Sports Archives — The Altamont Enterprise, July 26, 2007
Straight back to the pool
By Tim Matteson
GUILDERLAND — Stephenie Bintz couldn’t wiggle her toes.
The recent Guilderland High School graduate and member of the Guilderville swim team was in great shape but couldn’t wiggle her toes while lying on an operating table, waiting for major back surgery. She could paddle her feet and did while being put under by the anesthesiologist, who asked her to wiggle her toes.
It was a tough time for Bintz. She was having rods put in her back to correct the scoliosis that has plagued her since the seventh grade.
"I’ve got two rods, hooks, and screws," Bintz said matter-of-factly. "I decided I was going to do it after sectionals this year."
Bintz, who has dedicated a lot of her life to swimming, went under the knife on Nov. 27, just a couple of weeks from the end of the season. She recovered enough to qualify for the Empire State Games and will swim in college at the State University of New York College at Cortland.
The scoliosis had her spine at a curvature of 47 degrees after her junior year and 49 degrees before the surgery. At 45 degrees, surgery is highly recommended.
"Scoliosis can be life-threatening," said Bintz’s mother, Michelle. "If it gets past 50 degrees, it can impact your cardio-pulmonary system if you don’t take of it."
The surgery repaired Bintz back by about 50 percent to 24 degrees.
"It was like a cobra, clinching her backbone," Michelle Bintz said. "It didn’t straighten out her back, but the surgery now made it so it can’t get worse."
The surgery, performed by Dr. Allen Carl, itself posed risks.
"She could have had paralysis it he nicked a nerve," Michelle Bintz said. "She could have become a quadriplegic. It was very, very life threatening. Her life was literally in his hands."
Carl, of the Bone and Joint Center on Washington Avenue, came highly recommended and has been a successful orthopedic surgeon, working on many athletes.
The Bintzes were pleased with how they were treated and with the results of the surgery. (See related story.)
One last swim
Bintz was determined to compete during her senior season. Last June, she was willing to put off the surgery and got permission from the doctor to hold off until November.
Surgery prevented Bintz from doing any activity for about six months and that was not an option.
"I’ve been swimming since I was in eighth grade and I was a captain," Bintz said. "I had to do it. So back in June, they measured me again, and the doctor said it wasn’t getting any worse. I wanted to swim and have a good time doing it."
Bintz easily qualified for sectionals and just missed going back to the state meet in the backstroke. She also missed going to the state meet in her junior year after qualifying for states in her sophomore year.
"I got to do everything that I wanted to do," Bintz said. "It was a fair trade. I got to go bowling and ski before I had the surgery."
For six months, Bintz was like a fish out of water. After the surgery, she spent a week in the hospital.
"I had problems with the medication they gave me," Bintz said. "People came to see me for a little while. A lot of friends supported me. There is one girl on the [Guilderville] team that will need to have surgery on her back. She came by with a gift and we talked."
As typical with her personality, she found a silver lining while lying in her hospital bed.
"I had to do it," she said. "It was good to get a break from swimming."
But it didn’t take long for Bintz to get the itch, not just to swim, but to do any activity.
"Three months into the recovery, I was getting bored here," she said. "I wanted to get back into the water. I knew it was going to be so much harder to get where I was before. I have been swimming for 11 years; it’s going to take a lot of work to get up to where I was."
And when she got back into the pool for the first time, it wasn’t the great experience Bintz thought it would be.
"I’ve lost everything," Bintz added. "Two months ago, It felt like I was swimming in sludge. It had never been that hard for me. I was not able to train like I wanted to."
Able to do some exercises during the six months and getting in the pool just a couple of months before, Bintz came back for her first competition at the Empire State Games trials.
That was in late June, and Bintz had some doubts about what she would be able to do.
"I was really nervous," she said. "At Empires, I knew that there were girls there I hadn’t seen before. Last year, I tried so hard to make it. I was really positive about it, but, at the same time, I was really careful. I said to myself, ‘If I make it then, yeah. If not, that is okay.
