JULY 21, 2004
Eagles sweep Mohawk Valley
Glens Falls wins pair to solidify hold on first
By MICHAEL LEWIS - mlewis@poststar.com

ANDY CAMP - GOLDEN EAGLES Will Groff laces the ball foul in the first inning.

GLENS FALLS -- The ball just kept looking larger and larger to Chris Carlson.

Tuesday night at East Field, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles first baseman had the kind of night hitters dream about when their heads hit the pillow.

The kind of night they remember in the midst of an 0-for-18 slump.

Carlson went 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the first game of a doubleheader, a 4-3 Glens Falls extra-inning win over Mohawk Valley.

Then the Kansas State product put up the exact same numbers in the second game, helping the Golden Eagles to a 7-2 rout and a doubleheader sweep that put Glens Falls (27-9) in the New York Collegiate Baseball League playoffs.

The Eagles have clinched at least a tie for first place in the Eastern Division, and with Saratoga's loss Tuesday night, Glens Falls is officially in the playoffs.

The postseason begins Monday.

For Carlson, the six hits and six RBIs were a culmination of a long summer that saw him struggle for the first part of the season.

"I just have to thank coach (John) Mayotte, because as bad as I was hitting the first few weeks, he kept throwing me in the lineup and kept having confidence in me," Carlson said. "Tonight, everything just came together at the plate; I couldn't wait to get up there and hit."

Carlson's bat was so hot, after his sixth hit of the day teammate Terry Blunt jokingly ran out to home plate and grabbed it, pulling it to his chest and running away.

"Chris is really the most improved guy on our team," Mayotte said. "We've all been working with him, and he's tremendously coachable, so it was just a matter of making a few adjustments and him gaining confidence."

Carlson was responsible for winning the first game Tuesday before a season-high 562 fans at East Field. His game-ending single in the bottom of the eighth (doubleheaders are only seven-inning contests) saved the Golden Eagles from what would have been an embarrassing defeat. Glens Falls blew a three-run lead heading into the seventh inning.

For most of the game, extra innings looked like a long shot. Glens Falls got a strong start from right-hander Jeremy Hall, and the Golden Eagles eked out three runs on five hits through the first six innings to lead, 3-0.

But in the top of the seventh, Glens Falls fell apart. With runners on second and third and one out, an RBI single from Travis Robinson brought Mohawk Valley (10-25) to within 3-1.

ANDY CAMP - GOLDEN EAGLES Starting pitcher Jeremy Hall delivers.

Mayotte then lifted Hall for reliever Shawn Ryan. Ryan proceeded to plunk Brian Lindsay, loading the bases. A walk then scored Brian Lindsay, cutting the deficit to 3-2 and leaving the bases loaded with one out.

Still, it looked like the Eagles would get out of trouble when Matt Marcinczyk topped a grounder back to Ryan. But catcher Aaron Hepner dropped the soft toss to the plate, and suddenly, the game was tied.

"It's a situation where you call on your closer and expect him to close it out, but Shawn just had some trouble with his control tonight," Mayotte said. "We've got to get more consistency from the bullpen, especially since we'll probably have close games (in the playoffs)."

But the Glens Falls offense came to the rescue. Blunt led off the eighth with a walk, then Will Groff reached first safely after his sacrifice bunt attempt was thrown away by Cobras reliever Brian Murtaugh.

After Ryan Basham was intentionally walked, Carlson laced his game-winning hit.

In the nightcap, Glens Falls got another strong outing from ace Brett Zamzow. Zamzow seems to have recovered from a slight slump two weeks ago, and Tuesday pitched a complete-game eight-hitter.

David Williams knocked in a pair of runs as well in the second game.

The Golden Eagles return to action tonight at Saratoga at East Side Rec at 7 p.m.