Despite a noble effort down the stretch, the Saugerties Stallions saw their 2018 season end just shy of the playoffs. With a 24-24 record, the Stallions finished in the middle of the East Division, six games behind the Amsterdam Mohawks.
Saugerties finished the season with a 9-3 loss at Watertown this Tuesday, July 31. The Rapids struck early, scoring four runs in the home half of the first against Stallions starter Anthony Germinerio. Watertown broke the game wide open with five more runs over the fourth and fifth against reliever Dalton Senger. Senger gave up five hits and six walks in an inning and two-thirds of work.
The Stallions outhit Watertown 10-9, but they couldn’t get the runs across the plate. Herman Alvarado (two singles), James Gargano (double) and Cam Coakley (double) all contributed offensively.
Saugerties fared better in their home finale one night earlier, blanking Amsterdam 4-0 before an announced crowd of 3121 at Cantine Field. Though the Mohawks compiled eight hits in the game, the Stallions’ stingy defense didn’t allow a single base runner across the plate.
The Stallions first run came in the bottom of the third when right fielder Noah Searcy scored on an overthrown ball by Amsterdam catcher Joe Genord. In the sixth, Searcy, Nick Pastore and Gargano all singled to open the inning, and all would come home. Brian Picone’s RBI single helped seal the deal.
Kingston High alum Avery Short scattered seven hits and gave two free passes while striking out five over seven innings in his first start on the mound for Saugerties. Hinkle allowed one hit over two innings of relief to preserve the win.
The previous Saturday, July 28, Saugerties hosted the Glens Falls Dragons, winning 13-5 in a wild affair. The home team came out strong in the first, with Gargano’s single and Jordan Kozicky’s double turning into runs thanks to a triple by Brian Picone. In the second, Easton Bertrand completed the shared cycle, smashing a home run over the left field wall. Kozicky drove in a pair of runs with a double, scoring himself on a sacrifice fly by Picone. After two innings, the Stallions led 6-0.
The Dragons spoiled the shutout in the third, with Zach Fritz singling and eventually scoring on a wild pitch. But Saugerties pushed ahead in the home half of the inning with RBI singles by Bertrand, Alvarado, Gargano and Kozicky, giving the fans the comfort of a 10-1 lead.
Glens Falls inched their way back into the game, scoring four runs between the fourth and seventh innings, punctuated by an RBI double by Matt Hamel in the latter. But that was as close as the visitors would get. Saugerties tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth on back-to-back doubles by Kozicky and Cameron Comer.
Stallions starter Noah Stone went five innings for the win, giving up six hits, four walks, and two earned runs while striking out five. Joel Bartoni pitched four innings of relief.
Saugerties had hit the road against the Oneonta Outlaws on July 27, winning 4-2 after falling into an early hole. The home team did all its offensive damage in the first inning, with Logan Thomason and Steve Minter recording RBI singles against Stallions hurler Dillon Good. Good settled down after the first, striking out six in five innings of work.
The Stallions spread their four runs out over the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to earn the win, with Carlos Pino (RBI double), Nick Pastore (RBI single), and Derek Ripp (single, run) pitching in.
If there was a single game upon which the Stallions’ playoff fate rested, it was a 6-5 home loss to the Albany Dutchmen on July 26. Saugerties took a 2-1 lead in the fifth inning when Picone came home on a Danny Martin single, and Ripp scoring on a deep fly out by Coakley.
After Albany regained the lead in the seventh, Saugerties mounted a wild comeback in the home half of the ninth, with Picone coming home on a based loaded groundout by Coakley. Alvarado brought the Stallions to within a single run, scoring on a passed ball. But that was the end of the line, and indirectly the end of the season. Though there were still games to be played, including a thrilling home finale before a huge crowd, the playoffs were by then just about out of reach.
The Saugerties Stallions will be back in 2019 for another season in the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League.
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