"I treated it like any other meet," Bintz added. "I just swam. It felt good to race again."
The Empire State Games start on Thursday, and Bintz will swim in the open women’s 200-meter and 100-meter backstroke races.
It was a huge accomplishment for Bintz, who admitted that it was her major goal in her recovery.
The other goal was to swim in college. She had a spot secured at Cortland before her surgery, and Cortland Coach Brian Tobin stood by her and by his commitment to her.
"He came to Empires last year and he has watched me swim for a little over a year," Bintz said. "I want to major in physical education and it’s a great school for that and people told me I should go there. He’s excited for me to swim. I just went to orientation there and I loved it."
She was worried about college swimming, though, when it came time to have surgery.
"I was apprehensive," Bintz said. "You don’t know if someone would recruit you, when you tell someone that you are having surgery and need to take six months off. And Coach Tobin told me to take my time and, if I don’t swim my first year, he still wants me on the team. He told me that I have a great personality and talent for it. That was a relief."
"She is an outstanding individual with a good head on her shoulders," Tobin said. "With an injury like that, you don’t know if she would be back in one year or four years. But she is a positive kid and she has a lot of ability. She seems to be getting better, and knock on wood, she continues to get better. She is a good person and this seemed like a great fit for her"
"She has the qualities to be successful," Tobin added. "In college and beyond. She will not just be a successful student-athlete, but she will be great at teaching, or if she decides to do something else, she’s going to be successful. She’s a real go-getter."
There was some stiffness in her back. But now the only time Bintz can feel the rods, she said, is when she is swimming.
"It’s something I need to get used to, the rods," Bintz said, adding jokingly, "I have some time to get used to them. I eventually will get used to it."
Living with a crooked backbone
"I never thought it was that bad," Bintz said. "Then, and this may sound silly, I was trying on prom dresses and it was hard to get the zipper up with my back. Then I realized that something had to be done. I thought surgery wouldn’t do anything. It did not seem worth it."
With her backbone curved to a 49 degree angle, something definitely needed to be done.
"I had to have it," Bintz said of surgery. "It’s worth it now."
Scoliosis is something she lives with now, and has played a major part in making her who she is. Some of the things she went through made her a stronger person.
"On my 15th birthday, my present was a big, ugly, plastic brace," Bintz said. "And when I went to a sleepover, I had to bring it with me."
In the self-conscious world of teenagers, that is a big deal.
"There wasn’t a time when I thought, ‘What did I do to deserve this"’" Bintz said. "I didn’t like the brace. I was embarrassed by it. With surgery, I could stop wearing the brace, and that didn’t hurt me."
When it was time to learn about the surgery, Bintz had a realization about scoliosis.
"I thought no one had it," she said. "But a lot of swimmers have it.
"Swimming is a blessing and a curse," Bintz added. "It’s a great exercise and work out. But it releases a certain hormone. I’ve been doing the sport forever, and it’s frustrating to know that the sport I love was the reason why my back got worse."
Though she downplays it, scoliosis could have been a big factor in why she slowed down in the pool.
"I never thought it affected me," Bintz said. "It might have had a part of why I couldn’t get as fast as I wanted to. In 10th grade, when I went to states, I was flying. But then the next year, I started slowing down. I was training the same, but my times weren’t getting better. It was frustrating."
A dedication to herself, her sport, and her teammates kept Bintz competing, even though she was dealing with more than the typical doldrums.
"You get so tired, you just want to take a nap after school," she said. "You just want the season to end. But this was my last year with Guilderville and I was going for surgery. I have never had anything this serious. I haven’t even broken a toe. I was so scared. But I had so much fun with the girls."
Helping out
With her surgery behind her, it is time for Bintz to move on. She received a lot of support from friends and other people who have been through the same thing.
Bintz wants to help out other young people who have problems with scoliosis. She feels it’s an overlooked affliction that can potentially be dangerous.
