Up till now, the Loudonville Christian baseball team has had an easy time of things.
The Eagles (3-0 league, 3-0 overall) have outscored their opponents 58-6 in their first three Central Hudson Valley League games including Monday’s 25-2 victory over Heatly.
But the road gets rougher this week, as Loudonville Christian is scheduled to meet CHVL nemesis Waterford Wednesday at Cook Park and travel to Germantown Friday.
It’s a big week for us, said Loudonville Christian coach Tim Phelps. `We haven’t played those teams yet, so that will be a really good test for us.`
The bottom third of Loudonville Christian’s offense has been particularly effective through the first week of the season. James Hilton, Brendan Bellatni and Andrew Rollis have been driving in runs in bunches, and Rollis has been so strong at the plate that Phelps moved him up to the No. 6 spot from the No. 7 spot he had been occupying.
`You kind of expect your top six hitters to do well, but it’s the bottom three guys who will win the game for you,` said Phelps.
The pitching has also been strong for Loudonville Christian, as Alex MaLossi and Dan Varna have tossed three-hit gems for the Eagles during their season-opening run.
`In our three games, we’ve only allowed three hits per game, and our main pitchers haven’t allowed any walks,` said Phelps. `Our defense has been pretty stout behind them, too.`
The pitching and the defense will have to remain strong for Loudonville Christian this week if the Eagles want to get by Waterford and Germantown ` two teams that have traditionally given them trouble.
`We tell the kids to win every inning,` said Phelps. `The reason why we’re having such high scores is because we are trying to win every inning offensively and defensively, and you have to do that against the good teams.`
In other baseball news, Colonie raised its record to 2-0 in the Suburban Council with a 3-1 victory over Shenendehowa Monday.
The Garnet Raiders (3-1 overall) scored three times in the bottom of the sixth inning to take the lead, and Chris Kalica got through the seventh inning to pick up the complete-game victory for the Garnet Raiders. Kalica finished with six strikeouts and allowed only one run on eight hits.
`There are going to be a lot of 3-1, 2-1 games because the pitching is there, but we’re young in certain parts of our offense,` said Colonie coach Kevin Halburian.
Colonie returns to action Wednesday when it plays Niskayuna. The Garnet Raiders host Columbia Friday before meeting defending state Class AA champion Massapequa Saturday.
`They always have a good team,` Halburian said of Massapequa. `It’s good to play quality [non-league teams].`
Shaker (2-0) is also undefeated in the Suburban Council following Monday’s 9-1 victory over Bethlehem in Delmar. The Blue Bison scored three runs in the top of the second inning and broke the game open with a four-run fifth inning.
Drew Lasky was a big part of Shaker’s offense. The senior first baseman singled twice and added a double as part of the Blue Bison’s 11-hit day.
Shaker is scheduled to host Guilderland Wednesday and Christian Brothers Academy Saturday.“