GUILDERLAND — Errors kept the team from posting a major upset in the Class AA Section II quarterfinals on Saturday.

The Dutchmen had one bad inning that gave Colonie the lead and provided an uphill battle for the rest of the game. To their credit, the Dutch did not go away despite losing, 9-5.
"We threw away the baseball in the second," said Guilderland Coach Doug LaValley. "You can’t make errors in a game like this."

Colonie scored four runs in the third inning after already leading, 2-1.

With one out, Joe Paleto singled and moved to second on a single by Brendan Rowland. Paleto and Rowland advanced to second and third on a ground ball by Nick Johnson that was misplayed by Guilderland third baseman Jake Colavito. Colavito’s throw to second was wide and Rowland was safe at second.

Brett Peplowski singled to drive in Paleto and Rowland. James Smith then singled to drive in Johnson. An error by Reid Moreland at shortstop allowed Andy Ramond to reach first base. Peplowski then tagged up and scored on a deep fly ball by Hunter Moffatt that was caught in right field by Kevin Doherty. The inning ended when Smith was tagged out at the plate by Guilderland catcher Mike Goldstein on a throw by Ben Henderson.

Guilderland chipped away at the lead with two runs in the top half of the third inning.

Henderson led off the inning with a walk and moved to third on Colavito’s double. Doherty grounded out but Henderson was able to score.

Andrew Simpson then hit a deep fly ball that Colavito tagged up from third and scored on and made the score 6-3.

Guilderland added two more runs in the next inning to cut the lead to one run.

Goldstein led off the fourth inning with a single and Nick Stark walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. Bill Rafferty grounded out to the pitcher, Moffatt, but the runners advanced a base. After a strike out, Henderson singled to drive in Goldstein and Stark and make the score, 6-5.

Superb pitching by Drew Zannotta kept the Dutch in the game through the middle innings but he tired in the sixth inning. C.J. Sohl came in to pitch with runners on first and third with one out.

Sohl threw a 2-0 pitch to Rowland who blasted the ball over the left-field fence and onto the roof of Colonie High School for a three-run home run that padded the Garnet Raiders’ lead.
"It came down to one pitch at the end," LaValley said.

Guilderland took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Rafferty hit the first pitch of the game off the fence in centerfield for a double. He scored on a single by Colavito.

Colonie, though, would score twice in the bottom of the first inning to take the lead.

Zanotta pitched well for Guilderland in his five-and-one-third innings. He gave up four runs and pitched three scoreless innings — third, fourth, and fifth, which kept the Dutchmen in the contest.
"He battled," LaValley said of the senior. "I’m proud about everything in this baseball program. I wouldn’t trade these players with anybody."
"We played as good as I’ve seen," Rafferty, a senior said. "One inning killed us. We fought. Everyone was in the game the whole time. There’s not one person on the team I don’t respect."

"The program is building"

Hitting has been the key to success for the Dutchmen this season. And they blasted nine hits off Moffatt, Colonie’s ace. The Dutch also scored 14 runs to beat Christian Brothers Academy — and their ace pitcher, Greg Holle — in a first-round playoff game last Thursday. Nick Polsinelli got the win with an impressive performance holding the Brothers to just one run.
"Hitting and pitching have been big for us," Rafferty said. "I’ve never been on a team that hit as well as this year’s."

Rafferty is just one of six players on the 16-player roster. Zanotta, Moreland, Doherty, Stark, and Steve Blaauboer are the others.

Rafferty will be playing at Division I Fairfield University next spring. Moreland will play at Methodist College in Fayettville, N.C. Doherty will play at Hudson Valley Community College next spring.

Stark will be going to The College of Saint Rose and will probably play soccer. Zanotta will go to the Univeristy at Albany and will probably not play baseball, LaValley said of each player.

There will be 10 players returning who played some innings and some who will leave their mark on the program before they leave.
"We have a lot of young guys that are really good," Rafferty said. "They did their part on the team. The guys listen to Coach and that hasn’t happened in many years.
"The program is building," Rafferty added. "I’ll come back and watch them play next year. They’ll be such a good team. It can be fun."

Though the Dutch had one of their best seasons in recent memory — they finished the regular season with a 15-5 overall record — they were not pleased with the season.
"We were not satisfied," LaValley said after Saturday’s game. "We wanted to go to the next step. You just have to play defense in games like this."