"I love talking to people about it," she said. "I talked to one girl that had the surgery and she had the same ups and downs. It was so helpful for me. It made me feel better. I hope to make them feel better."
Bintz was surprised that so many other people have scoliosis.
"When I was out in Cortland," Bintz said, "I talked to a girl in Ithaca, and I told her about the ups and downs. And that also made me feel a lot better. We just met over lunch."
Bintz has talked to a few people who have scoliosis and might need surgery in the future. It has given her an opportunity to help other people and also help herself.
Bintz is much stronger now. And not, as she joked, because she has two titanium rods in her back; but because she took a difficult challenge head on.
Plus, she still gets to do what she loves the most, by command of her doctor, to keep her muscles strong.
"The doctor told me, I have to swim for the rest of my life," Bintz said.
Doctor explains surgery
By Tim Matteson
The surgeon who straightened Stephenie Bint’s spine has no idea what causes scoliosis.
In fact, said Dr. Allen Carl of the Bone and Joint Center in Albany, no one knows for sure, though there are theories.
Carl performed corrective surgery on Bintz, a recent Guilderland High School graduate and former member of the Guilderville swim team.
Bintz had a 49-degree curvature of her spine at the time of the surgery.
"No one knows what causes scoliosis," Carl said. "There has been dialogue that it is hormonal or genetic. There is no answer"
"Present research is being done to see if there is a genetic predisposition. Work is being done to see if a gene locus causes it or if there is a hormonal cause and if people who grow quicker have it happen."
Carl said that, when the spine is past 45 degrees in curvature, surgery is needed. There are health risks with a spine that is severely curved.
"There can be heart and lung problems as well as back pain problems," Carl said.
The surgery that Carl performed on Bintz has its risks, because of nerves, but he does about 50 of those surgeries a year.
"It’s not that common," Carl said. "I’m the only person in the area that does it. There are only about 850 scoliosis surgeons around the country. I’m one of the few who specialize in that arena."
Carl has been doing corrective back surgeries for 20 years.
He puts rods into the spine to hold bones and to join them together.
"It’s essentially gluing them together," Carl said.
The goal of the surgery is to fix the curvature by 30 to 70 percent. The average, Carl said, is 50 percent, which they were able to correct on Bintz’s spine.
The surgery is also done to hold the spine in place, to keep it from getting worse than the degree it was corrected to.
Bintz had to rest for about six months after the surgery, which Carl said is normal.
"The typical time it takes the bone to heal is six months," he said. "We don’t want them to jostle around for six months."
Scoliosis is not common and males and females are equally affected, Carl said. He added that scoliosis tends to progress more severely in women.
No link has been found between constant activity and scoliosis, he said.
Most people have zero degrees of curvature in their spine, said Carl, but for those who are severely affected, surgery is needed and helps tremendously.
"It takes away any future curve," he said, "and corrects it to a certain degree."
Fast couple breaks the tape at Fox Creek
By Tim Matteson
BERNE — A beautiful day in Berne turned into a beautiful day for a young couple.
The 9th Annual Fox Creek 5K Roadrace was held on Saturday morning under sunny skies. Taking advantage of the weather were runners Ryan Pezzulo and Megan Reynolds.
The couple of 18-year-olds took home first-place awards and will get to share them with each other. They are boyfriend and girlfriend.
Pezzulo of Ballston Spa won the race in a time of 16:09. Reynolds of Burnt Hills was the top female finisher with a time of 20:49. She finished 19th overall.
Reynolds is the granddaughter of Berne Town Clerk Pat Favreau, according to race director Jim Hamilton.
Kris Geist, 20, of East Berne finished second in a time of 16:34. Anthony Giuliano, 28, of Albany was third in 16:39.
Nancy Briskie, 50, of Schenectady, was the second woman finisher. She came in 22nd overall with a time of 21:04.
Sarah Furman, 19, of West Berne finished 24th overall in 21:18 to be the third female finisher.
Runners from all over the area competed and 109 finished the race. There was a change to the course this year that was well liked, Hamilton said.
