By Sam Federman
Box Score Photos Photos Brady
Cade Ladehoff (NJIT) is typically not one to be patient and selective at the plate. The newly anointed Freshman All-American came to the plate in the most important at-bat of the game, with the bases loaded and two outs.
The Mohawks loaded the bases with no outs against Von Baker (Cornell), but the next two batters immediately got out, backing Amsterdam into a corner.
Tied at 1 in the bottom of the eighth, Ladehoff stepped up to the plate, and wasted no time delivering the decisive hit.
“I was sitting first-pitch fastball, it was middle-middle, and I definitely didn’t miss it,” Ladehoff said. “And I didn’t have any doubt.”
He smacked the ball over the left field wall, sending the Shuttleworth Park crowd into a frenzy, and registering his second home run of the night, putting the Mohawks ahead of the Albany Baseball Club 5-1.
His two home runs came in drastically different circumstances. Back in the 4th, Ladehoff watched a 1-1 fastball grab the outside corner of the plate, a pitch that he’d usually swing at, and put himself in a two-strike count. He didn’t swing the bat at the first four pitches he saw in the fourth inning, but he took the fifth pitch he saw from PGCBL pitcher of the week John Gerfen (Cornell) out to the opposite field.
It just barely squeezed over the fence at the shortest part of the park, a few feet from the right field foul pole, but Amsterdam took a 1-0 lead on the first home run of the team’s season.
Through 5 innings of work, Mohawks starter Zach Eldred (SUNY Brockport) was mowing down the Albany lineup. He came back out for the sixth inning, with Keith Griffin trying to save arms for a big stretch of 7 games in six days, and it immediately backfired. Albany catcher Cole McGugan (New Haven) tied the game at 1 with a home run of his own.
Eldred bounced back quickly, retiring the next three batters in rapid succession, and ending his night strong with a strikeout of Joey Slattery (FAU).
Headed into the top of the ninth, the Mohawks led 6-1 following Ladehoff’s grand slam and a pinch-hit RBI single from Pete Daniel (Belmont), but it wouldn’t be easy for the home team to close it out. Ben Huckans (St. John Fisher) got the leadoff hitter, Luke Filippi, to fly out, but then allowed five straight Albany hitters to reach base, including RBI singles from Donovan Rhoden (Herkimer) and David Bernard (Herkimer).
Griffin had to make a change with the bases loaded and just one out, and the game now within striking distance. He brought in the right-hander Brendan Kline (Brown), and he immediately stayed in trouble. McGugan lined a base hit out to left field that got behind Javar Williams (Wake Forest), allowing two runs to score, and putting the tying run at third base.
Kline struck out Jan Avila (Rutgers), but then walked Matt Thorsen (Northeastern) to load the bases for Slattery with two outs.
You could hear the collective sigh of relief from the Mohawks’ crowd back in Albany after the leadoff man’s line drive was caught at third base by Drake Digiorno (Utah), and the Mohawks walked away with a 6-5 victory.
Amsterdam plays again at home on Wednesday against Utica at 6:35.
More News Articles