dutchmenbaseball.com: Spotlight Player

Week #7: Matt Dacey, 1B, Richmond

By: Dutchmen Front Office

It has been said that the sooner you fall behind, the more time you have to catch up. Well, the Dutchmen had plenty of time to rally on Sunday against Glens Falls.

“The game didn’t start the way we wanted,” Dacey admitted. “We gave up seven runs in the third inning. But nothing is impossible in this game.”

Albany scored 5 in the fifth before Dacey’s two-run double tied the game in the sixth. Then in the eighth, deadlocked at 9, Dacey led off with a solo home run that put the Dutchmen ahead of their Northway nemesis for good.

“I just went up there looking for something good to hit, and I got a first pitch fastball right down the middle.”

Sunday’s heroics came on the heels of Dacey’s big day in Cooperstown. In 2 games on Friday, Dacey hit a total of three home runs. His power surge was noticed by the PGCBL, as Matt was named league Player of the Week. Over the past week, Dacey hit .391, with four home runs this weekend alone. He was also selected to represent Albany in the league’s annual Home Run Derby.

The Derby took place Wednesday at Colburn Park in Newark, just prior to the PGCBL All-Star Game.

“In batting practice I got a feel for the park, and I got to know some of the guys ahead of time. We were all comparing notes,” recalled Dacey.

“Before the Derby started, it was cloudy and windy. Then the sun broke through and we all went, ‘Yes!’

Dutchmen fans soon had a similar reaction. After surviving the first two rounds, Dacey outslugged his two competitors in the Finals to become the first Dutchmen player to take home the Home Run Derby title.

“It’s been very exciting. I’ll never forget it.”

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