One swing of Alex MaLossi’s bat led to a historic day for the Loudonville Christian baseball team.
MaLossi’s fourth-inning grand slam highlighted a six-run rally that helped the Eagles defeat Germantown 13-3 in Wednesday’s Section II Class D championship game at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy.
It’s the first Sectional title in any boys team sport for the small private school at the Loudonville Community Church. The school’s girls volleyball team has won two Sectional titles.
It was a huge win for us, said MaLossi. `I’ve been to the Sectional finals in soccer and lost, and I’ve been to the Sectional finals in basketball and lost.`
For a while, it looked like Loudonville Christian’s first appearance in the baseball finals would end in frustration. Though the Eagles scored runs in two of the first three innings, they also left runners in scoring position — a fact that nearly came back to haunt them when Germantown took a 3-2 lead in the top of the third inning on a hit and two Loudonville Christian errors.
MaLossi ended any frustration Loudonville Christian may have felt when he came up to bat with the bases loaded and nobody out in the bottom of the fourth. He launched the ball over the right-center field fence to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 6-3 lead.
`I stepped in the [batter’s] box and said, ‘Lord God, let me get a hit,’` said MaLossi. `The pitch was low and inside, which is in the wheelhouse for a left-handed hitter like me.`
Once MaLossi hit his grand slam, everything else fell into place for Loudonville Christian. The Eagles scored two more runs in the bottom of the fourth and then tacked on three runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth to put the game and the Class D title out of Germantown’s reach.
`It was a game changer, [and] it was a momentum changer,` said Loudonville Christian coach Tim Phelps. `The game was over at that point.`
MaLossi finished with seven RBI and three hits to lead Loudonville Christian’s offense, and he pitched six strong innings allowing three runs on six hits. Luke Barton contributed three doubles and two RBI, while David Lewicki and Brian Walsh each added a pair of hits. Lewicki scored four runs, and Walsh drove in two runs.
The Eagles advance to Monday’s regional in Potsdam against the Section X champion, and MaLossi said he hopes the playoff run doesn’t end there.
`Our goal all year has been to win the state title, and I definitely think we can do it,` said MaLossi.“
