GUILDERLAND — Last week, the Guilderland Babe Ruth 13-and-under team clinched a spot in the state tournament in the championship round of the districts.

Guilderland beat East Greenbush, 16-0, in the semifinal game.

Micheal Valletta and Tyler Hynes combined for a one-hit shutout from the mound. Anthony Scaccia, Matt Breton, Brett McNeil, and Jake Nussbaum each had multiple hits and supplied more than enough offense.

Zach Sicard at second, John Evans in left, Dylan Collett, in center, and Scaccia at first made play after play to aid in the win.

Guilderland’s defense has been the stingiest of all teams throughout the tournament as it only allowed a total of three runs in four games.

The win gave Guilderland the right to compete in this weekends’s state tournament to be held in Beacon. Guilderland goes into the weekend as the number-two seed in the district.

Guilderland lost in the final to Bethlehem, 9-8, on July 12.

Guilderland scored an ample number of runs for its normally tight defense thanks to the bats of catcher Ryan Ghizzoni, who went three-for-five; shortstop Tim O’Connor, who also went three-for-five with two doubles; and third baseman Matt Sand, who went four-for-five with four RBI’s.

The 13’s defense struggled in the contest.

The state tournament begins on Friday in the Dutchess County town of Beacon.

All-Star season

The Guilderland Babe Ruth 13’s began the All-Star season by competing in the Central Area Babe Ruth Tournament held July 5 through 7 in East Greenbush.

Pool play began on Friday night as Guilderland beat Schenectady, 4-0.

Tyler Hynes pitched a two-hit complete game shutout with battery mate Ryan Ghizzoni behind the plate.

Guilderland scored all the runs it needed in the bottom of the first when singles by Ghizzoni, Tim O’Connor, Brett McNeil, and Zach Sicard created three runs. The fourth run came in the fifth inning, when Matt Breton singled in Hynes from third base.

But defense kept coming up big for Guilderland as the fielders made play after play.

Anthony Scaccia at first base helped his infield with several heads-up plays, and outfielders John Evans and Michael Valetta took care of the fly balls to the deep part of the field.

On Saturday, Guilderland was matched against a tough Bethlehem team and prevailed, 2-1.

Left-hander Dylan Collett pitched a complete game gem for Guilderland.

Bethlehem had a potent offense but timely defensive plays halted any scoring threats. Zach Sicard and Matt Breton shared duties at second base, taking care of numerous infield shots, while outfielders Jake Nussbaum, Brett McNeil, and John Evans got the ball in quickly to prevent extra base hits and potential scoring opportunities by Bethlehem.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, Matt Sand crossed the plate on a sacrifice hit by Anthony Scaccia.

The game remained tied until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Ryan Ghizzoni and third baseman Matt Sand walked, to put the go-ahead run in scoring position. Shortstop Tim O’Connor came to the plate and belted a line-drive single into left field, scoring Ghizzoni, which gave Guilderland its second win of the tournament.

Colonie was Guilderland’s third opponent for the weekend and once again, Guilderland came out on top, 3-2.

Tim O’Connor was given the ball and threw Guilderland’s third complete game in three days. O’Connor kept Colonie’s hitters off balance the entire game.

All three runs for Guilderland came in the top of the third when leadoff man, Ryan Ghizzoni singled, as did Matt Sand. O’Connor aided his own cause with a two run single deep to left field.

Shortstop Tyler Hynes notched the third run off a fielder’s choice.

Once again, Guilderland’s defense was solid.

In the fourth, Hynes threw a runner out at home while containing a run down at second. Brett McNeil caught two tough third outs in right field to thwart a Colonie scoring threat.

Catcher Ryan Ghizzoni saved a run by grabbing a high inside pitch and dove back to the plate for the hard tag off a failed suicide squeeze.

Matt Breton at second base turned a Colonie hit and run into a double play in the bottom of the seventh, and center fielder Dylan Collett displayed his range by making two incredible catches. One ended the fifth inning, and the second was for the final out of the game with runners on second and third.