That rumbling being heard throughout Section II is the sound of the big green Schalmont baseball bashing machine.
The Sabres have been on a tear since coming back to defeat Mechanicville 6-5 last Thursday. Beginning with a 13-run first inning against Voorheesville, Schalmont has scored 91 runs in its last four games predictably all wins.
It’s a total that even has Schalmont coach Bob Anderson shaking his head in amazement.
Maybe it’s the warm weather,` he said. `Their bats warmed up with the weather.`
If there is a driver to this machine, it’s Kyle McKelvey. Entering Tuesday’s Colonial Council game against Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, the veteran shortstop has hit safely in his last 12 at-bats, including a 6-for-6 performance during the Sabres’ 17-7 victory over Albany Academy Monday.
`McKelvey has been doing it all year,` said Anderson. `His batting average is over .700.`
Others have been stepping up for Schalmont as well. Ken Kessler had two doubles, five singles and five RBI during Saturday’s Bruce Bouck Memorial Tournament in Rotterdam ` which Schalmont won by scores of 16-7 over Bishop Gibbons and 22-7 over Scotia-Glenville. Adam Livingston had a two-game stretch where he drove in five runs, including a game-winning two-run single against Mechanicville, and J.P. Sportman knocked in five runs in Schalmont’s victory over Bishop Gibbons.
`Kessler started a little slowly, but he’s really been going good lately,` said Anderson. `Adam Livingston is another one who started slow, but has turned it on as of late.`
Though it would appear that Schalmont’s scoring spree will continue, Anderson knows his team will have to rely on its pitching and defense at some point.
`We preach pitching and defense,` he said. `We know we have to play good defensively in order to win.`
For now, the big green Schalmont baseball bashing machine shows no signs of breaking down.
Nisky pulls out win
The Niskayuna baseball team hasn’t been scoring runs at nearly the same rate as Schalmont, but the Silver Warriors have been winning all the same.
Niskayuna pulled ahead with two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and held on for a 5-4 Suburban Council victory over Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Friday. Three days later, the Silver Warriors jumped out to a 3-0 lead on their way to a 7-2 victory over Saratoga.
The top half of Niskayuna’s lineup led the way against Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. Leadoff hitter Matt Kelly had two doubles, while Aaron Sapp and Adrian Mitchell each added two-run singles.
`They did a really good job,` said Niskayuna coach John Furey of his first five batters, who combined for five of the team’s seven hits against the Spartans.
Sapp’s two-run single gave the Silver Warriors a 2-0 lead in the first inning, but Burnt Hills came back with two runs in the top of the third. David Filak was hit by a Mitchell pitch, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on Jordan Pennings’ single. Pennings moved to third on a Niskayuna error and scored on a groundout to tie the game.
The Spartans took the lead in the top of the fourth inning. Ed Shively led off with an infield single, stole second and went to third on another Niskayuna error. Steve Childs then launched a sacrifice fly ` the only ball hit out of the infield ` to drive Shively in for a 3-2 lead.
Mitchell shifted the momentum back to Niskayuna in the bottom of the fourth with a one-out single that drove in Kelly and Chris Okonski. Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake had a chance to regain the lead in the top of the sixth after loading the bases on Sapp, who had just relieved Mitchell. But Sapp struck out the next three batters he faced to get out of the game with the Silver Warriors’ 4-3 lead intact.
`Those two guys, ice runs through their veins,` Furey said of Sapp and Mitchell. `They did a really good job of focusing on the hitters.`
Mitchell added an insurance run with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the sixth inning. Shively pulled Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake within a run with a one-out RBI single in the top of the seventh, but Sapp got the final two outs for the save.
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