back to Moshier, the Mohawks catcher, and a good throw would have easily caught Hansen. After the throw went into centerfield, Hansen was able to go first-tothird on the play.
RJ Pingitore (Perth/ S. Vermont) drove in Hansen, giving the A’s the lead, on an RBI single to centerfield.
“When Nick got to third, I said to him, this is a perfect spot for RJ. He’s a contact hitter. He never swings and misses. He always has quality at-bats. I told Nick to freeze on contact and see what happens. RJ found the hole and it was a perfect spot for him,” Altieri said.
FINAL | ALBANY ATHLETICS 3, AMSTERDAM MOHAWKS 2 Shuttleworth Park Amsterdam, NY Mohawks 0-0-2-0-0-0-0 | 2 Athletics 0-2-0-0-0-1-0 | 3 WP: Joe Gratton; LP: Von Baker, BS: Nick Zuba Mohawks Will Van Buesekom: 2 IP, 2R, 2ER, 2H, 4K, 2BB, 1 HBP; Matt Gonzales: 2 IP, 3K, 1H, 1BB; Devyn Fahnestock: 1 IP, 2K, 1H, 2BB; Von Baker: 1.0 IP, 1R, 0 ER, 1H, 1BB, 3K; Luke Pascarella: 1.0 IP, 2H Reilly Hall: BB, Run; Brian Hart: HR, 2 RBI Athletics Nick Zuba: 0.2 IP, 2R, 2ER, K, BB, H; Bryan Carr: 2.1 IP, 1H, 3K; Joe Gratton: 2.0 IP, 3K, BB Tim Carroll: 1B, RBI; Connor Pingitore: 1B, RBI; RJ Pingitore: 1B, RBI; Nate Novak: 2 BB, Run,; Craig Mastroianni: BB, Run; Nick Hansen: 2 BB, Run ICBL RECAP FINAL - GAME 1 | ALBANY DUTCH 7, GLENS FALLS INDEPENDENTS 4 FINAL - GAME 2 | ALBANY DUTCH 4, GLENS FALLS INDEPENDENTS 2 STANDINGS Albany Athletics 13-1-2 Albany Dutch 10-5-2 Amsterdam Mohawks 6-9 Glens Falls Independents 1-15