Amsterdam Wins PGCBL Championship
Published on August 8, 2012 under Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League (PGCBL)
Glens Falls Dragons News Release
With the dynamic offense that they had shown all season, the Amsterdam Mohawks rode a heavy dose of scoring to a 13-5 win over the Glens Falls Golden Eagles to claim their first ever PGCBL Championship. After claiming Game One in Amsterdam with a dominant pitching performance, Amsterdam's bats carried them past a feisty Golden Eagles squad, earning them the overall championship, to go along with their regular season crown.
A seven run fourth inning, which saw the Golden Eagles go through three pitchers would prove to be the difference maker, as it gave Amsterdam a lead they would not relinquish. Chandler Shepard (Kentucky) earned his second win of the postseason, throwing six innings in relief of Mohawks starter Chris Kallica (Fairfield). Cory Folk (Buffalo) took the loss for Glens Falls in his first appearance of the 2012 playoffs.
Glens Falls got off to a fantastic start in the game, with a scoreless frame from Folk, and two runs of their own in the first inning. Casey Rodrigue (LSU Eunice) started off the game with an infield single, before a double from Danny Brennan (St. Louis) to centerfield brought him around to score. After Brennan advanced to third on a wild pitch and Alberto Morales (Clarendon) walked, Mike Vigliarolo (St. Louis) hit a sacrifice fly to push the lead to 2-0.
After trading zeroes in the second inning, Amsterdam plated two in the top half of the third. After Folk recorded the first two outs, Chase Williamson (Auburn) hit a double to the right center field gap, before Ed Charlton (NJIT) tripled him home with a rocket into left field. After Keyton Flint (Sacred Heart) and Giuseppe Papaccio (Seton Hall) walked, an error from Golden Eagles shortstop Anthony Pisani (Southern Maine) allowed Charlton to score, knotting the game at two.
Following a scoreless bottom of the third, the Amsterdam offense exploded in the top of the fourth. The Mohawks loaded the bases without hitting a ball out of the infield grass. D.J. Hoagboon (Albany) led off with a walk, before Brian Ruby (Binghamton) reached on an error from Morales. Josh Nethaway (Albany) laid down a sacrifice bunt, which got just past the glove of Folk and died, with all runners safe.
That would be the end of the evening for Folk, who turned the ball over to Wes Judish (San Diego). Back to back RBI singles from Williamson and Charlton plated two Mohawks runs, before a throwing error from Pisani scored another. Papaccio then laced a ground rule double which scored two, putting the Mohawks ahead 7-2. After Zak Colby (Faulkner) was retired on a fielder's choice, Jeff Limbaugh (Parkland) singled home two runs which spelled the end for Judish. Jordan Keysor (Skidmore) came on and stopped the bleeding, but the score sat at 9-2 after four.
Glens Falls made it a game in the bottom of the fifth against Shepard. Pisani led off with a single, and after Rodrigue struck out, the Golden Eagles hit four straight singles, which pushed the score to 9-5, giving Glens Falls life.
Keysor's pitching kept the game close, until the eighth inning, when Amsterdam closed the door on any potential Golden Eagles comeback. After getting Papaccio to fly out, Colby singled, Limbaugh walked and Hoagboon hit a comebacker up the middle which Keysor snagged, catching Colby between third and home for the second out. Neil Fryer (Siena) then came on to pitch and attempt to retire the side, but Amsterdam touched up the right-hander, getting three consecutive singles from Ruby, Nethaway and Williamson to push the score line out of reach at 13-5.
Glens Falls tacked on one run in the bottom of the ninth to push the score to 13-6 but it wasn't meant to be as Shepard recorded two outs and Connor Kaden (Wake Forest) came on for the final out.
Amsterdam ends their season with a 39-12 combined regular season and playoff record while the Golden Eagles finish with a 29-22 mark, with the Mohawks claiming the second championship in PGCBL history.
Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League Stories from August 8, 2012
- Champions: Mohawks Sweep Glens Falls - Amsterdam Mohawks
- Amsterdam Wins PGCBL Championship - Glens Falls Dragons
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