Rams defeat Patriots in non-league contest
By JAMES A. ELLIS, The Leader-Herald
POSTED: May 9, 2008
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Both the Rams and Patriots were coming off a pair of disappointing losses when they played under the lights at Shuttleworth Park Thursday night. But the 10-4 Amsterdam victory may be the spark both teams needed to get ready for the final week of the regular season.
“We played two bad games. We had eight errors against Gibbons Monday and got beat by LaSalle [Wednesday],” Amsterdam coach Bob Noto said. “This gets our bats going a little bit now and gives us more confidence going back into our league [today]. Our defense has also been a little shaky the past couple of games and I thought we broke out a little bit with that tonight, too.”
Broadalbin-Perth came into the contest off Foothills Council losses to Gloversville and Hudson Falls.
“This was a good showing tonight,” Broadalbin-Perth coach Dave Wiltey said “We were competitive. We never gave up. We had a decent last inning, which shows me that they were here to play all night long. You look up there [the scoreboard] and see 11 hits to five. They had some gap shots and we had some shots that were caught or it could have been a little closer tonight.”
Stepping out of the league spotlight also gave the regular starting rotations a chance to rest their arms.
The Rams sent left-hander Dan McNamara to the mound, whole B-P started Kyle Selby and brought Matt Gage in to close out the game.
“This was his first start this season, he got in in relief a couple of weeks ago, but I really have not had a chance to get him in,” Noto said of McNamara. “I thought we had a good chance to look at him tonight.”
Wiltey was also pleased with the performance of his pitchers.
“We had some different guys on the mound tonight that we were watching,” he said. “I am very pleased with the way our pitchers pitched tonight.”
On a brisk night at Shuttleworth Park, Amsterdam got off to a quick start connecting for three hits in the first. Zack Beck and T.J. Sumigray connected for singles and McNamara lined an RBI triple to center to give the Rams an early 2-0 lead.
Corey Caswell picked up the Patriots first hit of the game in the top of the second with a single. He stole second, but was left stranded at third as McNamara enticed the B-P hitters into a pair of groundouts and a strikeout.
The Amsterdam hitters gave their pitcher some breathing room, tacking on four runs on four hits in the top of the third. But it was McNamara who helped himself with a solo home run over the left field fence to open a 6-0 advantage.
Broadalbin-Perth got two of the runs back in the top of the fourth. Nico Butcher delivered a one-out single and jogged home on a home run off the bat of Caswell to cut the Rams’ lead to 6-2.
The Rams got the runs back in the bottom of the inning on a single by Frank Peluso and a double by Brian Davey. B-P left fielder Garrett Brower helped keep the Rams’ run production in the inning down, robbing Zack Beck of an extra-base hit with a sliding one-handed catch. Gage backed up the play, striking out two of the next three batters he faced to get out of the inning.
McNamara continued to be in control on the mound, holding the Patriots scoreless and hitless through the fifth and sixth innings, while the Rams added to more runs in the fifth inning.
Anthony Osorio drew a walk and Kurt Kowalczyk singled. Both scored on Davey’s two-RBI double to extend the lead to 10-2.
The Patriots stayed active at the plate in the top of the seventh with Caswell working the count for a leadoff walk. Kurt Smith successfully pulled off a hit-and-run play with Caswell with a single to right to put runners on first and third with one out. Caswell came home on a hard grounder by Gage and Brower delivered Smith to the plate with an RBI single.
McNamara closed out the game for a complete-game victory, snagging John Sargalis’ hard grounder back up the middle and firing to first for the final out.
McNamara finished the game with seven strike outs on the mound and a home run and triple at the plate. Davey was 3-for-4 on the night with a double, two singles and two RBI. Kowalczyk added a double and a single in a 2-for-3 effort.
For the Patriots, Caswell finished the night with a home run and a single, while Smith, Butcher and Brower all singled.
The Rams return to Big 10 play today on the road against Catholic Central. The Patriots return to Foothills Council play hosting Glens Falls at 4:15 tonight.
“They have really been working on focusing to get better every day,” Wiltey said. “Our backs are against the wall now to make sectionals. We are taking it one pitch and one out at a time tomorrow against them.”
Amsterdam 10, Broadalbin-Perth 4
Broadalbin-Perth 000 200 2 — 4 5 0
Amsterdam 204 220 x — 10 11 0
McNamara and Whitty; Selby, Gage (4) and Caswell, Butcher (4).