Age-group winners
Courtney Tedeschi, 12, of Westerlo was the top runner in the 1-to-12-age group. Abby Swint, 12, of Berne was second and Alex Luciano, 11, of Berne was third.
Ryan Albright, 10, of Berne was the top male runner in the age group. Justin Burdick, 7, of Castleton was next.
Kate Reynolds, 15, of Voorheesville was the winner of the 13-to-15 age group. Kara Patrick, 14, of East Greenbush was next and Tori Villeneuve, 13, of East Berne was third.
Sean Pezzulo, 15, of Ballston Spa was the top male in that age group. Connor Devine, 13, of Knox was second and Robbie Briskie, 15, of Schenectady, was third.
Ryan Pezzulo won the 16-to-19 age group. Geist was second, Macky Lloyd, 17, of Voorheesville was third, and Jared Finke, 17, of Knox was fourth.
Reynolds won the female category, with Furman coming in second.
Carrie Kniskern, 26, of Cobleskill was first in the 20-to-29 age group. Lori Roy, 20, of Schoharie was second and Staci Ebel, 22, of Berne was third.
Giuliano won the male age category. Dan Lacitignola, 22, of Leeds was second.
Julianne Scanlon, 30, of Schoharie was first in the 30-to-39 age group. Karen McCarthy was second and Michele Zirilli was third.
Ben Greenberg, 38, of Voorheesville won the men’s 30-to-39 age group. Sean Madden, 33, of Albany was second and Bill Tindale, 34, of Altamont was third.
Josie Bates, 48, of Delanson, won the 40-to-49 age group. Janinie, 45, of Gilboa was second and Donna Charlebois, 49, of East Berne was third.
Ed Drebitko, 45, of Schenectady won the male 40-to-49 age group. Robert Smith, 40, of Round Top was second and James O’Shea, 48, of East Berne was third.
Patti Dietrich, 50, of Greenville was first in the 50-to-59 age group. Maggie Pangman, 50, of Berne was second and Vicky Bastian, 51, of Voorheesville was third.
Rick Munson, 50, of Prattsville won the men’s 50-to-59 age group. James Jacobs, 50, of Berne was second and David Roy, 52, of Schoharie was third.
Joanne Ives, 61, of Troy won the 60-to-69 age group. Wilma Warner, 68, of East Berne was second.
Tom Adams, 62, of Rotterdam was first in the men’s 60-to-69 age group. Frank Klose, 64, of Castleton, was second and Kenneth Connolly, 68, of Voorheesville was third.
Regina Tumidajewicz, 80, of Amsterdam finished first in the 70-and-over category.
George Freeman, 75, of Cobleskill was the top male in the 70-and-over age group. Richard Eckhardt, 73, of Albany was next and Ken Orner, 77, of Albany was third.
Local athletes on the way to Westchester County for games
By Tim Matteson
The Hugh L. Carey Empire State Games are here and athletes from the area are ready to compete.
Many local athletes will compete in the Olympic-style competition as representatives of the Adirondack Region. They will be up against athletes from different parts of the state, representing Long Island, New York City, Western, Central, and Hudson Valley.
Athletes will compete in scholastic and open (college-age or older) divisions.
This year, the games will be held in various venues scattered throughout Westchester County, just north of New York City.
The games began in 1978 under then-Governor Carey, for whom the games were named a couple of years ago. The first year of competition was held at Syracuse University.
Here is a list of athletes from our local towns who are scheduled to compete.
Archery
John McCullen, of Altamont, open men’s all-around.
Athletics
Gered Burns, of Altamont, open men’s 800-meter run; Scott Hannay, of Westerlo, open men’s javelin; Dan Olson, of Voorheesville, open men’s high jump; Maxwell Desieno, of Voorheesville, coach for open men’s hammer; Sarah Hannay, of Westerlo, open women’s javelin; Janine Tessarzik, of Altamont, open women’s discus, shot put, hammer; Jonathan Aziz, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s 1,500-meter run; Greg Hannay, of Westerlo, scholastic men’s javelin; and Briana DelBene, of Altamont, scholastic women’s discus.
