By Sam Reis (via amsterdammohawks.com)
Trailing 10-2 heading into the seventh inning, the Amsterdam Mohawks came storming back to make it a one run game. Amsterdam’s comeback fell just short as the Saugerties Stallions managed to hold on for an exhilarating 10-9 win on Tuesday night at Rao Family Stadium.
Brandon Peterson (NJIT) made his eighth start of the season on the mound for Amsterdam. Andrew Amato (Delaware) led off with a double for Saugerties and a Corey Dowdell (Georgia Southern) fly out advanced him to third. Then, a groundout from Ethan Conrad (Marist) drove in Amato to give the Stallions an early 1-0 lead.
Will Robbins (Georgia Southern) made his third start and eighth appearance on the hill for Saugerties. Despite a leadoff single from Bruer Webster (Utah), Robbins got out of the opening frame unscathed and didn’t allow another hit until the sixth inning.
The score remained 1-0 until the fourth inning. The frame started off with a walk to Evan Wainman (Polk St.) and was followed by a single from Damion Kenealy (Polk St.). On a bunt from Aaron Stelogeannis (Polk St.) for the first out, Wainman advanced to third and Kenealy advanced to second. Then, Carson Clark (Wright St.) delivered a single that scored Wainman and Kenealy to give the Stallions a 3-0 lead. Brandon Peterson’s night came to an end after the fourth, allowing four hits and three runs with five walks and four strikeouts.
Joey Colucci (Maryland) replaced Peterson in the fifth, making his 10th appearance of the summer and fourth against Saugerties. The inning began with three consecutive walks. With the bases loaded, Damion Kenealy notched his second single to drive in Ethan Conrad and Sam Hill (UMass) and make it 5-0. The scoring didn’t stop there as Josh Blackmore (Webber) deposited a double to right field to score Evan Wainman. The fourth run of the inning was scored on a dropped third strike that allowed Kenealy to come home, extending the lead to 7-0. Colucci was done after the inning, giving up four runs on two hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Colin Maloney (Rhode Island) came in for the sixth, appearing in his 11th game and second against Saugerties. The right-hander recorded a 1-2-3 inning with a strikeout and that is all he was needed for.
After Max Martin (Rutgers/Georgia State) struck out to begin the bottom of the sixth, Alex Irizarry (Maryland) walked and Bruer Webster laid down a bunt for his and Amsterdam’s second hit of the contest. During Dakota Duffalo’s (Utah) plate appearance, Webster and Irizarry attempted a double steal. While Webster was running to second, the throw from catcher Josh Blackmore deflected off Webster and rolled out to left field, allowing him to advance to third and Irizarry to come home, putting Amsterdam on the board. After Duffalo was walked, Will Robbins was taken out of the game. In his longest start of the season, the southpaw allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Jacob Grossman (Pepperdine) replaced Robbins to make his ninth appearance of the campaign. Pinch hitter Eddie Yamin (Dayton), the first batter Grossman faced, reached on a fielder’s choice that enabled Webster to come home and make it 7-2.
Von Baker (Cornell) entered for the seventh inning, pitching for the 12th time this summer. The first two batters were walked and Josh Blackmore hit a single that scored Damion Kenealy and on an error by Luke Zeisloft (Maryland) in center field, Aaron Stelogeannis came home as well while Blackmore got all the way to third. A few batters later, Andrew Amato reached on a fielder’s choice as Blackmore came home to give Saugerties a 10-2 lead. Baker conceded three runs (one earned) on one hit with two walks and a strikeout.
In the seventh inning, both Marek Houston (Wake Forest) and Bryce Hubbard (Mississippi St.) were hit by a pitch with a walk to Mason Swinney (Alabama) in between. With the bases loaded, Jacob Grossman was taken out, not allowing a hit with a walk and a strikeout in ⅔ innings. Andrew Rucci (Wagner) replaced Grossman, making his eighth appearance and second against Amsterdam. Max Martin, the first batter Rucci encountered, blooped a 1-0 pitch to shallow right field to score Houston. Then, Alex Irizarry reached on a fielder’s choice, allowing Swinney to score. That was followed by a single from Bruer Webster, his third hit of the night, that brought Hubbard home to cut the Stallions lead to 10-5. Dakota Duffalo also hit a single that scored Irizarry. Eddie Yamin walked to load the bases for Amsterdam. Luke Zeisloft’s line drive to deep right-center field cleared the bases on a 3-RBI double, making it 10-9. That is when Andrew Rucci was pulled, allowing four hits with a walk and no strikeouts in ⅔ innings. Jarek Woodward (Grand Canyon/Seattle) became the third pitcher of the inning, making his ninth appearance of the season. With Zeisloft representing the tying run, Woodward struck out Marek Houston to preserve the lead for Saugerties.
Ryan Taffe (Fairfield) pitched the eighth inning for Amsterdam in his 12th outing and fourth against the Stallions. In a scoreless frame, the right-hander walked a couple of batters.
Mason Swinney led off the bottom of the eighth with a single and that was followed by a walk to Bryce Hubbard. On a Cam Gurney (Utah) flyout, Swinney advanced to third and Hubbard to second. Then, Alex Irizarry reached on a fielder’s choice and Hubbard advanced to third as Swinney was tagged out at home. With the tying run again at third, Bruer Webster struck out to end the inning. Jarek Woodward gave up just one hit with a walk and two strikeouts in 1 ⅓ scoreless innings.
Josh Davis (Clemson) made his 10th appearance for Asmterdam and fourth against Saugerties in the ninth, becoming the sixth Mohawks pitcher of the game. The right-hander conceded just one hit and recorded one strikeout in a scoreless frame.
Shaun Shipley (South Florida) came in to close out the game in the ninth for Saugerties, appearing in his 10th game of the season and second against Amsterdam. Dakota Duffalo grounded out to begin the inning. Then, Eddie Yamin notched a single out to center field to give Amsterdam hope. Jared Johnson (Brown) was hit by a pitch to put two runners on base as Tyler Sausville (New Haven/Xavier) pinch ran for Yamin. With the tying run at second and winning run at first, Luke Zeisloft blasted a 3-2 pitch to center field but Andrew Amato made a diving catch for the out. With Tyler Sausville taking off from second thinking it would drop down for a hit, he couldn’t get back to second in time and a double play was finished off to give Saugerties a nail biting victory.
In a wild game, both teams had eight hits while Amsterdam committed three errors and Saugerties committed two. The teams utilized a combined 11 pitchers in the contest. Bruer Webster was the only Mohawk with multiple hits, going 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs. Damion Kenealy, Josh Blackmore and Carson Clark all had a couple of hits for Saugerties.
Will Robbins earned the win, moving to 1-1. Meanwhile, Shaun Shipley recorded the save, his second of the season. The win for the Stallions was their first over the Mohawks in six meetings. Saugerties is now 22-16-1 and sits in fourth place in the East Division, 1.5 games back of third place and 2.5 games clear of fifth place. The Stallions have four regular season games remaining and head to Glens Falls on Wednesday to face the Dragons in a doubleheader beginning at 5:00.
Brandon Peterson suffered his first loss of the season, dropping to 4-1. The Mohawks are now 34-5-1 with three regular season contests left. After an off day on Wednesday, Amsterdam heads to Watertown on Thursday to face the Rapids at 6:30.