July 20, 2023
(ALBANY, NY)-- The Albany Dutchmen came into Thursday night’s doubleheader rolling on a five game win streak, eager to face the first place Amsterdam Mohawks. Albany entered Thursday with a 16-17 record, only 3 games behind Saugerties for the fourth spot in the East Division, and currently sporting a three and a half game lead over Glens Falls for fifth.
Game One began with a three inning pitchers duel, with three hitless innings, before the Dutchmen were able to take the first lead in the bottom of the fourth. Vince Venditti (St. Rose) led off with a double before Anthony Paskell (Rider) walked, and Brody Keneston (Le Moyne) drove in Venditti on an RBI single. Greg Mays (SUNY Cortland) held the Mohawks to four hitless innings before turning the ball over to the Dutchmen bullpen, who could not sustain the lead. Amsterdam responded in the top of the fifth with six runs off four hits, two walks, and two hit by pitches, and suddenly the Mohawks held a 6-1 lead.
The Dutch did not go down without a fight however, as after Nick Plue (Cortland) and Austin Francis (NJIT) singled, a sacrifice bunt by Mario Cubello (St. John Fisher/Transfer Portal) put runners on second and third for the top of the Dutchmen lineup. Venditti would immediately cash in with a first-pitch two-RBI double, and a Tyler Kipp (Fairfield) single later in the inning that scored Venditti cut the deficit to two.
After a scoreless sixth, Amsterdam came out to put up three more in the seventh, as Jared Johnson’s (Brown) RBI single and Luke Longo’s (NJIT) two-RBI double put the score at 9-4.
Albany got one back in the bottom half of the inning and were able to bring the tying run to the plate, as four walks from the Dutchmen lineup resulted in a Korson Hastings (Trinity University) RBI base on balls, but the Dutchmen ultimately stranded the bases loaded and saw their win streak fall to the hands of the Mohawks by a score of 9-5.
Game two began just like game one, with the first hit between the two sides not coming until the bottom of the fourth, when Will Binder (UAlbany) singled to right for the first hit of the ballgame. He would be stranded, but after Amsterdam got their first hit in the following half inning, the bats came alive for Albany.
Three consecutive singles to lead off the inning from Hastings, Joe Karpierz (Xavier), and Josh Foglia (St. Rose) would load the bases, and Hastings would score the first run off a double play. Cubello would walk to put runners on the corners before Karpierz scored on a passed ball to make it 2-0, and after Venditti would draw another walk to push Cubello to second, back-to-back singles from Binder and Keneston extended the lead to four.
Venditti would convert to the mound from his designated hitter spot for a scoreless sixth before Derek Duval (Post/Transfer Portal) closed out the one-hitter for the pitching staff to salvage the split.
The completed doubleheader at Dutchmen Field leaves just one home game remaining for Albany, this upcoming Tuesday against Glens Falls. They will begin another four game road trip, like one they just finished on Tuesday, on Friday at East Field in Glens Falls to take on the Dragons. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00.