Basketball
Greg Podgorski, of Guilderland, open men’s.
Baseball
Jake Colavito, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s; Nick Ranalli, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s; Andrew Simpson, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s; and C.J. Sohl, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s.
Boxing
Claire O’Connell, of Altamont, open women’s.
Canoe/kayaking
Jesse Chartier, of Voorheesville, canoe pair 500 meters, pair 200 meters, single 200 meters; Jesse Darrone, of Berne, canoe pair 500 meters, pair 200 meters, single 200 meters; William Dergosits, of Rotterdam, kayak pair 200 meters, pair 500 meters, quad 200 meters, kayak single 500 meters; Maclin Norray, of Berne, kayak single 200 meters, pair 200 meters, pair 500 meters, quad 200 meters; Larry Staubach, of Altamont, kayak pair 500 meters, pair 200 meters, and single 500 meters; Chad Staubach, of Altamont, canoe single 500 meters, pair 200 meters, pair 500 meters; Justin Staubach, of Albany, canoe pair 500 meters, pair 200 meters, single 500 meters; Timothy Norray, of Berne, coach open men’s; Becky Dergosits, of Rotterdam, kayak single 500 meters, pair 500 meters, pair 200 meters; and Kristen Norray, of Berne, kayak single 200 meters, pair 200 meters, pair 500 meters, kayak quad 500 meters.
Cycling
Chuck Quackenbush, of Slingerlands, open men’s all-around; Andy Ruiz, of Voorheesville, open men’s all-around; and Beth Miller, of Voorheesville, open women’s all-around.
Diving
Kristie Russell, of Feura Bush, scholastic women’s three-meter and synchronized.
Fencing
Hope Konecny, of South Westerlo, coach open women’s; Brian Cucinelli, of Slingerlands, scholastic men’s; Alexander Siy, of Feura Bush, scholastic men’s.
Gymnastics
Steve Swider, of Altamont, open men’s all-around; Dana Goodknight, of Altamont, open women’s all-around; Connie Kung, of Slingerlands, open women’s all-around; Kara Goodknight, of Altamont, scholastic women’s all-around; and Brenda Goodknight, of Altamont, scholastic women’s coach.
Lacrosse
Aaron Cahill, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s team; Rory Nunamacher, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s team; Christopher Stillman, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s team; Amanda Best, of Guilderland, scholastic women’s team; Lauren Cagino, of Slingerlands, scholastic women’s team; Bridget Daley, of Guilderland, scholastic women’s team; Abbey Fashouer, of Guilderland, scholastic women’s team; Chelsey Newman, of Guilderland, scholastic women’s team; and Danielle Tetreault, of Guilderland, scholastic women’s team.
Softball
Amber Maisonet, of Slingerlands, open women’s team; Alison Meacham, of Guilderland, open women’s team; and Cyrilla Suker, of Voorheesville, open women’s team.
Shooting
Thomas Stark, of Voorheesville, open men’s skeet; and Robert Tigue, of East Berne, open men’s trap.
Soccer
Jenn Mihok, of Guilderland, open women’s team; Frank Campagnano, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s team; Tony Campagnano, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s team; and Nicolas Santos, of Albany, scholastic men’s team.
Swimming
Nathan Foley, of Slingerlands, open men’s 200-meter freestyle, 800-meter freestyle, 400-meter freestyle; Stephenie Bintz, of Altamont, open women’s 200-meter breaststroke, 100-meter backstroke; Reynalyn Canchela, of Guilderland, scholastic women’s 200-meter freestyle, 100-meter butterfly, 100-meter freestyle; Erin Dewey, of Guilderland, scholastic women’s 200-meter individual medley, 200-meter breaststroke, 100-meter backstroke; Brittney Ginsburg, of Slingerlands, scholastic women’s 100-meter butterfly, 200-meter individual medley, and 200-meter butterfly; and Jared Fish, of Albany, scholastic men’s 100-meter breaststroke, 200-meter breaststroke.
