Dutchmen Split Doubleheader Against DiamondDawgs

By: Christian De Guzman

LOUDONVILLE, N.Y. – The Albany Dutchmen (10-6) split a doubleheader against the Mohawk Valley DiamondDawgs (8-8) on Saturday at Connors Park, losing game one 7-2 and winning game two 6-4.

“Doubleheaders are tough to sweep, so anything you can get a split, you’ve gotta be happy with that,” said Dutchmen Head Coach Nick Davey.

The Dutchmen trailed early against the DiamondDawgs in game one. Mohawk Valley took a three-run lead against Albany in the top of the first inning, with the big hit coming from a two-run Justin Guerrera (Fairfield) home run. Dutchmen starter Logan Savell (Ole Miss) only pitched one inning – the shortest outing for an Albany starter this season.

Albany slowly chipped away at the lead after two errors by Joseph Carpenter (Delaware) brought home a run in the first. Both teams added a run in the third as the score settled at 4-2 through the middle innings.

Dutchmen pitcher Will Hesslink (Boston College) relieved Savell in the second inning and pitched four strong innings, the longest outing for an Albany reliever this season. The lefty allowed four hits and one run but kept the DiamondDawgs offense in check.

“Hesslink pitched his butt off in the middle,” said Davey. “He really gave us a shot.”

The Dutchmen bullpen struggled to keep Albany within striking distance during the latter parts of game one. Brandon Roberts (St. John Fisher) and Jack Delaney (St. John Fisher) allowed three runs to score on three hits over the last two innings.

Mohawk Valley starter Cole Miller (Herkimer) pitched well for the DiamondDawgs and nullified the Dutchmen offense in game one. The lefty went six innings and allowed only two runs on six hits. Miller only walked one and struck out five.

“He kept us off-balance,” said Davey.

After trailing early, the Dutchmen gained momentum by taking the lead in the third inning of game two. A Josh Hall (Ole Miss) single and a Justin Bench (Ole Miss) sacrifice bunt drove in two runs to give Albany a 2-1 lead after three innings. The Ole Miss duo have combined for 10 RBIs in their first week with the Dutchmen.

The one-run lead was all that Dutchmen starter Nick Grabek (Fairfield) needed in game two. The closer for Fairfield started his third game for Albany this season and only allowed two runs, one unearned, two hits and one walk against Mohawk Valley.

“He was working in and out and threw his secondary stuff for strikes,” said Davey.

Grabek exited game two after 5.2 innings, and the DiamondDawgs took advantage of his absence. Mohawk Valley retook the lead with a Jimmy Joyce (Hofstra) two-run home run off Luke Walter (Manhattan). The DiamondDawgs added another run from a CJ Rodriguez (Vanderbilt) single to take a 4-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

The Dutchmen rallied in the bottom of the sixth off the DiamondDawgs bullpen. Mike Murray (Hofstra) allowed a Tommy Pellis (Seton Hill) single, a Luke Gold (Boston College) double, and a Ryan McGee (Siena) walk before exiting the game in favor of Luc Scudalleri (Georgia College). The first batter he faced was Aaron Roose (Azusa Pacific), who took a 3-2 pitch deep over the left field wall for the first Dutchmen grand slam of the season.

“Something my college coach stresses is don’t get beat with two strikes,” said Roose. “I got down early, but realistically I wasn’t going to let him beat me.

Albany took a 6-4 lead into the seventh and Blake Bales (Virginia) shut the door with two strikeouts to give the Dutchmen their tenth win of the season. Albany is the second team in the PGCBL to reach double-digit wins and is 8-2 in its last 10 games.

With the grand slam, Roose became the first Dutchmen to reach double-digit RBIs with 13 this season. He also ranks fifth in the PGCBL in RBIs.

Albany’s next game is home at Connors Park at Siena College against the Adirondack Trail Blazers. First pitch is set for 5:05 p.m. For tickets and more, visit dutchmenbaseball.com.



Search Archive »





Browse by Month »

April 2024
March 2024
August 2023
July 2023
June 2023
May 2023
April 2023
August 2022
July 2022
June 2022
May 2022
April 2022
March 2022
January 2022
September 2021
August 2021
July 2021
June 2021
May 2021
March 2021
May 2020
March 2020
August 2019
July 2019
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
March 2019
February 2019
January 2019
November 2018
October 2018
August 2018
July 2018
June 2018
May 2018
April 2018
March 2018
February 2018
January 2018
December 2017
September 2017
August 2017
July 2017
June 2017
May 2017
April 2017
March 2017
February 2017
January 2017
December 2016
November 2016
August 2016
July 2016
June 2016
May 2016
April 2016
March 2016
February 2016
January 2016
December 2015
November 2015
October 2015
August 2015
July 2015
June 2015
May 2015
April 2015
March 2015
February 2015
January 2015
December 2014
October 2014
August 2014
July 2014
June 2014
May 2014
April 2014
March 2014
February 2014
January 2014
December 2013
October 2013
August 2013
July 2013
June 2013
May 2013
April 2013
January 2013
December 2012
November 2012
Ignite Business Solutions