Saratoga Catholic wins Wasaren title
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. >> Phonsey Lambert has led Saratoga Central Catholic’s baseball team to five sectional championships and more than 20 league crowns.
Yet, after his Saints clinched the outright Wasaren League championship Friday night in their first year in the league, the coach with more than 500 wins called it one of his proudest moments.
“It’s an incredible feeling,” Lambert said. “There’s a lot of good teams in this league. This is a big deal in our program.”
Terel Tillman pitched a gem and had two hits on offense to lead Saratoga Catholic to a 7-0 shutout of Hoosic Valley and a league title celebration at Veterans Field.
The Saints dominated the Western Athletic Conference for years, but moved to the Wasaren League in all sports for the start of the 2016-17 school year.
“That was our goal, to compete for a league championship,” Lam-
bert said. “To do it in our first year is incredible.”
Tillman gave up no runs on one hit and had 13 strikeouts to earn the win. It improved his record to 5-1 on the mound this season.
“He had just a dominating performance,” Lambert said of his ace.
The sophomore added two hits and two RBIs at the plate while teammates Zac Cronk and Kaden Learch also had two hits and Nick Winslow led all players with three RBIs.
Jake Saucy took the loss for Valley after allowing five runs in four innings of work. The hosts tacked on a run in the fifth and another in the sixth against relievers to complete the scoring.
Saratoga Catholic finishes with a 15-1 Wasaren League record and 17-2 overall. The Saints have one non-league contest yet to play.
Hoosic Valley, Class C state title winners two of the last three years, finished the season 12-3 in league play to claim second place. Tamarac, the only team to beat Saratoga Catholic, was third with a 10-5 record while fellow new comer Waterford-Halfmoon and Greenwich both had 9-7 records in fourth.
Friday night’s league title was the fourth for senior Zac Cronk, a fouryear starter for the Saints.
“He’s only lost seven games in his career,” Lambert said. “(Our seniors) are bringing us on a special ride.”