The Albany Dutchmen’s season ended Sunday, but not before they made some franchise history.
The Dutchmen made the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League playoffs for the first time and gave defending champion Amsterdam everything it could handle before losing to the Mohawks 9-4 in Sunday’s deciding Game 3 of the East Division finals at Shuttleworth Park.
Albany (28-24) survived three elimination games prior to Sunday’s loss, each time winning in extra innings. The Dutchmen defeated Glens Falls 6-5 in 16 innings last Wednesday to earn the third and final playoff berth in the East Division. Then, they edged Mohawk Valley 4-3 in 11 innings during Thursday’s play-in game to reach the division finals.
Amsterdam took the first game of the best-of-three series 4-2 before Albany posted a 9-8 10-inning victory over the Mohawks Saturday at Bellizzi Field to force a third game.
“This week has been wild,” said Albany coach Nick Davey. “This team said they love free baseball.”
Saturday’s game between Albany and Amsterdam featured five lead changes before Anthony Marks drove in Justin Brock with the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning.
“I know as soon as we go into extra innings, the guys are up for it,” said Marks.
Amsterdam took a 2-0 lead on Dylan Smith’s two-run homer to center field in the top of the first inning, but Albany’s Luke Nethaway responded with a three-run blast to left-center field in the bottom of the second to put the Dutchmen ahead 3-2.
“This (stadium) is a graveyard,” said Nethaway, a Fonda-Fultonville graduate who plays college ball for The College of Saint Rose. “To hit it out is pretty cool.”
Albany tacked on a run in the bottom of the third inning before Amsterdam used four consecutive hits in the top of the fourth to take a 5-4 lead. An RBI infield single by Marks and a fielder’s choice by Bradley Noland in the bottom of the fourth put the Dutchmen ahead 6-5.
The seesaw battle continued in the fifth inning. A bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly by Smith moved Amsterdam back into the lead at 7-6, but it was short lived as Brock – a recent addition from Franklin Pierce College – drove in Chris Suseck with a two-out single to tie the score at 7-7.
Smith, who finished with three hits and four RBI, put the Mohawks ahead 8-7 with an RBI double in the top of the seventh inning. Nethaway came through once more for the Dutchmen with a one-out RBI double in the bottom of the eighth inning to knot the score at 8-8.
Albany reliever Thomas Belcher and Amsterdam reliever Chris Kalica each got through the ninth inning without allowing a run. Belcher ran into trouble in the top of the 10th inning when a pair of singles put runners on the corners, but he got out of it by forcing Brian Ruby into grounding out to the shortstop.
The Dutchmen loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the 10th against Jeremy Soule, Amsterdam’s sixth pitcher of the night. Pinch hitter Brian Ruhm hit into a force out at home for the second out of the inning, but Marks came through with a chopper over third base to drive Brock in with the winning run.
“It’s what he does,” said Davey. “The kid probably has 30 hits that haven’t gone out of the infield.”
“I was trying to hit something hard, and I happened to chop it,” said Marks.
Albany carried the momentum back to Amsterdam for Sunday’s Game 3. Tyler Orris drove in Marks with an RBI single in the top of the first inning to give the Dutchmen a 1-0 lead.
Smith and Ed Charlton each drove in runs in the bottom of the first to put Amsterdam ahead 2-1, and Jordan Ebert added an RBI single in the second inning to extend the lead to two runs. But, Matt Dacey belted a three-run homer in the top of the third inning to give Albany a 4-3 advantage.
Jordan Sansone’s two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning moved the Mohawks ahead again, and they added four runs in the seventh inning to seal the Dutchmen’s fate.
Despite falling short of reaching the PGCBL championship series, Davey said Albany’s first playoff appearance will help the team in recruiting for next year.
“We’ve gotten better every year, and a playoff push can only help us,” said Davey.