Let The Games Begin!
With the season starting tonight at 7 p.m. at East Field, let’s take look at the upcoming team matchups for the defending 2008 East Division Champions—The Glens Falls Golden Eagles.
Glens Falls opens the 2009 summer season at home against the Saratoga Phillies, a team they didn’t lose to once last season. Beating the Phillies in all 10 games and outscoring them 32-10 in total runs, the Phillies finished 2008 with the worst record in the NYCBL, as Glens Falls finished first in the East Division. The Golden Eagles also dominated at East Field last season, winning 16-of-19 games. The Phillies lost 8-of-13 games on the road.
Glens Falls hosts Saratoga at East Field on June 4
Despite the Phillies struggles last season when they lost 17-of-21 in July and closed out the 2008 regular season on a six-game skid, Saratoga finished the 2007 season with the second most wins (25) in franchise history. That same year, the Golden Eagles tied the NYCBL record for most regular season wins in a single season with 34.
The Phillies did, however, hand the 2007 Glens Falls team their one lone road defeat in 20 games. When the two eventually played in the 2007 postseason, the Golden Eagles dropped the first of two divisional games in East Field but eventually rebounded to win the next two and celebrate on the Phillies home ballpark.
With six losses in 42 scheduled games, the 2007 Golden Eagles’ .850 winning percentage eclipses the 2005 Hornell Dodgers’ record mark of 34 wins and and 13 defeats. Still, players play to win games and the 2005 Dodgers won the title, while the Golden Eagles were swept by the Elmira Pioneers in the championship finale.
Returning to the team from last year’s 10-loss team, southpaw hurler Jamie Storey (Midland College) and the dual-threat outfielder/pitcher Anthony Gianzanti (Montville CT) will both be counted on to ensure the starting pitching and bullpen relief remain the best in the entire league.
Last season, like 2007, the Golden Eagles led the league in five key pitching categories that usually translates into success on the diamond. With a 2.90 ERA, eight shutouts, seven complete games, 111 earned runs, and an opponents’ batting average stagnant at .218, bullpen coach Dan Kelley (Troy State) and pitching coach Brett Merritt (N.M. Military Institute), who are both entering their third seasons with the team, will be looking for both Giansanti and Storey to assume more a leadership role on the young, emerging pitching staff.
by Eric Rushia