AMSTERDAM - The Amsterdam Mohawks closed out June in style as they posted their seventh straight win with a 6-3 victory over the Watertown Wizards on Saturday at Shuttleworth Park.
The win was the 17th in the last 18 games for the Mohawks.
The league-leading Mohawks improved to 18-3 as they swept the two-game home-and-home series. Watertown fell to 8-13 with the setback.
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Amsterdam’s DeMarcus Henderson (2) puts the tag on Watertown’s Derek Hagy (4) during Saturday’s Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League game at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam. (The Leader-Herald/Paul Wager)
Ed Charlton (NJIT) socked his sixth home-run of the year and fourth of the week.
Charlton takes over sole possession of the league-lead in long-balls with the first-inning blast as he puts himself in position for a potential player of the week accolade.
Mark Leiter Jr. (NJIT) made a triumphant return to the mound for Amsterdam with six strong innings in his season debut allowing five hits and two earned runs while striking out six to pick up the win.
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The son of former major league pitcher Mark Leiter and nephew of Al Leiter led the PGCBL in strikeouts last season with 74 and was a All-PGCBL first-team selection.
The eight and nine batters led the way for the offense as Demarcus Henderson (Mississippi State) went 2-for-3 with a steal and a run while D.J. Hoagboon (UAlbany) from Mayfield went 3-for-3 with a run scored.
Nathan Gomez (Marshall) had a two-run single to up his team-leading total to 18.
Watertown's starting pitcher Ryan Dunn (Cal Poly Pomona) pitched commendably for the Wizards over seven innings while scattering 10 hits and limiting Amsterdam to six earned-runs. He took the loss to fall to 0-3 but kept the game close enough for the Wizards to hang around to the end.
Cole Gleason (Wabash Valley CC) went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI for Watertown and Riley Norton did exactly the same while adding a stolen base to his line.
Amsterdam raced out to a 4-0 lead in the first three innings beginning with Charlton's solo HR to lead-off the bottom of the first. Of Charlton's six dingers, three have come as the debut batter of the night for the Mohawks.
Zac Colby singled and then hustled around the bases on a stolen base and throwing error to make it 2-0. And then Nathan Gomez drove a liner to right-center just barely beyond the reach of the Watertown second-baseman Derek Hagy (Texas Pan-Am) to bring around Hoagboon and Charlton who had reached on a single and an error.
Watertown scored single runs in the fifth and sixth as they cut the score to 4-1 and 5-2. The Wizards took advantage of lead-off infield singles to generate both runs.
Riley Norton legged out a bunt single and was eventually plated by a Donald Walter RBI hit Cal Poly Pomona) in the fifth. And Brandon Cippola (Holy Cross) grounded to the hole at shortstop for a single and scored on a Cole Gleason RBI knock.
Jeff Boehm (Kentucky) had an RBI double in the fifth for Amsterdam that made it 5-1 and Henderson charged in on a sac-fly by Charlton in the sixth to make it 6-2.
Watertown scored one run on Amsterdam closer Chase Williamson (Auburn) in the ninth on back-to-back doubles by Gleason and Norton for the final score of the night.
Matt Gallup (Stony Brook) threw shutout ball in the seventh and eighth for the Mohawks to hold the Wizards in check.
In Amsterdam's seven-game win streak they have outscored their opponents, 51-19. The Mohawks began the season with a 1-2 record but coach Keith Griffin's crew has done very little wrong since then losing just one game in their last 18.
Amsterdam travels for their next two games; Sunday at Mohawk Valley at 5 p.m. and then Monday at Albany. They return home on Tuesday against Cooperstown on Fireworks Night presented by the Amsterdam Rotary.
Watertown will host the Newark Pilots today at 5 p.m.
Amsterdam 6, Watertown 3
Watertown000 011 001 - 3 9 2
Amsterdam112 011 00x - 6 10 0
WP - Mark Leiter (1-0); LP - Ryan Dunn (0-3).