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GLENS FALLS -- John Mayotte is never one to shy away from an argument -- especially when he's pretty sure he's right. The Glens Falls Golden Eagles coach was tossed in the sixth inning Sunday night as he argued a bizarre home run that was called by umpire George Cox. The heated exchange served to spark the Eagles, who responded with three runs in the bottom of the sixth en route to a 4-2 New York Collegiate Baseball League victory over the Saratoga Phillies at East Field. Glens Falls boosted its NYCBL East Division-leading record to 23-9, and dropped third-place Saratoga to 15-13. The Eagles are 5-1 against the Phillies this season. The strange play in question was a solo home run by Saratoga's Casper Wells -- but the ball bounced off what appeared to be the plastic covering on top of the left-field fence, and back into the field of play. As Wells reached third base, Cox signaled home run, and Wells crossed the plate to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Mayotte argued the call and after Cox ejected him, Mayotte repeatedly asked, "Why don't you check it?" as he pointed to the fence. "It did hit the top of the fence -- it's in play," Mayotte said. "I don't see how it could have left the park if it landed in the park. I was trying to get him to check, and he wouldn't. That's what I was upset with." Eagles left fielder Will Groff had the best view of the play, as he was tracking it down. He threw the ball into third as Cox signaled home run. "It hit the top of the plastic covering -- you could hear it," Groff said. "It would have been unfortunate if (the game) came down to that one run." Glens Falls replied quickly in its half of the sixth. Terry Blunt led off with a walk, and reached third on an error on a grounder by Groff, who then stole second. Designated hitter Ryan Basham then stepped to the plate and ripped a two-run double down the left-field line to give the Eagles a 3-2 lead. Basham tagged up on a flyout by Chris Carlson to set himself up at third base. Travis Bilak relieved Saratoga starter Jeff Stallings on the mound, but he was greeted by David Williams, who lined an RBI single up the middle to score Basham for a 4-2 Eagles lead. Glens Falls starter Brett Zamzow lasted 8 1/3 innings, scattering seven hits and hitting four batters, but the right-hander got plenty of defensive support, including a pair of double plays. Zamzow left in the ninth -- after hitting Drew Reynolds and walking Jeff Nichols -- giving way to ace reliever Shawn Ryan. Ryan, a Stillwater native who plays at the University at Albany, struck out the next batter, then worked Saratoga's Leo Corvino to a full count, before catcher Tommy Hill stood up and picked Nichols off first base for the final out of the game. "Brett pitched 8 1/3 strong innings, Ryan Basham had two big hits, and we're playing great defense -- we got a big double play in a key situation late in the game," Mayotte said. Saratoga had opened the scoring on a Caleb Mangum double and RBI single by Reynolds in the fourth. Stallings had retired the first nine Glens Falls batters in order before hitting Blunt with a pitch to lead off the fourth. Blunt reached second on a balk, then tagged up on successive flyouts, scoring on Basham's sac fly to tie the score at 1-1. Reynolds doubled and singled for Saratoga, which also got two hits from Gil Kim. Eric Lawson had two singles for Glens Falls. "We didn't make plays on defense when we needed to," Saratoga coach Matt Mueller said. "Those guys are a good club, but so are we. The way we started the season 0-5, these kids have worked pretty hard to get where we are now." The Eagles and Phillies are scheduled to play again Tuesday at 7 p.m. at East Side Rec in Saratoga Springs. Saratoga is scheduled to host Watertown tonight at 7.
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