By Sam Reis
Box Score Photos
After stranding base runners in the first seven innings, the Amsterdam Mohawks scored all five of their runs in the eighth to take down the Glens Falls Dragons 5-2 in the penultimate game of the regular season on Friday night at Rao Family Stadium.
Zach Eldred (Brockport) made his sixth start on the mound for Amsterdam while Riley Orr (Castleton) also made his sixth start for Glens Falls.
The game remained scoreless until the third inning when the Dragons struck first. Anthony Macarelli (Ithaca) and Johan Sandoval (Bryant and Stratton) both recorded singles and Macarelli scored on an error to put Glens Falls on the board. Then, a sacrifice fly from Odilio Cespedes (Bryant and Stratton) drove in Sandoval to double the lead. Edlred’s night came to a close after the third as he allowed three hits and two runs (none earned) with a walk and four strikeouts.
Josh Davis (Clemson) replaced Eldred in the fourth, making his 11th appearance of the campaign. The right-hander tallied two scoreless and hitless innings with three walks and two strikeouts. Ben Huckans (St. John Fisher) entered in the sixth inning, appearing in his sixth contest of the season.
After striking out Cam Gurney (Utah) for the second out of the sixth, Riley Orr’s start came to an end. In his longest outing of the season, Orr conceded five hits in 5 ⅔ scoreless innings with three walks and six strikeouts. Billy Canale (Le Moyne) entered out of the bullpen for his eighth appearance of the summer and fourth against Amsterdam. Marek Houston (Wake Forest) flew out to end the inning and that was the only batter Canale faced as Adrian Caron (Amherst) moved from left field to pitcher for the seventh.
Ben Huckans finished out the seventh inning for Amsterdam, allowing three hits with no walks and a strikeout in two scoreless frames. Colin Maloney (Rhode Island) came in for the eighth and notched a scoreless inning without allowing a hit.
In the bottom of the eighth, Amsterdam’s offense finally capitalized. After Dakota Duffalo (Utah) struck out, Jalen Debose (Florida Atlantic) walked and Bruer Webster (Utah) drove in Debose with a single to put the Mohawks on the board. Luke Longo (NJIT) flew out before Cam Gurney delivered a single that brought home Webster from second to tie the game. Jaxson West (Alabama/Florida State) pinch ran for Gurney and scored on a Marek Houston double to give Amsterdam the lead. Maximus Martin (Rutgers/Georgia State) walked and that was followed by a two-run triple from Gage Miller (Bishop State CC) to extend the lead to 5-2. After that, Adrian Caron was pulled, giving up five runs on five hits with two walks and a strikeout in 1 ⅔ innings. Jedadiah Trudeau (Dominican) replaced Caron to finish out the eighth as Alex Irizarry (Maryland) lined out to first to end the inning.
Ryan Taffe (Fairfield) came in for the ninth to close out the game. The inning started off with Zander Teator (Babson) getting hit by a pitch and then Michael Pratte (Maine) singled to put two runners on base. Cory Listing (Coker) struck out and Joe Harwood (Bryant and Stratton) reached on a fielder’s choice, putting runners on the corners with two outs. With the tying run again at the plate, Anthony Macarelli struck out to end the game.
Despite three errors, Amsterdam managed to comeback and outhit Glens Falls 10-7. Marek Houston went 3-for-4 while Bruer Webster and Gage Miller both had multiple hits for the Mohawks. Zander Teator was the lone Glens Falls player with a couple of hits as he went 2-for-2 with a walk.
Adrian Caron suffered the loss, dropping to 1-1. The Dragons are now 14-26 with one regular season game left. Despite the defeat, Glens Falls clinched the final playoff spot in the East Division due to Watertown losing to Utica. The Dragons host the Albany Dutchmen in their regular season finale on Saturday at 7:00 before they travel to Mohawk Valley on Sunday for the first round of the playoffs.
Colin Maolney earned the win for Amsterdam, improving to 2-1. Meanwhile, Ryan Taffe recorded his second save of the season. The Mohawks are now 6-0 against the Dragons this summer and improved to 36-5-1 with the win. Amsterdam heads to Saugerties for its final regular season tilt on Saturday at 7:05.
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