After a steady rain all day Thursday pushed back a battle between first place Glens Falls (9-3) and second place Watertown (8-7), a mid-afternoon rain-shower soaked East Field just as the Golden Eagles prepared for batting practice against the Saratoga Phillies forced Darin Williams, team owner, to cancel the team’s second straight home game.

The Phillies have had the Golden Eagles number this season, defeating them twice at home. Saratoga lost all 10 games against Glens Falls in 2008.

Today, the Golden Eagles travel to Little Falls for a 7 p.m. game against the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs, who sit four games back of first place in the East Division after picking up their first win over the Watertown Wizards this season.

All three games these two teams, Mohawk Valley and Glens Falls, have played against each other this season have ended by 7-4 score in favor of the first place Golden Eagles.

On Wednesday, Nathan Forer (Southern Illinois) continued his impressive 2009 pitching campaign, shutting out the Diamond Dawgs for six innings, and Jamie Storey (Houston Baptist) notched his first save of the season with two strikeouts in the ninth.

Both of this week’s rainouts have already been rescheduled.

On Father’s Day, June 21, the Golden Eagles host the Phillies for a double-dip, with the first game starting at 1 p.m. and the second roughly 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first. Gates open at 11:30 a.m. and the team will be accepting donations for the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) of Upstate New York, in addition to giving away a pair of New York Yankees tickets.

The Pet Food Drive, sponsored by the Golden Eagles organization, takes place during both games and all proceeds go to The SPCA of Upstate NY’s Pet Food Pantry. Glens Falls fans who bring a Can of Pet Food to the game will receive $1 off one admission. Any Eagle fan who brings in a five-pound bag of Pet Food will receive one free admission.

Spend all day with your father and buy him a hot dog and a soda. Cheer on the Golden Eagles as they look to beat to the Phillies and avenge their two previous home defeats.

Sunday is also the First Annual “DOGS ON THE DIAMOND” NIGHT.” Free Admission will be given to any dad who is accompanied by his dog. All dogs must be well behaved, on leash and under control by an adult at all times.  Any dog not on a leash will not be admitted.

The SPCA of Upstate NY, located at 588 Queensbury Ave. Queensbury NY and is the largest NO-Kill shelte north of New York City, will have pets on hand and available for adoption.

Monday, which is usually an off day for the Golden Eagles, will be the make-up day for Thursday’s rainout against the Wizards. Glens Falls and Watertown split their season series this year, with both teams winning at home. The first 250 fans into East Field will receive a free pair of Golden Eagles Thunderstix. Be sure to arrive early as the gates open at 5:30 p.m.

Next week, Glens Falls heads on the road for four of their next seven games. June 25, the Golden Eagles next home game against Watertown, is free ice night. All fans in attendance will receive a free ice cream, courtesy of Stewarts, Glens Falls also plays the Albany Dutchmen, a team they’ve defeated twice this season, on Sunday, June 28.

The first place Glens Falls Golden Eagles (8-3) go back on the road tonight looking to for their third straight win over the last place Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs (3-5).

The Diamond Dawgs, riding a two-game winning steak, hope to continue their good fortune and finally win one over Glens Falls. After defeating the Watertown Wizards 8-4 on  Tuesday and the Amsterdam Mohawks 11-3 on Monday, this will be the Diamond Dawgs first home game since beating the Wizards back on June 11.

In four games at Shuttleworth Park this season, the Diamond Dawgs have just one win, while the Golden Eagles have lost just one game away from East Field this season.

Last week, after handing the Diamond Dawgs their fourth straight loss, the Golden Eagles ventured out West and lost a 9-8 extra-inning nail-bitter to the second place Wizards, which is Glens Falls’ only road loss this season.

Glens Falls scored 14 runs against the Diamond Dawgs in the teams’  two previous games this season, winning both game 7-4.

Freshman center fielder and lead-off hitter Steve Zavala (Rutgers) doubled home sophomore infielder Nate Valdez (Central Arizona) en-route to a four-run, six-hit ninth inning and a Golden Eagles victory.

Zavala led all hitters with two hits and two runs scored. Valdez added a run-scoring double in the ninth that scored freshman catcher Conner Gandossy (Saint Louis) and finished with one walk and one run scored.

As a team this season, the Golden Eagles have drawn 38 walks, compared to their opponents who have drawn 37.

In the teams’ second game at East Field on June 11, the Golden Eagles scored all seven runs in the first four innings.

RBI singles from Rodarrick Jones (New Orleans) and Sean Lamont (Georgetown) scored Anthony Giansanti (Siena) and Jones respectively in the first inning.

Giansanti then homered, the teams’ first at East Field this season, in the second inning for two more RBI and upped the Glens Falls lead to 5-0.

