GLENS FALLS - Ask a Glens Falls Golden Eagles player his
teammate’s name and you’d probably be met with a blank stare.
With the city voting on the team’s status on Monday, the first
team practice on Wednesday and the first home game on Thursday,
there just hasn’t been much time.
Throw in a new coaching staff, wooden bats and you can see how a few
names, even your teammates, could slip through the cracks.
"It’s a new experience," said catcher Gary DerHagopian.
"But we’re ball players, we make adjustments. Hopefully we
can make adjustments sooner rather than later and come out with a
few W’s this weekend."
The Eagles’ offense struggled to get going and was held to just
one hit in a 4-1 loss to the Saratoga Phillies in a New York
Collegiate Baseball League game Thursday night at East Field.
"It’s like an early season game. Most of these kids have had
quite a few weeks off," said Golden Eagles manager John Mayotte.
"I always expect a bad first game, but I thought they (the
Phillies) played spectacular defense."
A pair of errors led to three Saratoga runs, two unearned, in the
top of the first.
The Phillies tagged on its fourth run of the game on Mike
Augustine’s fielder’s choice.
Things weren’t much better at the plate for the Eagles, who went
hitless until the bottom of the eighth on a Francisco "Pepito"
Moreno single off of Mark Zecchino.
It was the first time an Eagle reached base since the third inning
— a Steve Zavala walk.
"I thought we hit too many fly balls," Mayotte said.
"We didn’t really put pressure. It’s not the formula to win
a baseball game and we hit a lot of balls hard, but a lot of fly
outs. No bad hops in the sky."
The Eagles faithful sent a strong message Thursday night, as 850
fans packed into the East Field to welcome this year’s team.
"Having so many fans out here (Thursday), was great,"
DerHagopian said. "It really showed how much the town loves the
sport. They made it a joy to play today. I just wished we played a
little better for them."