GUILDERLAND — It had been a long time since the Dutchmen baseball team had sailed into these waters. And the adventure almost kept going.

The Flying Dutchmen nine won the school’s first baseball sectional title in 30 years with a 5-2 win over Troy at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy and made it to the state regional. The Dutchmen were a couple of plays from the state semifinal, but lost a heartbreaker to Proctor High School of Utica, 6-5, at DeLutis Field in Rome.

If sophomore Steve Anderson’s hard-hit ground ball was a few inches further away from the Proctor shortstop, the Dutch’s amazing comeback attempt would have continued.

But baseball is a ruthless game. After teasing the Guilderland squad with an inning filled with runs and hard hits, probably the hardest is nothing more than a groundout.
"We fought to the end," said a dejected Ben Henderson after playing his last game as a Dutchman. "I’m proud of these guys. We battled to the end."
"I felt we had a chance," said Guilderland Coach Doug LaValley. "I never felt we were out of the game. We had lightning in a bottle and we were just looking to strike."

After not only getting shut out for four innings but also no-hit, the Dutch bats finally came alive in the fifth inning. Guilderland scratched for one run in the frame and got two more in the sixth and two more in the seventh before Proctor escaped with the win.
"We just needed a hit"

Proctor held a 4-0 lead after four innings before junior pinch-hitter Josh Lochner broke up A.J. Bates’s no-hit bid with a double to center field. Nick Ranalli then singled to drive in Lochner and put the Dutchmen on the scoreboard.

However, Proctor struck back for two runs in the bottom of the fifth. Clean-up hitter Mike Mason blasted a two-run home run to give the Raiders two very big insurance runs.

Guilderland scored two runs in the top half of the sixth inning.

Henderson led off the inning with a double and pinch runner Ivan Plata moved to third base on a wild pitch. Plata scored easily on Andrew Simpson’s double to left field that looked like it was going to clear the tall fence but hit off it instead.

Anderson then doubled to right field to drive in Simpson.

Senior pitcher Greg Barcomb relieved starter C.J. Sohl and had an impressive inning on the mound with two strikeouts and a fly ball.

With one out in the top half of the seventh inning, Mike Goldstein doubled to left field and reached third on Nick Polsinelli’s single. After a pop out by Henderson, junior Jake Colavito singled on a hard hit ball that bounced over the shortstop, Rafael Cordero, and into shallow left field. Goldstein scored on the hit to make the score, 6-4.

Simpson then singled to left field, which brought Polsinelli home.

Next stepped up Anderson. He ripped a two ball-two strike pitch right at Cordero who fielded the ball on a hop and made the short throw to second base, forcing out Simpson at second to end the ball game.
"We started hitting in the last three innings," Henderson said. "I wish we were hitting in the first three innings. I always get that feeling that we’re going to win. Steve has been great for us all year. We just needed to get a hit here or a hit there."

Making history

If Tuesday’s loss was disappointing, Friday night’s win was equally as joyous.

The Dutchmen took the field as the top team in Section II and left it with the hardware they’ve wanted all year.

But it didn’t come without any obstacles. Colavito, the team’s number-four hitter was injured before the game when he was hit in the eye with the ball during warm-ups. He was taken to the hospital. He did return during the sixth inning, but did not get into the game.

Simpson moved up a slot in the line-up and took over the clean-up hitter’s role. His three-run home run gave the Dutchmen the lead in the third inning and ace pitcher Polsinelli didn’t let Troy get back into the game.
"We knew we had to score to win," Polsinelli said after Friday’s game. "Scoring two runs on us is nothing. We can score a lot of runs. I kept thinking that to myself. It’s exciting what happened."

Polsinelli had been bothered by a sore elbow and struggled in the team’s quarterfinal game on May 26. But the Suburban Council’s best player was sharp on Friday.
"The Suburban Council Player of the Year does what he is supposed to do," LaValley said on Friday. "We’re sectional champs for the first time in 30 years We got it done. Nick came up big time."

Troy took the lead, 1-0, in the first inning and led, 2-0, after the top half of the third inning. Troy had upset three teams to reach the final and did it without its coach, Jack Brady, who was with his son in the hospital. His son was severely burned in a camping accident before the sectionals began.
"It’s a great story, playing for their coach," LaValley said. "That says a lot about what they think of him. But I told my guys, ‘You worked hard and you should play for yourselves.’"

Goldstein led off the bottom of the third inning with a walk but was forced out at second base on a ground ball hit by Polsinelli. Henderson then singled and Simpson followed and smoked a home run that easily cleared the left field fence and gave the Dutch a 3-1 lead.
"He picked a big time to hit his first homer of the year," LaValley said. "He moved up a spot when Jake got hurt. He likes the clean-up spot."

Anderson walked and scored an RBI double by Jimmy Sabbag.

Guilderland added a run in the sixth inning. Sabbag scored after walking and later scored on Goldstein’s RBI single.

Polsinelli was amazing on the mound. He struck out 13 Troy hitters and gave up just five hits, walking two batters and hitting another.
"When we scored that first run, that was a big thing," LaValley said. "I knew that would give Nick more confidence. He’s a gamer."
"This feels unbelievable," Polsinelli said. "This is the best feeling in my life. The school hadn’t done this in 30 years.
"This was the biggest game of my life," he added. "Before the game today, I went into the gym and saw the banner hanging that said 1977. And I said to myself, ‘We are going to get a championship tonight.’"

Season’s end

Some of the players will be moving on to college careers. Henderson will play at Division I Jacksonville University in Florida. Polsinelli will pitch for The College of Saint Rose, a Division II school. Barcomb, who was tough on the mound, will play Division III football at the State University of New York College at Cortland.

A number of the underclassmen are also college prospects.

This season ended sooner than anyone on the Guilderland team wanted, but it does not take away what they accomplished.
"Our main goal was winning Section II," Henderson said. "I’m going to miss playing with these guys. It was a lot of fun.
"It was a great feeling the whole year," he added. "We worked hard and we got it done on the field. We were one pitch away from the state finals. Everyone played hard and stuck together as a team. And that is the way Guilderland baseball should be."