Giansanti, just days after being drafted in the 49th round from the Oakland Athletics, blasted out three hits, scored two runs and knocked in three RBI against the Diamond Dawgs.

Jones, Lamont, and Gandossy each added one RBI, with Gandossy scoring two runs and doubling in the second inning.

Sophomore starter Jerry A’Hearn picked up his first victory against the Diamond Dawgs, tossing five quality innings, allowing one run, one walk and striking out five.

In the first game against the Diamond Dawgs, Chase Richard (Southern), who picked up his second win against Albany on Tuesday, relived Andrew Brown (Akron) for five innings, allowing one earned run and striking out four.

Glens Falls plays Mohawk Valley again the next two Saturdays, and doesn’t host them at East Field until the final day of June for Break the Attendance night. In July, the Golden Eagles host the Diamond Dawgs twice, on July 10 for Rally Cap Night sponsored by WCKM Radio and July 24, returning back to Shuttleworth Park on Sunday July 26.

by Eric Rushia

After notching their fourth straight win of the 2009 season, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles hopped on bus at around 10 a.m. this morning for the four-hour scenic route up to Watertown for a 7 p.m. game against the third place Wizards at Alex T. Duffy Baseball Field.

On the season, Glens Falls has been a perfect 4-0 away from East Field while Watertown has been a perfect 4-0 at home this season. One of these two teams’ streaks will end tonight, and Golden Eagles Head Coach John Mayotte is not one to tinkering the batting order or even the starting lineup.

“When you’re on a four-game winning streak, you don’t want to over-coach and over-manage,” Mayotte said. “Our guys aren’t at their best yet, but this early in the season I’ve been happy with our pitching and where our guys are in the batting order.”

The Golden Eagles, who defeated the Wizards 12-7 in the second home game of the season back on June 6, can put a three-game cushion between them and Watertown with a win.

Last season, the No. 1 seed Glens Falls Golden Eagles opened the 2008 playoffs with a two-game sweep over the No. 4 seed Watertown on their way to a second straight birth in the NYCBL Championship birth.

In game two of that two-game set with Watertown, current Glens Falls 2009 players, sophomore pitcher Jamie Storey (MIdland College) and junior outfielder Anthony Giansanti (Siena) each played pivotal roles in shoring up the series win. Both players pitched entered the game from the bullpen, combining for four innings, two earned runs and a pair of strikeouts.

Storey will likely not be making an appearance tonight as he pitched four relief innings against the Diamond Dawgs last night, allowing one earned run and striking out four in the three and two-thirds innings. Giansanti, on the other hand, serves Coach Mayotte’s team as primarily and offensive weapon this season. Smashing both his and the teams’ first homerun of the season in last night’s game.

During the 40-game regular season last year, the Golden Eagles defeated the Wizards six out of eight games the two teams’ played, losing one game each at Watertown and at home.

“Long bus rides are just part of being a professional baseball player.” Mayotte said. “The challenge for the players during the summer is to prepare mentally, emotionally, and physically for each and every game.”

Freshmen righty Tony Dischler (Louisiana Monroe) starts his second game of the season tonight. In his last start, against Saratoga, Dischler lasted six innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out seven in the no-decision.

Glen Falls closes out week two of the 2009 NYCBL summer wood-bat baseball season on Sunday against the Albany Dutchmen at Bleecker Stadium. In their game of the season, the Golden Eagles defeated the Dutchmen 3-1 in extra innings. Albany’s win-loss record stands at 2-3 this season and they host the Amsterdam Mohawks tonight.

by Eric Rushia

Winning in front of the home crowds at East Field this season seems to have been a chore thus far for the 2009 Glens Falls Golden Eagles.

With just one win in three games at home this season, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles still sit in first place with a 5-2 win-loss record. Despite the 12-run and 19-hit outburst fans witnessed against the Wizards back on June 6, Glens Falls has managed six hits and three runs in the other two games. Though their pitching has been superb, allowing 19 hits in three home games.

“Once the kids start to relax a little bit more, and just getting a chance to play everyday is a big factor,” Golden Eagles Head Coach John Mayotte said. “We had a chance to do some extra hitting and drill work.  I think the preparation has been a little better and the kids are starting to get in a routine.”

Last night they avenged one of their two previous home losses, blanking the Saratoga Phillies on the road 6-0, behind an outstanding pitching performance from senior starting pitcher Nathan Forer (Southern Illinois). Forer tossed 90 pitches last night, exiting the game in the ninth after working his way of a one-out, bases-loaded jam in the eighth.

“We’re going to try to stick with what we’ve done so far this season,” Mayotte said. “We might adjust or adapt as these kids get stronger and they can throw more pitches.”

