The
PGCBL playoffs are in full swing, and the intensity builds with every
game. On Saturday evening the Elmira Pioneers defeated the Watertown
Rams to advance to the PGCBL finals. On the eastern side of New York,
the Albany Dutchmen and Amsterdam Mohawks are in a battle to the end.
The
Mohawks and Dutchmen have split the first two games of their series.
In the opening game, Amsterdam took a 4-2 victory on the strength of
an impressive start from left-hander Matt Snyder (2016, Fulton
Montgomery CC), who went 6 2/3 innings and allowed just one run on
five hits. Last night, the Dutchmen not only knotted up the series,
but snapped the Mohawks 12-game unbeaten* streak. The two clubs went
back and forth, and the game went into extra innings. In the bottom
of the 10th, when All-Star outfielder Anthony Marks (2016,
Coastal Carolina) hit a walk-off single to give the Dutchmen a 9-8
victory.
*Amsterdam
tied the Cooperstown Hawkeyes in a suspended game on July 31.
Amsterdam
and Albany are approximately 40 minutes apart, and the attendance in
this series has been outstanding. With the action being so intense,
it’s easy to see why. Tonight, the two clubs play another do-or-die
game.
Amsterdam
Head Coach Keith Griffin is optimistic about his club’s chances
tonight, especially with starting pitcher Trey Wingenter (2016,
Auburn) on the mound.
“I feel good handing him the ball tonight,
and we have a rested bullpen,” Griffin said. Griffin knows how
talented the Albany club is, but feels very confident in his team’s
ability to take care of business and wrap up the series.
The
Elmira squad appears to be locked in as well. By sweeping their
series against Watertown, the Pioneers have earned themselves an
extra day off. There will be no action on Monday, so Elmira will have
two full days of rest entering the championship series. After losing
six games in a row to close the season, the Pioneers have been locked
in since the playoffs begin on Thursday. In the one-game elimination
opening round, they defeated the Newark Pilots by a score of 5-0,
then took a 7-6 win over the Rams on Friday before finishing the
series off with a 7-4 win on Saturday.