GLENS FALLS * Three outs before his team's nine-game winning streak came screeching to a halt, John Mayotte had his players step outside the dugout and form a tight ring around him.

Let's try and win one coming from behind for once, Mayotte recalled telling the group, his NYCBL team that's become so reliant on its stellar pitching (2.42 team ERA) and sterling defense (witness middle infielders Dan DeGeorge and Jake Owens gobble up any ball up the hole).

Those runs, of course, never came, and the Golden Eagles were left to swallow a 5-3 defeat against visiting Amsterdam, a team they led for 8 innings in this one.

The first three Glens Falls batters reached base in the opening inning, leading to three early runs against erratic starter Casey Walsh. That frame looked to be the start of a big offensive night. Instead, it was all the runs Glens Falls would get, which left it clutching that sliver of a lead throughout.

"I thought the whole night we needed to score more runs," Mayotte said.

Said DeGeorge, "You never think it's enough."

It nearly was. Save for what Mayotte called a "couple of unbelievably debatable calls," the Eagles (13-3) would have saw their win streak reach double digits. Two ninth-inning rulings left Eagles fans lingering around East Field afterward, some grumbling to owner Darin Williams that they hoped he didn't pay the umpires their $105 game salary.

Here's what had them talking: Glens Falls led 3-2 in the top of the ninth, when starting pitcher Brian Moran gave up a leadoff single, Following a passed ball, catcher Joe Mercurio fielded a sacrifice bunt and fired to third base ahead of the lead runner. The umpire ruled the runner safe, and the crowd howled.

It was just getting warmed up.

After the Mohawks tied things, Blake Slagle crouched in a bunt position on a two-strike count. Following the inside pitch -- a presumed strike -- Mercurio flipped to third way ahead of a base runner sprinting for a steal.

Mercurio pumped his first, thinking a double play was in order. Instead, home plate umpire Jeffrey Chamberlain ruled Slagle had been hit by the pitch, which loaded the bases with no outs.

The Mohawks tacked on two more runs for the final margin. Ryan Nemcek led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, but the next three batters flied out, leaving the Eagles cursing their luck and Mayotte with a final thought.

"Just have to start another streak," he said.

Mohawks Golden Eagles

ab r h bi ab r h bi

McGhee 2b 4 0 1 1 Owens 2b 4 1 1 0

Wright dh 4 0 0 0 DeGeorge ss 5 1 2 0

Papenhouse 1b 5 0 1 0 Shaffer rf 5 1 2 1

Nieto cf 4 1 1 0 Mahoney 3b 3 0 0 1

Lape rf 4 2 2 0 Feliz cf 2 0 0 0

Seaborn 3b 4 1 2 1 Konstanty 1b 4 0 0 0

Irwin c 3 0 0 1 Cooke lf 3 0 1 0

Glasser c 1 1 0 0 Mercurio c 4 0 0 0

Slagle lf 3 0 1 0 Nemcek dh 3 0 1 0

Moon ss 4 0 1 1

Totals 36 5 9 4 Totals 33 3 7 2

Amsterdam (6-11) 000 200 003-- 5 9 1

Glens Falls (13-3) 300 000 000-- 3 7 1

E--Papenhouse, DeGeorge. DP--Amsterdam 1. LOB--Amsterdam 7, Glens Falls 9. 2B--Nieto, Seaborn. SF--McGhee, Mahoney. SB--Wright.

IP H R ER BB SO

Amsterdam

Walsh 6 6 3 2 3 8

Boylan, W (1-1) 2 0 0 0 0 1

Glowacki, S (3) 1 1 0 0 0 0

Glens Falls

Moran, L (1-2) 8 8 4 3 1 4

Farry 0 0 1 1 0 0

Latta 1 1 0 0 0 0

WP--Walsh 2. HBP-- by Walsh (Feliz); by Walsh (Nemcek); by Farry (Slagle). PB--Irwin 2, Mercurio.

T--2:45. A--205.