Tennis
Joey Milstein, of Slingerlands, men’s scholastic team.
Volleyball
Arielle Smith, of Voorheesville, scholastic women’s team.
Weightlifting
Brian Domermuth, of Westerlo, open men’s mid-heavyweight.
Wrestling
Mike Cubillos, of Guilderland, open men’s Greco-Roman 167-pound weight class; Don Favro, of Rensselaer, open men’s Greco-Roman 187 pounds; Roger Sawyer, of Guilderland, open men’s Greco-Roman 187 pounds; Matt Cubillos, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s 123-pound freestyle and Greco-Roman; Keith Domermuth, of Westerlo, scholastic men’s 275-pound freestyle and Greco-Roman; and Josh Sawyer, of Guilderland, scholastic men’s 178-pound Greco-Roman.
GBR 13’s advance to semifinals at states
GUILDERLAND — Pool play for the Eastern New York State Babe Ruth Tournament for 13-year-olds is over and Guilderland Babe Ruth is in good shape.
The Guilderland team finished 2-1 in pool play and advanced to the semifinals against Saugerties. The game was played on Tuesday night in Beacon (Dutchess County) with the championship game on Wednesday. Guilderland is the number-two seed.
Guilderland began the tournament on Friday with a 10-0 win over neighbor Rotterdam.
Dylan Collett was given the start and only needed five innings to complete the win.
Defense helped Guilderland’s cause as third baseman Matt Sand made numerous putouts. Second baseman Matt Breton caught a hot line drive and tough ground ball. John Evans, in centerfield, got a jump on a sinking line drive and Anthony Scaccia at first base made the catch of the game in foul territory with a diving backhand stab.
Offensively, catcher Ryan Ghizzoni led the team with two singles and drove in three runs. Shortstop Tim O’Connor hit a two-run double in the fifth inning; left fielder Jake Nussbaum had a timely single for two RBI’s and outfielders John Evans and Brett McNeil teamed up to each bring in runs.
Clobbering Kingston
Game two against Kingston, was put on the arm of O’Connor, who took the ball and threw a masterful complete game on Saturday night.
Guilderland won the game, 6-2.
O’Connor was supported well by his defense. The first inning was highlighted by catcher Ryan Ghizzoni throwing a runner out who was trying to steal third to end the inning.
In the second, Matt Bretton and Matt Sand took care of tough ground balls on the infield at second and third base respectively.
In the fourth inning, the outfield displayed its range as center fielder Dylan Collett and left fielder John Evans teamed up to take all three outs.
Guilderland began to swing the bats when shortstop Tyler Hynes doubled, followed by a double from Scaccia for the first RBI.
Things opened up offensively for the Guilderland boys in the fifth as Jake Nussbaum and Ghizzoni both drew walks and Matt Sand singled. O’Connor helped his own cause with a three-run double to left centerfield.
Hynes singled for the fourth RBI of the inning to bring in O’Connor.
Defense again held its ground in the sixth, as Hynes and Scaccia took care of all three outs.
Matt Sand added the final run with a double to have Ghizzoni cross the plate after a walk and two steals.
Jake Nussbaum saved two runs in the seventh for Guilderland with a diving block on a hard-hit ball to second for the first out.
A strikeout and a comebacker to the mound completed the game for the Guilderland boys and put them in the driver’s seat to reach the crossover portion of the tournament.
Beaten by Burnt Hills
Game three of the state tournament weekend pitted Guilderland against Burnt Hills.
Ryan Ghizzoni reached base all five times at bat, including four walks and a single for an RBI in the second.
He also made two big defensive plays in the fifth inning — one on a tough foul pop up and the other on a Burnt Hills’ suicide squeeze.
Ghizzoni made a body block on a low inside pitch, bare-handed the ball, and tagged the runner for the much needed out.
