WATERTOWN—Following freshman Tony Dischler's (University of Louisiana Monroe) superb pitching performance in game one of the Golden Eagles doubleheader against the Watertown Wizards on Monday afternoon, Glens Falls' pitching staff ace junior Nathan Forer (Southern Illinois) surrendered just six hits and two earned runs through seven innings for a complete-game 4-2 victory over the Wizards.
Forer's overall win-loss record now stands at a perfect 5-0 in five total appearances this summer, with four of those appearances being starts. Allowing only two Watertown base runners past second base, walking just one Wizards' batter, and striking out four others, Forer continues his bid for the 2009 New York Collegiate Baseball League's pitcher of the year and solidifies a spot on this summer's all-star team set for next Tuesday, July 14 in Amsterdam.
In three doubleheaders this season, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles sport a 5-1 record, including back-to-back doubleheader sweeps over Watertown. Back on June 29, Glens Falls swept the Wizards at East Field via the dreaded pinch-hit, walk-off win and today their starting pitchers, which struggled mightily in the June meeting versus Watertown, tossed two complete-games en route to a 2-0 win in the first game and a 4-2 win in the second.
Once again, the Golden Eagles, who tallied five hits in seven innings, were not only out-hit, they also trailed the Wizards early. Following a run in the second from Watertown, Glens Falls stormed back with two runs on two hits in the third.
After the Wizards pitching beamed freshman catcher Conner Gandossy (St. Louis) to start the third inning, freshman center fielder Steve Zavala (Rutgers), facing his college teammate, knocked a base hit up the middle.
Senior right fielder Anthony Giansanti (Siena) then dragged a sac bunt up the first base side and advanced both Zavala and Gandossy up 90-feet into scoring position.
An RBI single from freshman left fielder Rodarrick Jones (New Orleans), his team-high 18th this summer, scored Gandossy and tied up the game at 1-1. Zavala would later give the Golden Eagles the 2-1 lead when he crossed home plate on a Wizards' wild pitch. Freshman infielder Eric Phillips (Georgia Southern) walked, his eighth this summer, in the third before the inning came to a close.
For the next three innings, the Glens Falls offensive failed to put runners on base, but then in the seventh inning the Golden Eagles' bats sparked a two-out, two-run rally on two hits and one error to pad their lead at 4-1 heading into the games' final frame.
With one out in the seventh, freshman shortstop Pepito Moreno (Pima C.C.) worked his eighth walk of the year, then stole second, and later advanced to third on a fielding error.
Zavala, this time facing Brandon Marshall (Georgia State), smoked an RBI single to center plated Moreno. A RBI single from Giansanti then scored Zavala for the teams' final run.
Despite half of the Wizards six hits coming in the seventh inning, Watertown scored just one run and failed to complete the comeback victory. The win improves the Glens Falls Golden Eagles to a NYCBL-best 18-5 win-loss record, as the loss drops the Watertown Wizards to a sub .500 win-loss record for the first time this season. The Wizards hold a 12-13 record.
Both Jones and Zavala each led the Golden Eagles with a pair of hits; while Gandossy and Moreno each scored one run. Zavala scored two runs, knocked in one RBI, and has now scored 14 runs this summer. Giansanti also added one RBI and has 15 on the season.
Glens Falls continues their mini road trip with games against the Amsterdam Mohawks (10-11) on Tuesday and the Albany Dutchmen (4-13) on Wednesday. The next time the Golden Eagles play the Wizards will be at East Field on July 17. This weekend, the Golden Eagles host a doubleheader on Friday, July 10 against the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs starting at 5 p.m. and then games against the Mohawks on Saturday and Sunday.