BERNE — Youth and inexperience have been the theme for the Berne-Knox-Westerlo baseball team this season.

The Bulldogs are 2-2 in the league and have a 2-4 overall record.

The latest loss came on Tuesday at Middleburgh. The Bulldogs gave up four runs in the bottom half of the fifth inning and lost, 6-3.
"We were down 2-0 in the second inning," said Coach Jeff Teats. "We pulled ahead with three runs in the fifth"But in the bottom of the fifth inning, we gave up four runs on two hits and two errors. We beat ourselves. Errors are hurting us. We are not making plays."

Zack Davis and Bobby Patrick led off the Bulldogs’ fifth inning with walks, and Jeremy Mann, Matt Lounsbury, and Josh Skinner followed with singles that led to the three runs.

The Bulldogs hadn’t played since April 12 since a wood-bat tournament in which they planned to play this past weekend was rained out.

The Bulldogs lost to Canajoharie, 8-2, on April 12.

BKW trailed just by one run through five innings, but a big inning by Canajoharie put the game away.
"We were in the game," Teats said. "But we blew up again. They scored five runs in the sixth inning. We had a couple of errors and they had some timely hits. We blew the game up. We had nine hits and Canjo had nine hits."

Patrick had two singles and a double for the Bulldogs and Greg Mulson has two singles and a double as well.

Pair of victories

The Bulldogs did get a win in their first two league games of the season.

BKW beat Schoharie, 14-7, on April 6.

Mann and Patrick combined strong efforts on the mound with Patrick getting the win. He also had a single, double, and two runs batted in.

Lounsbury went four-for-four at the plate and tallied five RBIs. Jayson Villenueve had three singles and two RBIs.
"It was a good start," Teats said. "We hit the ball. I had a few concerns about the offense, but that was as good as we can be."

The Bulldogs followed that win with another over Schenectady Christian on April 10.

BKW had another strong day at the plate, scoring 10 runs in a 10-2 decision.

Ben Burton pitched five innings and gave up just one run to get the win.

Mann had two singles, a triple, and three RBIs to pace the offense. Skinner had a single, triple, and an RBI.
"We were 2-0 in the league," Teats said. "Those were two games we could have and by all means should win."

Non-league losses

The Bulldogs opened the season with non-league losses to Voorheesville and Fort Plain.

Against Fort Plain on April 3, the Bulldogs kept the game close until the fifth inning when the Hilltoppers pulled away from the Bulldogs for a 9-1 win.
"It was a 3-1 ballgame," Teats said. "But they scored six runs in the fifth inning on a couple of errors and timely hits."

Mann led the Bulldogs with a single and a double in the contest.

Burton pitched four innings and gave up just a couple of runs.
"He pitched solid," Teats said. "We were in the game up to that point. It was the second game we played."

"Still young"

Teats said that this season his team plays well for most of each game but has just one bad inning.
"We have to stay away from the big inning," he said. "It snowballs and the teams playing us — I tip my hat to them — come up with a couple of hits and a couple of runs. Middleburgh was a tough loss. I knew we were rusty coming in. We had not played in 12 days."

The Bulldogs played at Duanesburg on Wednesday. BKW plays at Saratoga Spa Catholic on Friday and at Greenwich on Saturday. The Bulldogs host Fonda-Fultonville on Tuesday.

The Bulldogs will be playing those games without Villeneuve, the team’s starting left fielder. He broke his leg playing soccer and is out for the season.
"Those games will be tough," Teats said. "We’ve got to step it up. In most of our games, we’ve had a chance to win. We’re still young. We’re learning as we go and, hopefully, we’ll continue to get better."