Justin Decker (Dominican) at the plate in Albany's 10-4 victory over Amsterdam
July 14th, 2017
AMSTERDAM, N.Y.- Nick Estrella (Azusa Pacific) went 4-5 at the plate and scored three times and drove in two in the Albany Dutchmen’s (21-12) 10-4 win over the Amsterdam Mohawks (26-8) Friday night at Shuttleworth Park.
The 14-hit attack for the Dutchmen overwhelmed Mohawk pitchers, and they plated double-digit runs for the fifth time since July 5th.
Matt Pierce (Siena) earned his league-leading sixth win of the season. He pitched 6.0 innings for the Dutchmen, scattering eight hits and two walks. He allowed one run and his ERA s now 1.45, which also leads the PGCBL.
Justin Childers (Ohio Dominican) got the scoring started in the game by blasting a solo homerun in the third, his second homer of the season. Estrella scored one of his three tallies two batters later thanks to a Nick Gallo (Oklahoma State) double to the right field corner.
Gallo reached base in all five of his plate appearances, finishing 1-3. He also flashed the leather with a run-saving diving catch at shortstop to end the fifth inning, with the Dutchmen leading by two.
Zach Durfee (Siena) hit the second of the Dutchmen’s two solo homers. His was a two-out shot that cleared the left-field wall, which gave the Dutchmen a 4-1 advantage.
Amsterdam came within inches of tying the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, but John Valente (St. Johns) pulled the ball just outside the left-field foul poll with two runners on, but Jeff Lonnecker (Trinity) was able to punch him out and induce a fly-ball to get of the inning.
What was a close game turned quickly in the top of the eighth, as the Dutchmen plated six runs to blow it open. The big hit in the inning was Estrella’s two-run double. Brandt Holland (North Alabama) contributed a run-scoring double of his own two batters later. Ten Dutchmen came to the plate for the Dutchmen in the eighth.
Amsterdam threatened comebacks in both the bottom of the eighth, as well as the ninth as the leadoff batter scored in both innings, but the Dutchmen held on and won by the score of 10-4.
Mathieu Gauthier (N.C. State) started for Amsterdam and was given the loss. He allowed four earned in his 4.0 innings of work. He struck out four and walked two, while allowing four hits.
Will Holland (Auburn) collected three hits for the Mohawks out of the eight-hole. In the eighth inning he hit the outfield wall in what was feet from being a grand slam, which would have sent a fan home with a free car as part of their special promotion.
The win snapped Amsterdam’s eight-game winning streak, and Albany is now the only team to defeat the Mohawks since June 18th. During the stretch, the Mohawks are 20-2 after starting the season 6-5. The Dutchmen win also came on the day Amsterdam was ranked fourth in the National Collegiate Summer Baseball weekly ranking.
The two teams will meet again Saturday in Albany with a 5:05 pm start time at Siena Field. The game will be Northeast Commercial Printing Team Poster Giveaway night to the first 250 fans in attendance. There will also be CSEA Member Night and Dave & Buster’s Street Team will be in attendance.
Box Score
