In his third season back with the Albany Dutchmen, Coastal Carolina infielder Zach Remillard has again become an impact player in the middle of the Dutchmen order, and helped guide to Dutchmen to three wins against divisional opponents this past week.
For his efforts at the plate, Remillard has been named the team’s third Spotlight Player of the Week, the second position player to earn the honor in 2015. The Cohoes, New York native joins Michael Fitzsimmons (Ole Miss) and Mike Reitcheck (Pennsylvania) as this season’s honorees.
Since joining the team on June 13, Remillard has hit safely in five of his seven starts, and has recorded a multi-hit game three times. The Chanticleer’s biggest contributions for the past week came in a home-and-home series with the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs. In the opener in Little Falls on Thursday, Remilllard clubbed a two-out single to break a 2-2 tie in the top of the ninth, allowing the Dutchmen to claim a 4-2 victory over the DiamondDawgs.
His hot hitting against Mohawk Valley continued the next night at Bob Bellizzi Field in Albany. The designated hitter drove in three runs, going 4-for-4 with a triple and three singles. His four hit game included an RBI single in the first inning, an RBI single in the third, another single in the sixth, and the RBI triple in the seventh inning.
The two wins over Mohawk Valley vaulted the Dutchmen into second place in the East Division of the PGCBL, and Remillard said it was important to pick up the sweep against a team the Dutchmen are likely to battle for playoff positioning.
“It was a big thing for us and kind of got the guys fired up,” Remillard said. “Ever since the ValleyCats game I knew that we were starting to build some momentum and play a little better, so if we can keep progressing, that will help us a lot.”
The designated hitter also added a hit in the team’s loss to Utica on Monday, and recorded two hits and a run scored in the 8-7 loss in Elmira on Sunday evening.
The next week of action features six games against the Glens Falls Dragons and Saugerties Stallions, a group of games that will be pivotal for the Dutchmen in their quest for a third consecutive playoff berth in PGCBL. The Coastal Carolina product, whose brother Will is a former Dutchmen and currently in the Chicago Cubs organization, will be a major factor in the Dutchmen order after a week where he hit .364 with eight hits and four runs batted in.
