ALBANY—The Glens Falls Golden Eagles continued their dominance away from East Field this season, winning eight of their last nine road games and increasing their lead in the East Division to two and one-half games.
Glens Falls' lone road loss last came to the second-place Watertown (10-7) back on June 13, when the Wizards beat the Golden Eagles in an extra-inning heartbreaker by one run.
Both teams have split the season series this year, and play tonight to settle the score.
Head out to East Field tonight as the first 250 fans into the stadium receive a free pair of official Glens Falls Golden Eagles Thunderstix.
For the fourth time this season, the Golden Eagles' bats were out-hit by their opponents yet with timely hitting they pulled off a victory. Last night, Glens Falls pitching scattered 12 hits while the hitting totaled eight hits and drew 12 walks.
Right of the bat, one-out walks from freshman shortstop Eric Phillips (Georgia Southern) and freshman left fielder Rodarrick Jones (New Orleans) set the tone for this game.
C leanup hitter, Chris Lashmet (Northwestern), then belted a three-run blast to give Glens Falls an early 3-0 cushion after the top half of the first.
On the season, the Golden Eagles have scored more first-inning runs (19) then any other team in the New York Collegiate Baseball League, and rank second in walks (64) behind the Wizards.*
Lashmet finished with two hits, one-run scored and three RBI.
Phillips also added two runs scored, two hits, one walk, and three RBI.
The Dutchmen quickly answered with three runs of their own via a homerun from first baseman Blake Gibbs (Oregon State) in the bottom of the first. Glens Falls pushed through with three more runs on two hits and one error in the second to regain the three-run advantage.
Back-to-back walks from a pair of freshmen, catcher Conner Gandossy (St. Louis) and center fielder Steve Zavala (Rutgers) started the rally early once again for the Golden Eagles.
After a Phillips sacrifice advanced both runners up 90-feet, a Jones RBI-single, his team-leading 14th this year, scored Gandossy and put Glens Falls on top 4-0.
Gandossy ranks second on the team in on-base percentage (.455) behind Jones and has seven runs scored on six hits. Zavala and freshman right fielder Justin Zumwalde (Pima C.C) each added their second doubles of the season. Zavala finished with two runs scored, two walks, and a double.
Glens Falls leads the NYCBL in doubles with 22, one up over the Wizards.
Though they went hitless and scoreless through the third, fourth, and fifth innings, the Golden Eagles added three more total runs in the sixth and seventh to pad their 9-5 lead heading into the games' final two frames.
Jones picked up another walk leading off the sixth, advanced to second a Lashmet single, stole third, and later scored on a sac fly from first basemen Sean Lamont (Georgetown).
After the Dutchmen chipped away at the Golden Eagles lead, adding two runs in bottom of the sixth, Glens Falls' hitters once again worked back-to-back lead off walks.
This time from sophomore designated hitter Nate Valdez (Central Arizona) and Gandossy. Then a Zavala sacrifice advanced the runners, and Phillips poked a two-run single to give the Golden Eagles some much-needed insurance runs.
Despite Glens Falls pitching coughing up one run in the eighth and two runs in the ninth, a Zavala double and another RBI single from Phillips in the Golden Eagles' ninth tallied 10 runs on eight hits for the East Division-leading Glens Falls Golden Eagles.
Offensively, Glens Falls has scored double-digits runs in two games this season, while defensively, they've yet to allow their opponents to do the same.
Picking up his first save of the season, junior left-hander Chase Richard (Southern) struck out two Dutchmen hitters in over three innings. On the season, Richard posts a perfect 2-0 win-loss record in four appearances this season.
Freshman Andrew Brown (Akron) notched his second win of the season and now also sports a perfect 2-0 record in his two starts for the Golden Eagles this summer. In his five and two-thirds innings-pitched against the Dutchmen on Wednesday, Brown struck out six and walked one. Brown's 10 strikeouts rank two behind Richard for the team-lead.
Glens Falls next hosts Albany on Sunday, June 28, in the first game of a three-game home stand next week. After Watertown tonight at home, the Golden Eagles go on the road this weekend against the Saratoga Phillies on Friday and a doubleheader against the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs on Saturday.
*Note the NYCBL and the Glens Falls Golden Eagles are experiencing problems with some of the stats this season and not all of those listed in the box score and on the NYCBL website are incorrect. We're working solving the issues as soon as possible. Please be patient.