JULY 3, 2004
Phillies edge Eagles in bizarre finish at East Side Rec
By STEPHEN DRAVIS
Special to The Post-Star

SARATOGA SPRINGS -- The Anaheim Angels had the "Rally Monkey." The Saratoga Phillies had to rally to get the monkey off their backs.

The Phils scratched out the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning Friday night to improve to 11-10 this season and 1-4 against their Northway rivals with a 4-3 win over the Glens Falls Golden Eagles in New York Collegiate Baseball League action at East Side Rec.

Glens Falls, which handed the Phils a loss in the first game of their inaugural season, had been a thorn in the side of Saratoga all summer, right up to and including a come-from-behind 6-5 win at East Field on Wednesday night.

On Friday, Caleb Mangum's fly ball to right with men on first and second dropped in and out of the glove of Glens Falls' David Williams to allow Shawn Epidendio to score the winning run with two outs.

"It felt good," Epidendio said. "Especially after the way we played on Wednesday. That was a tough loss. We were coming in ready to play. We really wanted to beat 'em.

"We had them last time, but it just didn't work out."

Ironically, Wednesday night's game ended with an infield error by the Phillies to allow Glens Falls to score the game-winner in the bottom of the 10th.

"The baseball gods gave us one," Saratoga coach Matt Mueller said. "It felt pretty good. They're a good club. We just found a way to win."

Saratoga scored runs in the first, fourth (a solo home run by Casper Wells), eighth and 10th to get the victory for reliever Pat Riley.

Riley and starter Bryan Fleming combined to scatter seven hits and strike out 12 while allowing just two walks and no earned runs.

But Glens Falls (20-5) still managed to take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth inning.

The Eagles scored two in the third when Saratoga committed two errors on the same play with two out and runners on second and third. In the seventh, Ryan Basham drove in Terry Blunt with a single to left to give Glens Falls reliever Randy Cornejo a chance to get the win.

In the bottom of the eighth, Gil Kim led off with a single, and Saratoga worked Cornejo for three straight walks to bring him home and make it 3-3.

In the 10th, Epidendio got the rally going with a walk and moved into scoring position on Jeff Carroll's single to center. Cornejo then struck out Wells and appeared to get the third out on the fly ball that wound up ending the game.

"I don't know what happened on that ball, but that kid is a great defensive outfielder," Glens Falls coach John Mayotte said of Williams. "It's not like he's a poor outfielder.

"Baseball does some strange things to us, and that's what happened to this kid."

It's been a strange week all the way around for Glens Falls, which travels to Mohawk Valley for a doubleheader today. On Tuesday, the Golden Eagles played a bizarre game at East Field that featured a lone umpire and a very controversial call at second base. On Wednesday, it was the error on a routine grounder to help cap winning four-run rally for the home team.

Then came the misplay to give Saratoga the inaugural "Mayors' Cup" trophy game.

"It was a well played game," Mayotte said. "You can't find fault with the kid. It was a bizarre ending. It's not like he's a lousy outfielder. He's an outstanding player. He works hard.

"How do you explain baseball? ... Sometimes you've just got to scratch your head and say baseball is an unbelievable game."