Dutchmen don't make things easy in victory

The path back to .500 was not an easy one for the Albany Dutchmen. Albany overcame five errors and a late Glens Falls rally to beat the Golden Eagles 6-5 in Saturday's Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League game at Bob Bellizzi Field. "We didn't play a great game, but we got the job done," said Albany manager Nick Davey. Ironically, none of Albany's errors resulted in Glens Falls runs. That was due in large part to the efforts of starting pitcher Blake Smith, who worked his way out of jams in the third, fourth and sixth innings. All told, Smith limited the Golden Eagles (17-16) to one run on three hits in six innings of work. Albany (16-16) gave Smith plenty of run support. Right fielder Jack Wietlispach's bases-loaded double in the second inning gave the Dutchmen a 4-1 lead. Albany then tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to increase its advantage to 6-1. "That was a big hit," Davey said of Wietlispach's two-out double in the second inning. "We've been bouncing him around in the lineup, and he feels comfortable hitting in the No. 2 spot." The momentum turned in Glens Falls' favor in the seventh inning. A wild pitch on a swinging third strike allowed shortstop Anthony Pisani to reach base with one out. Emmanuel Forcier was then hit by a pitch from reliever Grant DeWitt to put runners on first and second. Two batters later, first baseman Ross Kivett launched a double to the right-center field gap to drive in Pisani and Forcier and trim Albany's lead to 6-3. DeWitt stayed in the game to start the eighth inning, but he left after catcher Chase Griffin doubled and designated hitter Mike Vigliarolo singled to begin the frame. Second baseman Casey Rodrigue greeted Jake Woodward by beating out an infield single to drive in Griffin and close the gap to 6-4. With one out, Woodward loaded the bases on an intentional walk. The St. John's University pitcher struck out Forcier for the second out, but he hit center fielder Danny Brennan with a pitch to bring in Vigliarolo for Glens Falls' third run of the eighth inning. Davey brought in Cody White to face Kivett with the bases still loaded, and White induced Kivett into hitting a grounder that shortstop Jared Martin flipped to second baseman Zach Remillard for the final out. Davey turned to Ricky Schafer in the ninth inning, and Schafer responded by retiring the side in order to pick up his third save of the season. "I got three outs by not letting anybody on (base)," said Schafer. "I would have like to not have thrown so many balls, but otherwise I did my job." Schafer's outing gave Albany's bullpen its ninth save of the season. Trevor Lacosse, a Christian Brothers Academy graduate, leads the Dutchmen with five saves. "(Schafer) competes, and to be in the back end of the bullpen and come into the game in the ninth inning, those are the three toughest outs of the game," said Davey. "To have two guys (Schafer and Lacosse) who want to be in that role is great." Albany's seven hits were spread out among its starting lineup. Wietlispach and third baseman Morgan Phillips each had doubles to lead the Dutchmen. Columbia High School graduate Nolan Gaige -- who joined Albany's roster earlier in the week -- contributed an RBI single and scored a run. "Our hitters have been doing great lately, and our pitchers are coming on," said Schafer. Albany is off until Monday, when it travels to Oneonta for a key PGCBL match-up. The Dutchmen and Outlaws finished Saturday tied for fifth place after league-leading Amsterdam knocked off Oneonta. The Outlaws travel to Elmira Sunday before facing Albany. "We've got to get over that .500 mark," said Davey. "I saw some fire in our guys tonight, and hopefully that carries over to our next game."

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Dutchmen don't make things easy in victory

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