Every time Guilderland crept back into the game, Burnt Hills would get a timely hit to just stay ahead. Guilderland also had to use more pitching than it was accustomed to as Hynes started, was relieved by Collett after three innings and six runs, and finished the game with Matt Bretton.
Bretton had a gutsy at-bat in the second to draw a walk, and was brought in by Ghizzoni’s second walk of the day.
Guilderland crawled its way back into the game in the fourth when Collett singled and stole second, Ghizzoni and Sand each singled for an RBI, and cleanup hitter Brett McNeil doubled in two runs to make the score, 7-5.
Scrappy Jake Nussbaum, in the fifth inning, crossed the plate after beating out an infield hit, then proceeded to steal all the bases for Guilderland’s sixth run.
Phillip Rotella helped keep the game tight with solid plays in left field, but it wasn’t enough for Guilderland to topple Burnt Hills.
The 9-6 loss didn’t hurt Guilderland much, as it had already qualified for the semifinal with its 2-1 record.
Babe Ruth 15’s kings of their pool
By Tim Matteson
GUILDERLAND — The Guilderland Babe Ruth All-Star 15-year-olds showed some mettle by swinging the metal during pool play at the Eastern New York State Tournament in Clifton Park last weekend.
Guilderland swept the three games it had to play against in its pool to earn the top seed for the semifinals that were played on Tuesday. The championship game was scheduled for Wednesday.
Guilderland swung the bats to come from behind to beat Beacon, 7-1, on Friday. Guilderland then beat Saugerties, 5-4, and finally beat Saratoga in dramatic fashion, 7-6.
The GBR team had clinched its spot in the semifinals after winnings its first two games. So Sunday night’s game against Saratoga was almost meaningless, and Head Coach John Roth substituted freely throughout that night’s game.
Guilderland held a 2-0 lead through the first five innings but Saratoga came back.
Saratoga took advantage of some shaky Guilderland pitching to score six runs in the sixth inning and lead, 6-2, heading into the final inning.
But Guilderland did not quit, scoring five runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the win.
Kyle LaValley drove in the tying run with an RBI single and then scored on Charlie Bouchard’s RBI single to win the game for Guilderland.
The inning started when Zach Caplan drew a walk. Luke Stark also walked to put runners on first and second with one out.
Matt Roth followed with a walk to load the bases, and Steve Anderson then grounded out to first base to drive in Caplan from third.
With the score 6-3, Tommy Sabbag came up with a big hit, a two-run double, that cut the lead to one, 6-5.
LaValley then singled to drive in Sabbag to tie up the game, setting up Bouchard’s heroics.
Sabbag scored in the second inning and LaValley in the third inning to give Guilderland its early 2-0 lead.
On Saturday, Guilderland led Saugerties, 5-1, in the sixth inning and was able to hang on for a 5-4 win.
Beating Beacon
In Friday’s game, Guilderland fell behind, 1-0, in the first inning, but stayed close behind the strong pitching of Joe Berschwinger and solid defensive play.
GBR tied the game, 1-1, in the third inning. Sabbag scored on an RBI by Berschwinger.
Guilderland took the lead in the sixth inning, scoring five runs in the frame, all with two outs.
Chris Heller led off the inning with a walk followed by a walk by Nick Blow.
Stark then doubled to drive in the two runs.
Matt Roth walked to put runners on first and second base — then each moved up a base on a wild pitch — for Anderson.
Anderson ripped a pitch to center field that the Beacon center fielder made a diving play for but couldn’t make the catch.
Anderson ended up with a triple and two RBI’s.
Anderson scored when Sabbag reached base on an error.
Guilderland tacked on one more run in the seventh inning.
Berschwinger scored after leading off the inning with a single. Caplan drove him in with a single.
Berschwinger gave up just one run in seven innings. He gave up only four hits in the contest.
Guilderland had a day off Monday before playing for a spot in the Mid-Atlantic Tournament in State College, Penn. Aug. 2 to 7.