Three Saratoga County baseball teams had huge wins as the Suburban Council season wound down last week.
Shenendehowa moved into first place in the Blue Division with a 15-1 victory over Shaker Monday in Latham a move that was made possible last Friday when Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake stunned the Blue Bison 4-2 for its first league win of the season. Meanwhile, Ballston Spa remained in the hunt for a Section II playoff berth with victories over Shen, Guilderland and Averill Park.
Shen (8-3 league, 13-4 overall) scored three runs in the top of the first inning and never looked back in moving past Shaker (7-4, 11-5) for the division lead. Pitcher Jon Shippee threw six shutout innings, and Travis Belleard had two hits including a two-run single.
Shen wouldn’t have been able to gain sole possession of first place in the division if not for BH-BL’s efforts against Shaker last Friday. The Spartans (1-10, 3-14) scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning, and pitching ace David Fischer slammed the door on Shaker with 1.1 innings of scoreless relief.
BH-BL’s victory over Shaker, combined with Shen’s 11-5 victory over Averill Park Friday, created a first-place tie in the Blue Division. Shaker had built a one-game lead on the Plainsmen after beating Guilderland 5-2 last Wednesday while Ballston Spa edged Shen 2-1.
The win against Shen sparked something in Ballston Spa (4-7, 7-11) because the Scotties turned around and edged defending Sectional champion Guilderland 7-6 Friday. Chris Schaefer had three hits, drove in a pair of runs and scored twice, and Jordan Kaplan added an RBI double to lead Ballston Spa to the come-from-behind win.
Momentum remained on the Scotties’ side Monday as they shut out Averill Park 5-0. Pitcher Jim Tino allowed only three hits to pick up the complete-game victory and helped his own cause with a double, while Schaefer added a double and a single.
Ballston Spa tried to carry its momentum through Wednesday’s game against Colonie. Any loss in the Scotties’ last three Suburban Council games will end their hopes of a .500 record and a Sectional berth.
One team that doesn’t have to worry about missing the playoffs is Saratoga Central Catholic. The defending class B champions continued their march through the Western Athletic Conference Tuesday with a 10-5 victory over Northville.
Shane Matthews ripped three hits including a home run for the Saints (11-4, 16-4), who scored five runs in the bottom of the first inning. Bear Aldrich added a triple.
Saratoga Catholic hosts Schoharie Thursday.`