By Jordan J. Michael

BERNE –– The Bulldogs’ baseball game against Middleburgh on Monday was more like batting practice. It could have been over before it started.

Berne-Knox-Westerlo scored five runs in the first inning and 12 in the second to drown the Knights in its own apathy. Bulldogs Head Coach Jeff Teats said that the coach from Middleburgh told him that his kids “didn’t care about winning.”

“That’s really sad and an unfortunate situation for them,” said Teats. “We take this sport seriously. I told their coach that I only take kids that are committed.”

After beating Middleburgh, 22 to 2, at home on Monday, BKW traveled to Middleburgh on Tuesday and won by another game with a ridiculous score: 13 to 0. However, the Knights aren’t the only team BKW has beat up on. It crushed Sharon Springs twice and beat Schoharie, 20 to 5.

“We’re always having fun, but these games are getting really dull,” said second baseman Brett Flansburg. “Quite a few games have been like this. We just talk it up and try to keep our heads in the game.”

The Bulldogs are 7-3 in the Western Athletic Conference; only two wins have been relatively close. The team’s three losses are to Duanesburg twice and Schoharie once –– 10-3, 2-1, and 17-3.

“Winning by a ton of runs doesn’t help us assess things,” Teats said. “It’s boring, honestly. I feel like there’s no middle ground in this league.”

BKW could have had a chance to win the league if it didn’t lose to Duanesburg on Friday. However, the Bulldogs have two big non-league wins over Cohoes and Voorheesville for a 9-3 overall record.

“Our offense is really good,” Flansburg said. “We come out and try to get big leads. We peck away at you.”

Establishing big leads might be an understatement in some cases. “All these runs are great, but we start to have bad habits,” said first baseman Ben Geist. “We get lazy on the bases and start swinging at bad pitches.”

Teats said that there’s little a team can work on when it has such a huge lead. “What can you really do?” he asked. “Let’s just get this over with.”

There were so many runs on Monday that Josh Rebeor’s no-hitter through five innings almost went unnoticed. Teats didn’t see any point to leaving him on the mound. “It’s not a big deal,” said Teats.

Flansburg told The Enterprise that the Bulldogs’ pre-season trip to Florida is the reason for a productive season so far. “It really got us into the right mood,” he said.

“These kids expect to win when they walk out onto the field,” Teats said.