It was a beautiful night for baseball Saturday night at Bellizzi.
The Albany Dutchmen (11-8) took the victory over the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs (10-10) by a score of 4-2 Saturday night.
The Dutchmen put it to Mohawk Valley starter David Palmer (University of New Haven) early on, after a pair of one out singles provided an early opportunity for Kyle Skeels (Coastal Carolina University).
And did Skeels deliver.
Skeels got a hold of a fastball from Palmer, and laced it down the left field line to score Mychael Goudreau (Azusa Pacific University) and Justin Childers (Ohio Dominican University) and give the Dutchmen an early 2-0 lead.
Mohawk Valley scratched their way back in the top of the 3rd and 4th innings, as they put a run up in the top of the 3rd off a pair of back-to-back triples from Mike Martinez (Rutgers University) and Drew Arciuolo (Fairfield University) made it a 2-1 game. In the top of the 4th an RBI single from Kevin Radziewicz (Fairfield University) scored Michael Conti (Fairfield University) and tied the game.
The Dutchmen would then stick with the 2 run at a time pattern, as they put up one run apiece in the bottom of the 6th and 7th innings. Skeels led off the bottom 6th with a solo home run to left field for his 2nd home run of the year and 3rd RBI of the evening, and in the bottom of the 7th Goudreau singled home JJ Shimko (University of South Carolina Upstate) to provide the final score of 4-2.
Skeels would end up being the Recognize Newspaper Player of the Game, as he went 2-for-4 with a run and 3 RBIs for his efforts, and Goudreau and Childers each went 2-for-4 with a run, Goudreau adding the 4th and final RBI.
The Dutchmen pitching staff would continue their dominance after last night’s combined one hitter, as after Kale Morton (Azusa Pacific) provided 4 strong innings in the start, the Dutchmen bullpen combined to pitch 5 innings allowing only three hits and no runs while striking out nine DiamondDawg hitters.
Joe Pokrentowski (College of Saint Rose) recorded the win for the Dutchmen, moving his record to 3-1, after he pitched 2 shutout innings, allowing only one hit, while walking three and striking out two. Nathan Harris (Louisiana Tech University) got his first save of the year, pitching 1.2 innings, allowing only one hit and two walks while striking out 4.
Mohawk Valley has the day off tomorrow before the host the Dutchmen Monday night in Little Falls at 6:35.
The Dutchmen host the Amsterdam Mohawks tomorrow night for a doubleheader at Bellizzi beginning at 5:05. Tomorrow night there will be a Team Poster Giveaway courtesy of Northeast Commercial Printing for the first 250 fans with a postgame autograph session after Game 2. There will also be a Muscular Dystrophy Association Fundraiser with a huge raffle that includes a 50” flat screen TV and more than 30 other prizes.
