"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

Though the phrase is taken from the opening sentence of Charles Dicken's A Tale of Two Cities that described the French Revolution, it also applies to the up and down season of the Glens Falls Golden Eagles.

The look of frustration became embedded on the faces of the players during the first half of the season. There were games where they could have won if only the had put the ball in play. At one point, the Eagles were 1-9 and on a three-game losing streak.

Though times were tough, there were still flashes of greatness, mostly on an individual level. Dan Hughes, an outfielder at Brown, along with Mike Konstanty of Winthrop and catcher Nick Valdez of Pima Community College in Arizona, showed to be the team's most consistent hitters. Queensbury native Will Groff and infielder Ryan Saltzgaber had undeniable speed, both on offense and defense.

"You've just got to take the bad with the good.," said Glens Falls coach John Mayotte, who watched a team go from winning more than 30 games last season to 17-28. "We did have a decent second half of the season."

With plenty of new faces on the roster, in addition to players leaving the team in the middle of the season, the Eagles didn't see a turn of events until the final weeks of season. The defense behind the pitching became stronger and the team was able to put the ball into play more.

The Eagles won four of their last six games before falling to Watertown on July 13. Mayotte said the team was enjoying the game more and had more fun on the field. Now after a loss, the faces weren't so frustrated. Mayotte said he was more focused on making the players better before they would head back to school.

"I'm proud of the kids," Mayotte said. "I just want to see them get better."

With just a few more games left in the season, the team saw another blow when 8-year-old batboy Zach Williams was rushed to the hospital after being struck on a head by a batter who was warming up. Williams, a Glens Falls native, was seen joking and talking with the players at every home game.

At the final home game of the season on Friday, the team announced that Groff was voted the team's Player of the Year by the fans.

"That's a kid that's committed and is a hard-working kid," Mayotte said of Groff.

Mike Salivar, a left-handed pitcher from Florida Atlantic, was named team Pitcher of the Year.