By Sam Reis
Box Score
After a lackluster offensive performance the night before, Amsterdam’s bats came alive early in a 6-1 victory over the Albany Dutchmen on a rainy Friday night at Rao Family Stadium.
Zach Eldred (Brockport) made his second start of the season on the mound for Amsterdam. After walking a couple of batters in the first, the right hander got out of the inning without conceding a run.
Greg Shaw (Manhattan) made his second appearance and first start of the campaign for Albany. The first batter he faced, Gage Miller (Bishop State CC), sent a 1-2 pitch off the left field wall for a double. That put Miller past Brett Coker (Mid Tennessee St.) and tied him with Brendan Tracey (Fairfield) for the fifth most doubles in Mohawks history with 18. Then, Cam Gurney (Utah) sent a line drive down the third base line that made it out to left field for an RBI double that drove in Miller for the first run. Luke Longo (NJIT), the third Amsterdam batter, belted an 0-2 offering to right field that cleared the wall for a two-run home run to give the Mohawks a 3-0 lead before the Dutchmen recorded their first out of the contest. That was Longo’s third blast of the season, tying him with Albany’s Vince Venditti (Saint Rose) for the second most home runs in the PGCBL.
In the third inning, Eldred found himself in a bases loaded jam with no outs. That’s when he was taken off the mound, not conceding a run, allowing one hit and walking four with one strikeout in 2+ innings. Dylan Reid (Brown) replaced him, making just his second appearance of the summer and first in relief. In a high pressure situation, the right hander struck out Donavan Canterberry (Xavier) before Brody Keneston (Le Moyne) grounded out to get Amsterdam out of the inning without giving up a run.
In the fourth inning, the Mohawks added another run. After Zach Eldred was walked and Dakota Duffalo (Utah) singled, Jaxson West (Alabama) delivered a single to left field and advanced to second on an error, driving in Eldred from second. That was West’s first hit as a Mohawk in his debut.
Greg Shaw’s night came to an end after the fourth inning as he allowed six hits, four earned runs, walked a batter and struck out five. Ryan Pittz (UAlbany) came into the game, making his third appearance of the season and second against Amsterdam.
In the fifth inning, Gage Miller came home from third on a passed ball to give Amsterdam a 5-0 lead.
Dylan Reid pitched all the way through the sixth inning for the Mohawks, going four scoreless innings and allowing four hits while walking nobody and recording five strikeouts.
Ryan Pittz went two innings for the Dutchmen, allowing a run on two hits while walking one and failing to record a strikeout.
Carson Cotugno (Wake Forest) came in for Amsterdam in the seventh inning, making his second appearance and first out of the bullpen in 2023. That is when Albany got on the board with a Will Plattner (Ole Miss) single driving in Tyler Cannoe (Salve Regina). Cotugno allowed two hits in the inning with no walks or strikeouts.
Albany’s Danny Iglesias (St. Thomas) entered out of the bullpen for the third time this season in the seventh inning.
Jack Seppings (Brown) replaced Cotugno in the eighth inning, striking out all three batters faced in his fifth appearance of the summer. The right hander now leads the team with 15 strikeouts in 6.1 innings of work.
Devin Campbell (Oswego) pitched the eighth inning for the Dutchmen, making his third appearance of 2023. The Mohawks tacked on a sixth run in the frame when a Dakota Duffalo double drove in his Utah teammate Cam Gurney from third.
Jack Brodsky (Tampa) closed the door with no hits allowed and one strikeout in the ninth to give the Mohawks their 10th win of the season.
Despite seven hits, Albany could only muster one run on the night. Meanwhile, Amsterdam recorded 12 hits, with Mason Swinney (Alabama) being the only player that failed to get on base.
Gage Miller, Luke Longo and Dakota Duffalo had a couple of hits while Cam Gurney had a 3-for-4 night with three doubles and an RBI. Dylan Reid was credited with the win, his second of the campaign.
With the loss, Albany drops to 5-6 and next faces Utica in a doubleheader on Saturday.
Amsterdam moves to 10-1 with the result. Next up is the third of eight meetings with Watertown. The Mohawks won the first two matchups with the Rapids. First pitch on the road is scheduled for 6:30 on Saturday.
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