Hope remains alive in western Rotterdam for a Colonial Council title.
The Schalmont baseball team closed the gap between it and first-place Lansingburgh to two games in the loss column with Monday’s 7-3 victory over Cohoes and the Knights’ 8-6 loss to Albany Academy.
We’re playing very well right now, said Schalmont coach Bob Anderson. `The pitching has been good, the defense has been good all year long and we’ve been hitting the ball hard.`
The Sabres (7-3 league, 10-5 overall) entered Monday’s action in a second-place tie with Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk, three games behind Lansingburgh (8-1, 12-1) in the loss column. But thanks to Jake Shaw’s two-hit, three-RBI performance, Albany Academy (4-6) helped Schalmont out by beating Lansingburgh.
Schalmont took care of its business against Cohoes thanks to Joe Amorosi. Not only did Amorosi earn a complete-game victory by scattering six hits over seven innings, he also helped his own cause with four singles and an RBI.
Leadoff hitter Kyle McKelvey doubled and scored two runs, and Anthony Costanzo added a two-run double for the Sabres.
It looked like Schalmont’s chances of overtaking Lansing-burgh took a major hit after a loss to Watervliet last Wednesday, but the Sabres bounced back with an 8-5 victory over Albany Academy last Friday. McKelvey singled three times and drove in two runs, while Vinnie Gallo added a double and a single.
`That hasn’t been an issue for us all year,` said Anderson of his team’s ability to bounce back from a loss. `The kids have been focused. As soon as we finish a game, we focus on the next game.`
McKelvey and Amorosi have been two of Schalmont’s biggest bats this season. McKelvey is among the Colonial Council leaders in several statistical categories including batting average, doubles, home runs and runs batted in, while Amorosi is batting around .500.
`I think he’s one of the best players in the area right now,` Anderson said of McKelvey. `Every offensive category, he’s right in the top five except for triples.`
Schalmont will need continued production from McKelvey, Amorosi and the rest of its offense over the remainder of this week. After playing Voorheesville Wednesday, the Sabres meet Duanesburg in a non-league game Thursday before traveling to Lansingburgh Friday for a game that could decide the Colonial Council title.
In other baseball action Monday, Niskayuna moved back over the .500 mark in the Suburban Council with a 9-8 victory over Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake.
The Spartans took an 8-7 lead in the top of the ninth inning, but the Silver Warriors (5-4, 8-4) responded on Jake Syed’s two-run single in the bottom of the ninth.
`This is the first tight game where we’ve scored enough runs to win,` said Niskayuna coach John Furey. `That’s what we’ve got to do to turn the corner this year. We’ve got to start winning the close ones.`
Pete Furey drove in four runs with four hits for Niskayuna, including a pair of doubles. Shawn Callahan and Nick Valletta each contributed a pair of hits to the Silver Warriors’ 13-hit attack.
The win kept Niskayuna in a tie with Shaker for third place in the Suburban Council North Division. Saratoga Springs leads the way with a 7-3 record, followed by Shenendehowa in second place with a 6-3 mark.
`There’s a lot of teams that are tightly packed,` said coach Furey. `It’s hard to figure out who’s going to win on any given day.`
Elsewhere Monday, Mohona-sen (2-7, 5-8) fell to Columbia 10-1, Scotia-Glenville (2-7, 3-10) lost to Glens Falls 11-3 in a Foothills Council game and Saratoga Catholic shut out Schenectady Christian 5-0 in a WAC contest.“