LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – The Albany Dutchmen (16-10) scored five runs in the eighth and ninth inning against the Saugerties Stallions (15-12) to tie the ballgame at 9-9 after regulation. The game was suspended due to darkness and will resume on July 13th at 4:00 p.m. at the start of the top of the 10th inning.
Albany started the game strong with three runs in the first two innings. Josh Hall (Ole Miss) started the game with a double and scored on a Chris Seng (Louisville) groundout to give the Dutchmen the early lead. Luke Franzoni (Xavier) launched a two-run home run over the left field fence in the bottom of the second inning to give Albany a 3-0 lead. The freshman led Xavier in home runs this past season with 11.
“Franzoni’s been swinging a really hot bat right now,” said Dutchmen Head Coach Nick Davey. “I’m not just putting him in the lineup – he’s earning those at-bats right now.”
Logan Savell (Ole Miss) got the call to start for the Dutchmen and pitched 3.1 strong innings, allowing only two hits and striking out four as he kept the Stallions off the scoreboard. The Stallions took advantage of Savell’s exit from the game in the top of the fourth, as Saugerties scored eight runs on six hits in the inning off Dutchmen relievers Ryan Greco (Brockport) and Will Hesslink (Boston College) to take an 8-3 lead.
“Saugerties has played us tough [at Connors Park] twice because they’ve put up big innings on us,” said Davey. “Those guys will be better.”
The early Dutchmen lead came off Stallions starter Nolan Burchill (Minnesota). Henry Funaro (UMass Lowell) came in to relieve him and shut down Albany for three innings. He only allowed two hits and struck out three in innings five through seven against the Dutchmen.
Funaro came out to pitch the eighth inning but the Dutchmen were ready to face him for a fourth inning in a row. Luke Gold (Boston College) started the scoring with a home run to trim the Albany deficit to 8-4. After Will Duff (Vanderbilt) and Nick Melillo (Siena) reached base safely, Hall came to the plate and hit a ball to left field. The ball tipped off the glove of Stallions left fielder Tyler Kelder (St. Bonaventure) which brought Duff and Melillo home. The Dutchmen scored three in the eighth to trim the Stallions lead to 8-7.
Saugerties added some insurance in the ninth, but the Dutchmen rallied to tie the game. The Stallions scored on a Gold error to take a 9-7 lead into the bottom half of the inning. Mitchell Henshaw (St. John’s) and Tommy Pellis (Seton Hill) walked to begin the inning. After a fly out, Gold chopped a ball down the third base line. Stallions reliever Danny Kapala (Minnesota) overthrew the Saugerties first baseman, which scored Mike Handal (Fairfield), who pinch-ran for Henshaw.
With Gold on first and Pellis on third, Duff sent a ball to center field that was caught by Nolen Hester (Wofford). The ball was deep enough to score Pellis and tie the game at 9-9. A groundout by Ryan McGee (Siena) ended the inning, at which point the umpires and both head coaches decided to suspend the game due to darkness.
Albany’s next game is at home against the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs on Tuesday, July 9th, at 5:05 p.m. For tickets and more information, visit dutchmenbaseball.com
