Albany Loses 2 of 3 to Corltand in Season Opener
DUTCHMAN FIELD- The Albany Club baseball team took the field on Saturday afternoon with high hopes of a great season. With many new additions, and key returning players, the team is ambitious to make a 2011-2012 playoff run.
One of the key returning players is Pitcher Johnny Wong. The ace of the team, Wong threw 10.1 innings surrendering three runs on nine hits in Albany’s 4-3 victory over Cortland. Wong struck out eleven as his 0.89 ERA is atop the NCBA. “Johnny is the type of kid that you want on the mound not matter what the situation is. Whether it is the start of the series and you want to start it off right or the last game and you need someone to close it out. He’s a fighter and he finds a way to win. For example in the first outing he couldn’t get his curve ball over and he had a blister on his middle finger but that didn’t even come close to stopping him he simply kicked into another gear and continued to battle. I wish we had 10 more players like him” said Assistant coach Mike Zachar, who caught all three of Albany’s games over the weekend. Mike Zachar was impressive both behind the dish and at the plate. He finished the weekend with a .444 average driving in 3 runs. “You could see the exhaustion on his face. This kid is a workhorse. After catching 11 innings he wanted to be in there for game two. You can’t tell Zachar what to do. If he wants to play and says he can, then we listen. He’s a gritty player and wants to be in there at all times” says Assistant Coach Jimmy Wisniewski.
The team also received production from many new comers. Second basemen Mark Mula led the team with 5 runs batted in over the weekend, including a game winning fielder’s-choice that sealed Albany’s 11th inning comeback victory. The performance of Freshman Guillermo Dilone was also pivotal in Albany’s victory. “It seemed like ‘G’ was in the middle of everything. If we needed a guy on, he found a way to get on. If we needed a guy in scoring position, he stole a base, and if we needed a big catch he would find a way to get the ball” Albany Head Coach Adam Lowenthal raved. Dilone finished the series with a team best in batting average (.667) and on-base percentage (.778).
While the team fell short in Games 2 and 3 losing 23-0 in Game 2, and 18-16 in Game 3, the Albany Club team remains optimistic for the season. The team showed fight all weekend, with rallies sparked by a two-run homerun from Outfielder Ryan Scanlan in Game 3, and a 10th inning infield RBI single by First Baseman Joe D’Angelo in Game 1. Scanlan, who is coming off a wrist injury, continued where he left off last season playing well defensively and making a strong appearance on the mound. “I’m really just extremely proud of my players and how they didn’t just give up after facing two 10 run deficits on Sunday.” –Adam Lowenthal.
This week Albany will prepare to take on the Syracuse Orange in a three game series starting October 15th in Syracuse.
10/10/2011