Heavy hitters Dutch baseball on way to sectional final
GUILDERLAND Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping! The constant sound of a metal bat meeting a baseball resounded at Guilderland High School on Saturday.
It continued at Joseph Bruno Stadium in Troy on Wednesday night.
It’s a sound the Guilderland baseball team hopes to repeat at "The Joe" on Friday.
The Dutchmen pounded out 16 hits to beat Bethlehem, 14-4, in a Class AA Section II quarterfinal on Saturday at Guilderland High School and advanced to the semifinal that was held on Wednesday. The Dutchmen smacked 11 hits in that contest and took advantage of three Niskayuna errors to win, 7-3.
The sectional title game will be held on Friday at the home of the Minor League Baseball Tri-City Valley Cats.
The Dutchmen will face Troy High School.
"We did what we can do and what we do best," said Guilderland Coach Doug LaValley.
It will be the first trip to the semifinals for LaValley as head coach of the Dutchmen.
It wasnt just the bats on Saturday that led the Dutch to the next round. It was also the left arm of relief pitcher Greg Barcomb.
Barcomb pitched four scoreless innings of relief for Nick Polsinelli, giving up just one hit a double in the fourth inning.
Barcomb came up big again against Niskayuna on Wednesday. He came in with two outs and the bases loaded to relieve starter C.J. Sohl.
Barcomb struck out the first batter he faced to end the Niskayuna threat in the sixth inning and struck two more batters out in the seventh to get the save.
"Greg Barcomb did what he does best," LaValley said. "Nick’s elbow has been bothering him. We’ll see what happens. It just shows that we have more than one guy. We can get it done with the guys that we have here."
Polsinelli hit a two-run home run in Wednesdays game to help give the Dutch a 5-0 lead though five innings.
Niskayuna answered with three runs in the top of the sixth to cut the lead to two.
Guilderland padded its lead with two more runs, including a solo home run by Ben Henderson.
Close start
Saturdays game was tightly contested in the first three innings and Guilderland didnt pull away until late.
Guilderland led, 2-0, at the end of the first inning and 6-3 at the end of the second stanza. Bethlehem cut the lead to two, 6-4, in the third inning but the Eagles would not score again.
Seniors Mike Goldstein and Polsinelli crossed the plate in the first inning for the Dutchmen. Senior Ben Henderson had an RBI single that scored Goldstein, and Jake Colavitos sacrifice fly drove in Polsinelli.
Bethlehem scored three runs in the top half of the second inning. Matt Nash, Kirk Shimkin and Derek Wolf scored in the frame for the Eagles. Nick Narducci had the big hit with a two-run double.
Guilderland regained the lead in the bottom half of the frame, as Joe Lima led off with a double. He scored easily on an RBI double by Jimmy Sabbag.
Nick Ranalli grounded out but moved the runner to third base. Sabbag scored easily from third on Polsinellis single.
Henderson was hit by a pitch and Colavito walked to load the bases. Andrew Simpson then followed with a single that drove in Polsinelli and Henderson.
Kevin Dumich scored a run in the third inning for Bethlehem but that was all the Eagles would get in the game.
"Pretty good all around"
Guilderland put the game away with two runs in the fourth, one in the fifth, and four in the sixth.
Colavito and Chris Murray, who was pinch running for Steve Anderson, scored in the fourth frame.
Goldstein scored in the fifth inning on an RBI single by Henderson.
In the sixth inning, Anderson, Lima, Sabbag, and Goldstein all touched home. Sabbag had a triple that brought home Anderson and Lima.
Ranalli tripled to drive in Sabbag, Goldstein singled in Ranalli, and Colavito doubled to drive in Goldstein.
"We played pretty good all-around," LaValley said.
Barcomb struck out one batter in his relief stint but got help provided by his defensive players, getting easy outs in the four-shutout innings.
Polsinelli is credited with the win because the Dutchmen led when he was the pitcher of record.
But it was Barcomb who gave the team a huge lift.
"I can’t say enough about him," LaValley said. "He’s a diamond in the rough. We always have one and he is it this year. He’s worked hard and he deserves all the accolades he’s getting. He’s gotten it done."
"We’re going to the Joe"
Then it was onto the semifinals and another game against a Suburban Council rival. Guilderland beat the Silver Warriors, 2-0, in the last game of the regular season.
"Nick pitched awesome," LaValley said of Polsinelli’s two-hit shutout. "We played a good game against a quality team and a quality program. We have to be prepared to play. We have to keep our focus."
The Dutchmen were favored to win the league title and to be in the running for the sectional title. Their main goal is to win the crown.
"We’re going to The Joe," LaValley said. "That is part of the path that we put together before the season. This is a step in the right direction"
"We’re still hungry."