By Sam Reis

Box Score

Friday night was a memorable one at Rao Family Stadium as Amsterdam’s 18-8 victory over Watertown gave head coach Keith Griffin his 500th win with the Mohawks.

In front of a packed house at Shuttleworth Park, Zach Eldred (Brockport) made his third start of the year on the mound for the Mohawks and second against the Rapids, serving as the pitcher and designated hitter. After not allowing a run in his first two outings, the Rapids changed that early on. Following a single from Terence Moynihan (St. Michael’s) and a walk to David McCann (Virginia Tech), Pranav Sundar (Cuesta) drove in Moynihan with a single to open the scoring. Then, a single from Gaetan Grandelli (West Chester) scored McCann from third to double the lead. The barrage continued as Malachi Flaherty (St. Joseph’s) delivered a double that brought Sundar in from third. Colin Hageman (UW-Stout) made it four consecutive hits for Watertown as a single drove in Grandelli to make it 4-0. The Rapids added one more as a sacrifice fly from Jacob Parker (Elmira) allowed Flaherty to tag up from third and make it a 5-0 game.

Sean Decker-Jacoby (Brandeis) made his fifth start for Watertown and second against Amsterdam. The right-hander began with a 1-2-3 frame to keep it 5-0 through the first inning.

Despite three strikeouts to begin the second inning for Zach Eldred, Nick Locurto (Virginia Tech) reached base on a dropped third strike. After that, back-to-back walks resulted in Eldred getting pulled after 1 ⅔ innings, allowing five hits and five runs (four earned) with three walks and three strikeouts. Josh Davis (Clemson) entered out of the bullpen, making his fifth appearance and second against the Rapids. With the bases loaded, all it took was one pitch to end the inning as Gaetan Grandelli grounded towards Davis and he stepped on home for the force out.

Following a perfect first inning for Sean Decker-Jacoby, the second inning was far from that. Amsterdam loaded the bases with no outs and Gage Miller (Bishop State CC) scored from third on a passed ball to put the Mohawks on the board. Then, an error allowed Dakota Duffalo (Utah) and Mason Swinney (Alabama) to score as the Mohawks cut the deficit to 5-3 without recording a hit. With two outs, Zach Eldred delivered the first hit for Amsterdam, a single that scored Jared Johnson (Brown) and Eddie Yamin (Dayton) to tie the game at 5-5. The next batter, Cam Gurney (Utah), was the 10th of the inning, and he sent a pitch out to deep left field, driving in Carlos Martinez (Pittsburgh) and Eldred to give Amsterdam a 7-5 lead and cap off a seven run second.

In the third inning, Jared Johnson’s double brought Bruer Webster (Utah) home and Carlos Martinez doubled to bring in Johnson, making it 9-5 Amsterdam. After the inning, Sean Decker-Jacoby’s night came to a close, conceding six hits and nine runs (three earned) with four walks and no strikeouts.

Josh Davis only had to face three batters in the fourth and wrapped up his 2 ⅓ innings of work without allowing a hit or a run with no walks and two strikeouts.

Teaghin Andre (St. Lawrence) replaced Decker-Jacoby in the fourth, making his fifth appearance and pitching in his third consecutive game against Amsterdam. The Mohawks offense didn’t slow down as Gage Miller scored Amsterdam’s 10th run on a Mason Swinney double. Bruer Webster followed that up with a double himself, driving in Swinney to make it 11-5. Then, Eddie Yamin hit a sac-fly on an impressive catch by Terence Moynihan in the infield, but after tagging up at third, Webster came home and acrobatically escaped Jacob Parker’s tag and tapped home safely for the 12th run. Carlos Martinez tallied his second RBI with a single, scoring Jared Johnson for another run. Alex Irizarry (Maryland) pinch hit for Eldred and notched a single in his first at bat, driving in Martinez to make it 14-5. Cam Gurney followed that up with a single, scoring Jaxson West (Florida State) for the 6th run of the inning, giving the Mohawks a 15-5 lead. Teaghin Andre exited after the inning, allowing seven hits and six runs (two earned) with no walks and one strikeout.

Von Baker (Cornell) came in for Davis in the fifth, making his seventh appearance and second straight against Watertown. The Rapids scored their first run since the opening inning on a Malachi Flaherty single that brought home Terence Moynihan from third. The next batter, Colin Hageman, recorded a single that drove in Gaetan Grandelli and Malachi Flaherty to cut the Amsterdam lead to 15-8.

Aidan Maxwell entered in the fifth, appearing in his fourth game and third consecutive against the Mohawks. Amsterdam failed to score a run for the first time since the first inning.

In the sixth inning, Colin Maloney (Rhode Island) made his sixth appearance of the summer for Amsterdam. The Rexford, NY native tossed a scoreless frame.

In the home half of the sixth, the Mohawks added more insurance runs. Gage Miller sent a double to left field, driving in Luke Longo (NJIT). Two batters later, Mason Swinney reached on a fielder's choice that drove in Alex Irizarry. Then, Bruer Webster reached on an error that brought home Gage Miller to make it 18-8. Aidan Maxwell in two innings allowed two hits and three runs (two earned) with one walk and three strikeouts.

In that inning, Gage Miller’s double was his 19th with Amsterdam, passing Brendan Tracy (Fairfield) and tying Zak Colby (Faulkner) for the fourth most in Mohawks history. Additionally, the run batted in was his 57th, passing Brett Coker (Mid Tennessee St.) for the sixth most RBI in Mohawks history.

Colin Maloney closed out the seventh to put the run-rule into effect and clinch the win, allowing just one hit in two scoreless innings with four walks and two strikeouts.

Sean Decker-Jacoby was charged with the loss, moving to 0-3 on the year. The defeat for the Rapids drops them to 8-13 and they are now 0-5 against the Mohawks.

Amsterdam head coach Keith Griffin has been at the helm since 2009 and the three-time Coach of the Year has reached 500 wins in just 683 games, compiling an impressive 500-180-3 record. The Pensacola, FL native has won 11 division titles and eight league championships since taking over.

Josh Davis was credited with the win, giving him a 2-0 record. Zach Eldred, Alex Irizarry, Cam Gurney, Gage Miller, Bruer Webster and Carlos Martinez all recorded multiple hits. The victory for the Mohawks is their 12th in a row as they improve to 21-1. Next up is a rematch with the Rapids in Watertown on Saturday. First pitch is slated for 6 p.m. at Duffy Fairgrounds.

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