May 24th, 2022
The East Division of the PGCBL is set to be an extremely competitive one as the season begins.
As the PGCBL goes from three divisions to two heading into the 2022 campaign, the East will now boast eight teams: the Albany Dutchmen, Amsterdam Mohawks, Boonville Baseball Club, Glens Falls Dragons, Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs, Oneonta Outlaws, Saugerties Stallions and Watertown Rapids
The division has both teams that made it to last year’s PGCBL Championship Series between Amsterdam and Saugerties (Saugerties took home the crown in a 2-0 series win). The two teams will face off twice in the first three days of the season, on June 4th at Amsterdam’s Shuttleworth Park before traveling south to Cantine Field in Saugerties on June 5th.
Amsterdam will have a number of players from some of the top college programs in the country, including Hunter Hines (Mississippi State), Nick Kurtz (Wake Forest), who are two of the top home run hitters in the country. Some other significant bats will be Ian Petrutz (Maryland), Josh Overbeek (Pittsburgh) and Connor Moore (Florida State). On the mound, Amsterdam will feature Carson Cotugno (Wake Forest), Ben Kibbe (Utah) and Connor Whitaker (Florida State).
The Albany Dutchmen will also feature a wide range of players, including catcher Austin Bode (Louisville) and a pair of Oklahoma teammates in infielder Mason Lowe and pitcher Luc Fladda. The Dutchmen currently have four former players in the starting lineup for #7 Louisville.
Mohawk Valley will be continuing its blue-collar mentality, something that has allowed the program to go above .500 in each of the last nine PGCBL seasons. In 2021, Mohawk Valley finished 23-19, good for second place in the former Central Division. Highlighting this year’s squad will be a pair of Coastal Carolina teammates. Third baseman Orlando Pena will travel to Little Falls as one of the top-ranked third basemen in the country by Perfect Game, being ranked #1 in the state of New Jersey and #35 overall in the nation. Chanticleer teammate, a pitcher in Darin Horn, will join him in Little Falls.
Meanwhile, some other teams are looking to continue to build a strong culture. Watertown Head Coach Mike Kogut is aiming to do that in his first year at the helm in Watertown. The Rapids will be bringing in a Rutgers star in Wyatt Parliament to help lead the pitching staff. Oneonta will also have a new Head Coach in John Boland.
Glens Falls Head Coach Jon Mueller continues to build his program, entering his second season running the Dragons. Meanwhile, the Boonville Baseball Club, a newly-rebranded team, will be coming back to the PGCBL for the first time since the 2019 season.
With all of this, one thing is for sure: the East Division is sure to be very competitive and will be able to excite all PGCBL fans when the season kicks off on June 3rd.