HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL
Saints win second game in as many days
SARATOGA SPRINGS — Shaking off the effects of its lone league loss of the season on Saturday, the Saratoga Central Catholic baseball team won its second game in as many days Wednesday with an 11- 2 decision over Mayfield.
Eight players hit safely as the Saints pounded out 11 hits, with Lane Gannon, Jesse Winters and Sean Hart accounting for two each. Hart doubled and tripled and scored three times. Wednesday’s victory followed Tuesday’s 6-0 blanking of Saint Johnsville.
“We played two pretty good games back to back,” said Saratoga Catholic coach Alphonse Lambert Jr. “We’re starting to get things clicking. We’re been trying to get more offensive spark, so we brought up Lane from the JV. He got two hits tonight, and he did a nice job behind the plate.”
Michael Naughton went the four-inning minimum to earn the win, with relief help from Jake Van Patten. Naughton, making his third start of the year, twice had to deal with the bases loaded and nobody out in giving up just one run on four hits.
“He gutted it out,” said Lambert. “He didn’t have his best stuff, but he hung in there. I give him a lot of credit. It’s great to be able to get the win without your best stuff. I give him a lot of credit. And I thought Jake threw three
pretty good innings.”
Mayfield got out of the gate quickly. A lead- off double by Bobby Messina, followed by a single and a hit batsman loaded the bases with nobody out. Naughton forced the lead runner at the plate on Kelly Hennessy’s comebacker, but the Saints missed turning a double play when Cam Coons dropped Gannon’s throw to first. After walking in a run, Naughton retired the next two batters to get out of the inning.
Liam Gibney turned in the defensive play of the game when he dove to his left to grab Jordan Van Nostrand’s grounder, then threw out the Mayfield pitcher from his knees to end the inning.
The hosts tied it in the second when Jake Moline walked, was sacrificed to second, stole third and came in on Chris Larsen’s sacrifice fly.
The Saints gave themselves some serious breathing room in the third. Gannon lead off with a single, continuing all the way to third when the ball was mishandled by the Panthers’ right- fielder. After Coons walked, Winters singled past third to score Gannon. Hart then doubled to left- center, scoring Coons and Winters, coming around himself on Jake Moline’s bouncer to the right side.
Mayfield had a big chance in the top of the fourth. Singles by Luke Van Nostrand and his brother Jordan and a hit batsman loaded the bases. But once again Naughton was up to the challenge, retiring the next three hit- ters to escape the jam.
Spa Catholic added single runs in the fourth and fifth, and then struck for four more in the eighth on four hits and an error.
Asked about his team’s readiness for the postseason, Lambert said, “The thing with us is we have to hit better. For some reason, we’re not hitting like we were early in the sea- son. Some of the guys could be a little tired. We’re trying to give everyone a break so they can be fresh for sectionals.”