JULY 1, 2004
Eagles rally past Phillies in 10
By MICHAEL LEWIS

ERIN R. COKER - THE POST STAR Saratoga baserunner Casper Wells dives back to first base while Glens Falls’ Chris Carlson applies the tag. Wells was called safe on the play.

GLENS FALLS -- Finally, the Saratoga Phillies were going to beat Glens Falls.

Three times this season, the underdog Phillies had been defeated by their neighbors to the north, twice by large margins.

But Wednesday night, it was going to happen.

It had to happen. The Phillies led 5-2 in the bottom of the 10th, and had ace reliever Travis Bilak on mound, ready to close the door as dozens of fans hustled through the exits early.

Fifteen improbable minutes later, the Phillies trudged off the diamond in stunned silence.

Faced with the prospect of its first two-game losing streak, Glens Falls rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 10th to shock Saratoga, 6-5, before 332 fans at East Field.

Terry Blunt's sharp grounder to short turned into a game-ending throwing error, giving the first-place Eagles (20-3) perhaps their best win of the season.

For Saratoga (10-10), it surely was the most bitter.

"It stings, I'm sure it stings a lot for our guys," Phillies coach Matt Mueller said. "Five-two, three outs away ... I mean, you never know, but I was feeling pretty good."

Glens Falls' surprising finish came after the Phillies scored three times against Eagles reliever Shawn Ryan. Casper Wells, on base all five times he was up Wednesday, singled in the go-ahead run and Saratoga added two more to go up comfortably.

But Bilak, working in his fifth partial inning, appeared to tire in the bottom of the frame. A Ryan Basham single was followed by a Chris Carlson double, and after Brad Beatty's base hit knocked in Basham, the Eagles bench was alive.

"That's baseball, you never know what's going to happen," Glens Falls outfielder Will Groff said. "When Carlson got the double, I started to think maybe we had a shot."

David Williams followed Beatty with a single to left, putting runners on first and second. Brooks Villar then relieved Bilak and struck out Aaron Hepner after Hepner's failed sacrifice attempt.

For the second night in a row, there was umpire controversy. On a double steal by the Golden Eagles, Saratoga catcher Caleb Mangum's throw to third appeared to beat Eagles runner Steven Calicutt. But home-plate umpire George Cox called Calicutt safe, inducing an ejection-causing outburst from Mangum.

With second and third and one out, Cory Rodriguez was intentionally walked to load the bases, but things looked up for the Phillies when Villar fanned Jeremy Goldschmeding.

But Blunt, the hero of so many games for the Eagles this season, stepped up and smacked a sharp grounder to short. Saratoga shortstop Drew Reynolds wanted to throw to second, but hesitated for a moment while waiting for second baseman Gil Kim to reach the bag. Reynolds then threw wildly past Kim and into rightfield as Calicutt and Williams raced home.

"Fast guy running and it was just one of those things that didn't work out for us," Mueller said. "Really though we had chances earlier in the game to score some more runs and we didn't take advantage."

Williams went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for Glens Falls. Joel Boeschen picked up the win in relief for Glens Falls.

Saratoga doesn't have to wait long for another chance at its nemesis; the two teams play the Mayor's Cup game Friday night at East Side Rec in Saratoga.

The Phillies hosts Amsterdam tonight at 7 p.m.