By Sam Reis

Box Score     Photos

Both starting pitchers went five scoreless innings before a thrilling ending resulted in a 3-3 tie between the Amsterdam Mohawks and Saugerties Stallions on Monday night at Rao Family Stadium.

Evan Siary (Mississippi State) made his sixth start of the summer and has become quite familiar with Saugerties, making his third start against the Stallions. The only two hits the right-hander conceded came in the opening frame as Travis Hobbensiefken (Mt. San Antonio) and Samuel Hill (UMass) recorded singles. In between those hits, Alex Nevils (Wofford) was walked, loading up the bases for Saugerties with two outs. Siary got out of the jam by striking out Kyle Pollack (Marist).

On the other side, Dylan Speakman (South Georgia) made his sixth appearance and second start of the season on the mound. This was his first encounter with Amsterdam. Just like the Stallions, the Mohawks threatened early. After Gage Miller (Bishop State CC) and Luke Longo (NJIT) were walked, Cam Gurney (Utah) singled to load the bases with one out. Then, Dakota Duffalo (Utah) grounded into a double play to keep the game scoreless.

Both pitchers settled in after that as neither team could break the deadlock. In the fifth inning, Evan Siary capped off a 1-2-3 frame thanks to a highlight reel diving catch by Zach Eldred (Brockport) in right field. That would be Siary’s final inning, walking two and striking out five in another solid outing that dropped his ERA to 0.94.

Dylan Speakman’s night also came to an end after five innings. The right-hander allowed five hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

With the score still 0-0 heading into the sixth, Joey Colucci (Maryland) replaced Siary, making his sixth appearance and second against Saugerties. In a quick 1-2-3 inning, Colucci recorded a strikeout.

Damion Kenealy was Speakman’s replacement for the Stallions in the sixth, making his third appearance on the hill this summer. He also recorded a 1-2-3 frame, keeping the game scoreless through six innings.

Ben Huckans (St. John Fisher), a recent addition to the roster, made his second appearance for the Mohawks in the seventh. The Amsterdam native struck out the first batter faced and made it another 1-2-3 inning for Amsterdam.

Andrew Speranza (STAC) came in for Saugerties in the seventh, making his fourth appearance, and retired all three batters faced in the frame.

With the game still scoreless after seven innings, the eighth provided most of the fireworks. Josh Davis (Clemson) replaced Huckans, making his eighth appearance and second against Saugerties. After Carson Clark (Wright St.) flew out to start things off, Aaron Stelogeannis (Polk St.) recorded a single and advanced to second on an error from Zach Eldred in right field. That was followed by a single from pinch hitter Ethan Conrad (Marist) that drove in Stelogeannis for the breakthrough run. Andrew Amato (Delaware) was intentionally walked to put runners on first and second. Then, Conor Kelly (UMass Lowell) delivered a single to bring home Conrad and double the lead. That is when Josh Davis was pulled, conceding three hits in ⅓ innings of work. Ryan Taffe (Fairfield) came in as the fifth pitcher of the game for Amsterdam, making his eighth appearance and second against Saugerties. Travis Hobbensiefken, the next batter, hit a ball towards Cam Gurney at third and Gurney’s throw home got away from catcher Jaxson West (Alabama/Florida State), allowing Amato to score. Hudson Brown (Kentucky) grounded into a double play to end the frame as the Stallions scored three to take a 3-0 lead.

Andrew Speranza remained in the game for the Stallions in the eighth. Looking to mount a comeback, Bryce Hubbard (Mississippi State) recorded a leadoff single followed by a walk to Jalen Debose (Florida Atlantic). However, the next two batters were retired. Pinch hitter Luke Zeisloft (Maryland) knocked one on the ground out to right field and Hubbard came home to put Amsterdam on the board. Returning to the top of the order, Gage Miller had an epic 12 pitch battle with Speranza and ultimately prevailed. Spreanza’s fourth ball got away from catcher Alex Nevils and Jalen Debose pounced on the opportunity, sliding into home safely to make it 3-2. Maximus Martin (Rutgers), another pinch hitter, went after the first pitch he saw and singled to the left side, bringing in pinch runner Carlos Martinez from third to tie the game. That is when Speranza was pulled, allowing three runs (two earned) on three hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 1 ⅔ innings. Izaiah Ayala (Mt. San Antonio) came in to close the inning, making his sixth appearance and second against Amsterdam. The right-hander struck out Luke Longo to put an end to a wild eighth inning with the score tied 3-3.

Ryan Taffe remained in for the ninth inning and despite hitting Samuel Hill and walking Corey Dowdell (Georgia Southern), got out of the inning unscathed. Taffe didn’t allow a hit with one walk and one strikeout in 1 ⅔ innings.

Izaiah Ayala returned for the ninth and didn’t have to sweat, recording a 1-2-3 inning to bring the game to extras.

Under PGCBL rules, a runner starts on second to begin the tenth inning and if the game is tied after the tenth, then the game ends in a tie. Colin Maloney (Rhode Island) entered for Amsterdam, making his eighth appearance of the season on the mound. Aaron Stelogeannis served as the runner on second to begin the extra frame. Pinch hitter Alex Rodriguez (Mt. San Antonio) laid down a bunt that advanced Stelogeannis to third. After Andrew Amato struck out, Conor Kelly was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners with two outs. Then, Travis Hobbensiefken flew out to left field to keep the game tied heading into the bottom of the tenth.

Izaiah Ayala once again came back out for one final inning of work. Tyler Sausville (New Haven/Xavier) served as the runner on second to begin the home half of the tenth. Jalen Debose started things off with a well-executed bunt and got to first safely while advancing Sausville to third. In the middle of Alex Irizarry’s (Maryland) plate appearance, Debose advanced to second with no throw from Nevils behind the plate. Irizarry flew out to right field but it wasn’t deep enough as Sasuville remained at third. With one out, Marek Houston (Wake Forest) was walked to load the bases. Then, pinch hitter Jared Johnson (Brown) sent the first pitch down the first base line and Hudson Brown threw to home before Sausville got to the plate for the second out. With the bases loaded again, Gage Miller stepped up to the plate. The first pitch thrown by Ayala got away and Debose took a chance from third and sprinted home for the win. Catcher Alex Nevils quickly collected the ball after it deflected off the backstop and made a diving effort at the plate, applying the tag just in time for the out and ending the game in a 3-3 tie.

While the Mohawks out hit the Stallions 9-5, Amsterdam committed four errors throughout the contest compared to one for Saugerties. The tie is the first of the season for both teams.

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