GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland baseball team bounced back from a tough loss on Monday to beat previously undefeated Colonie, 11-4, on Wednesday afternoon.

The Dutchmen erased a 2-1 deficit with seven runs in the fourth inning and give a win to junior pitcher Nick Polsinelli.

The victory improved the Dutchmen’s record to 2-2 in the Suburban Council and 3-2 overall. Guilderland lost to Columbia, 9-8, after losing a three-run lead on Monday.
"We let one slip away on Monday," said Guilderland Coach Doug LaValley after Wednesday’s game. "We had five errors. We came with a purpose; we’re a pretty good team."

Polsinelli pitched four-and-two-thirds innings to get the win in Wednesday’s game. Sophomore C.J. Sohl pitched the final two-and-a-third to seal Guilderland’s win.
"He does the job," LaValley said. "He comes in and throws strikes. That’s what I want him to do; it lets us make plays behind him."

Offense explodes

The Dutch trailed, 2-1, going into the fourth inning but scored seven runs in the frame behind hits by Andrew Simpson, Kevin Doherty, Jimmy Sabbag, Mike Goldstein, and Joe Lima.
"Our guys are capable of doing that in any inning," LaValley said. "We have the type of offense that can explode. It’s one through nine and we have some guys off the bench that can do the job."

Colonie scored two runs in the fifth inning when Polsinelli tired but Sohl got a strikeout to end the stanza and protect the lead.

The Dutch tacked on some insurance runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

Henderson, a lefty, led off the inning with a booming homerun to right field. Jake Colavito then doubled to centerfield. Simpson then reached first base on an error by the Colonie first baseman and Greg Barcomb, who was pinch running for Colavito, moved to third.

Simpson then broke to second base for a steal. The throw by the catcher sailed into center field and allowed Barcomb to score easily.

Doherty then hit a double that bounced over the fence to score Simpson and make the score, 11-4.

Polsinelli struck out seven batters in his stint on the mound, while Sohl struck out a couple and got some good defense by Sabbag at second base in the sixth inning.
"We came in with confidence," LaValley said. "But we have one tomorrow that we have to come ready to play. Shaker is a good team, but, if we play our A game, we can play with anybody. Today we didn’t have our A game. But I would say it was a B-plus. Anytime you beat Colonie, it’s always a good one."

The Dutchmen play Shaker today (Thursday) and then take part in the LaSalle Wood Bat Tournament over the weekend.