GLENS FALLS—In front of more than 700 screaming, cowbell-ringing baseball fans, the second-seeded Glens Falls Golden Eagles advanced to the second round of the 2009 New York Collegiate Baseball League playoffs after defeating the third-seeded Saratoga Phillies 2-1 in the third and deciding game at East Field on Monday.
Leading the way for the Golden Eagles, the Glens Falls pitching staff, which led the NYCBL with a 2.41 team ERA, just 90 total earned runs, and 121 walks during the 2009 regular season, behind junior starter Nathan Forer (Southern Illinois) who nearly tossed a complete-game four-hitter before being relieved by his college teammate, junior Kellen Candau (Southern Illinois).
Forer improved his overall win-loss record to 5-2 this summer, after pitching eight and two-thirds innings, allowing zero earned runs on hits, striking out five and walking one.
Candau picked up his third save of the summer, facing one batter and inducing a 4-3 ground out. Before leaving the game with two outs in the ninth inning, Forer retired 24-of-26 Phillies hitters, after coughing up two hits in the first inning.
Glens Falls tied the game up at 1-1 in the second when, leading off the inning, junior designated hitter Mike Ferraro (San Diego) singled to right center and scored on sacrifice fly from sophomore Sean Lamont (Georgetown).
Freshman center fielder Steve Zavala (Rutgers) and sophomore third baseman Chris Lashmet (Northwestern) each tallied two of the Golden Eagles' seven hits.
Lashmet finished 2-for-3 with a double in the fourth and a single in the second.
Zavala scored the eventual game-winning run on an RBI infield single from junior Anthony Giansanti (Siena) and finished the game 2-for-4 with two singles.
In the second inning, freshman shortstop Eric Phillips (Georgia Southern) struck out looking on a delayed third-strike call from the home plate umpire. Phillps complained and ended up being thrown out of the game that forced Glens Falls Golden Eagles head coach John Mayotte to pull some defensive switches, sending Lamont from first base out to right field, freshman Kevin Berry (New Orleans) replaced Phillips at shortstop, moving over from second base, Giansanti came in from right field to play second and Giansanti's college teammate junior Gary DerHagopian (Siena) came off the bench to fill in at first base.
In his first at-bat DerHagopian singled to center and advanced all the way to third. Unfortunately during Lamont's at-bat, DerHagopian slipped on his way back to third base and ended up being thrown out by the Phillies catcher, which cut short a potential run-scoring rally in the fourth. Lamont later walked before inning ended.
The Golden Eagles have now won five one-run games this summer.
Glens Falls travels to Amsterdam on Tuesday, August 4, for the start of the East Division finals. The Golden Eagles lost 5-of-8 games to the top-seeded Mohawks during the regular season and return home to East Field for game two of the best-of-three playoff series on Wednesday, August 5, at 7 p.m.