Lambert, Colonie top Shaker 6-3
Garnet Raiders earn first sectional win in three seasons
After Colonie starter Ryan Lambert got the final out against Bethlehem on Tuesday — a groundout to second baseman David Gray —he briskly walked off the mound, throwing his glove in the air toward the home dugout. It was a full-body exhale. “It was more just relief that we could get a win,” Lambert said after the game.
The Capital District’s strikeout king during the regular season, Lambert admittedly didn’t have his best stuff against the Eagles, but nevertheless, the junior gutted through seven innings to pitch No. 7 Colonie (12-9) past No. 10 Bethlehem (10-9), 6-3, in the first round of the Section II Class AA playoffs at Colonie High School.
“He did not have his best stuff today, but I think he proved to himself that he can pitch through it,” Colonie head coach Kevin Halburian said of Lambert. “He wasn’t getting some calls, he wasn’t hitting his spots that well, but he pitched through it and made the pitches he needed to get outs.”
Lambert said he knew as early as the third inning that
he wasn’t going to be at his best, struggling to locate his fastball and slider. As any good pitcher does, however, the St. John’s commit made a few in-game adjustments, adding in more change ups than usual to keep the Bethlehem hitters off balance. “I just felt like I really wasn’t locating how I normally can. I felt like my stuff wasn’t as sharp as it usually is. I was glad that we were still able to get the win while not having my best stuff,” Lambert said. “I mixed in a lot of change ups after the first time through the order. I knew that I wasn’t going to get through it with just a fastball and slider.”
The Garnet Raiders struck first, scoring a run in the home half of the first thanks to a bases loaded walk issued by Bethlehem starter Nick Mazone.
The Eagles responded in the second when Brian Harder, James Hartunian and Ned Endelbride strung back-to-back-to-back hits off Lambert, tying the game. It was Endelbride’s double that got Harder home from second base giving the Eagles their first run. Bethlehem’s plan against Lambert was to be aggressive early in the count, attacking first-pitch fastballs whenever possible -- and it worked, especially early on. Bethlehem head coach Matt Rehbit said he wasn’t surprised by his team’s success against Lambert -- who struck out 74 hitters in 43 innings this season -- but he
was definitely pleased.
“Surprised might not be the right word -- happy. Very happy,” he said. “They went up there and took their hacks. They made ingame adjustments. I was thrilled, absolutely. Especially knowing what this kid can do.”
Colonie took a 3-1 lead in the bottom half of the second inning when Evan Ryan and Kenny Szesnat hit back-to-back doubles with no outs. Ryan scored on Szesnat’s liner to left field and Szesnat later scored after a bases-loaded hit batter by Mazone. The Garnet Raiders scored another run in the third inning when Ryan drew a walk and scored on a wild pitch.
Like Lambert, Mazone also struggled with control, allowing four runs on five walks, three wild pitches
and two hit batsmen in three innings of work. He was lifted after the third inning with his pitch count up near 90. Bethlehem cut the Colonie lead down to one in the top of the fourth inning when Jon Hogg and Harder led off with backto-back singles. Hartunian sacrificed them over, Engelbride drew a walk and Steve Mendlson drove them in with a two-RBI single.
The Eagles failed to capitalize any further, however, when the next batter, Jake Smith, hit a liner directly at Colonie second baseman David Gray, who made the catch and flipped the ball to second to double off the runner.
Halburian called it the “turning point of the game.”
“That was a big play. That’s a turning point. They had the momentum
going, they had some nice hits back-to-back,” he said. “For David Gray to come up with that stab and the wherewithal to throw it to second to the shortstop who was covering, Kreztler, that’s just instinctive.”
The Colonie defense made plays all over the field, including an amazing diving catch by center fielder Anthony Mantova to end the sixth inning. After the game, Halburian told his team it was their “best game of the year” on defense.
“You need that. It’s a team effort. Ryan (Lambert) isn’t going to go out and throw seven shutout innings every time,” Halburian said. “Sometimes he’s going to be a little off and we have to pick him up with our bats and defense.”
The Garnet Raiders
tacked on two insurance runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on a double down the right-field line by AJ Mazzone to make it 6-3.
Lambert allowed backto-back hits to start the bottom of the second inning, but with is pitch count still around 80, there was no way Halburian said he was going to take the ace out. Lambert got the next three hitters in order to end the game, tossing his glove in relief afterward.
“He had a lot of leeway (in the bottom of the seventh),” Halburian said. “I wasn’t going to take it away from him. It was his game to win or lose.”
Colonie advances to play No. 2 CBA on Thursday at CBA High School. The Garnet Raiders beat the Brothers with Lambert on the mound earlier this season.