Tonight Glens Falls returns home to host the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs, a team they beat 7-4 on Wednesday up in Little Falls. The Diamond Dawgs finally picked up their first win of the 2009 summer, scoring four runs to the Watertown Wizards’ two and handing the Wizards their second loss in three games.

Junior righty pitcher Jerry A’Hearn (Central Arizona) starts tonight for the Golden Eagles. Pitching has been a strong point for the Golden Eagles over the years, especially with third-year pitching coach, Brett Merritt (New Mexico Military Institute) and first-year assistant pitch coach Jon McLain (Troy State) working with both the starters and relievers in the bullpen.

“As far a regular rotation, we’ve got a lot of great pitchers,” Mayotte said. “We’ll try to get them the ball and the number of innings they need to progress over the summer.”

Following Friday’s game against the Diamond Dawgs, the Golden Eagles go on the road for two weekend games against Watertown and Albany respectively. Glens Falls is off Monday, and the Golden Eagles return home for three games next week. Tuesday, they play Albany at 10:30 a.m., and Watertown and Saratoga travel to East Field Thursday, June 18 and Friday, June 19.

by Eric Rushia

Heading into tonight’s game against the Saratoga Phillies, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles look to continue their undefeated three-game winning streak on the road this season. The Glens Falls Golden Eagles, whose only two losses this season have been at the hands of the Saratoga Phillies, start junior righty Nathan Forer (Southern Illinois). In his last appearance, against the Watertown Wizards, Forer came in as a reliever for freshmen southpaw Daniel Watts (Jacksonville State).

Forer, on his birthday, picked up the win. Pitching five innings, allowing one earned run, striking out three, walking one, and surrendering just three hits, Forer entered the game with a seven-run lead.

With Glens Falls now back to the top of the rotation, Golden Eagles Head Coach John Mayotte expects to start stretching out the number of innings for his starters and have fewer guys starting so he’s got some decisions to make in that regard.

Both games against their Phillies this season have been pitchers’ duals.

First, in the Golden Eagles 2009 home opener, sophomore pitcher Ricky Ott (University of New Orleans) lasted six innings, allowing two earned runs and striking out four Phillies in the 4-1 loss. In the two teams’ second matchup last Sunday, the Golden Eagles dropped another close game, this time 3-2 behind six innings from freshmen righty Tony Dischler (U.L.M)

The game-winning run came around to score on a controversial balk call in the seven inning, which junior righty Kellen Candau (Southern Illinois) contests. Candau figures to try that same move again should he find himself with runners at the corners.

“We got some real good pitchers, but we’re afraid of pitch counts right now,  Mayotte said. “Some of these guys haven’t pitched in a few weeks so we got to be careful. We’re going to try to cut them off at 75 pitches and stick with 5-4 type matchups.”

In 2008, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles were 14-5 on the road, defeating the Phillies five times and outscoring them 22-8 away from East Field. This weekend Glens Falls goes on the road for games against Watertown and Albany on Saturday and Sunday. The next time Glens Falls travels to Saratoga will be June 23, but they play them at home next Friday (June 19) and Sunday, June 21.

Remember all Sunday home games start at 4 p.m., with the June 21 game on Father’s Day being Dogs on the Diamond Night.

by Eric Rushia

The second week of the NYCBL kicks off on Monday with three scheduled games, including a doubleheader between the second place 3-1 Watertown Wizards and the third place 2-2 Saratoga Phillies, in addition to an exhibition game between the Geneva Red Wings and the Elmira Pioneers.

Having played both the Phillies and the Wizards already this season, losing two pitching duels to Saratoga and defeating the Wizards with their biggest offensive output of the immature season, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles find themselves tied with the Phillies for third place in the NYCBL East Division.

Official league games start for the West Division on Tuesday when the Pioneers travel to Webster for a showdown with the Yankees and the Brockport Riverbats go on the road to play the Allegany County Nitros.

The Golden Eagles next play the Amsterdam Mohawks at Shuttleworth Park on Tuesday, June 9. Last season, the Mohawks finished second in the East Division behind the Golden Eagles and currently sit in first place with a perfect 3-0 win-loss record. Glens Falls handed Watertown their first lost of the season on Saturday night, erupting for 19 hits in a 12-7 win over the Wizards.

The last time the Golden Eagles played Amsterdam away from East Field, in the 2008 playoffs, they lost 5-2 in game two of the conference championships. Behind the right arm of sophomore Jamie Storey (Midland College) the Golden Eagles trailed 3-0 after the first and never quite recovered. Game two; however, was a different story as the Golden Eagles hung on to a 6-5 win over the Mohawks and tied the playoff series at one game a piece. Sophomore reliever/outfielder Anthony Giansanti (Siena) picked up his second save of the 2008 postseason, both in the Amsterdam series, striking out three in one and two-thirds innings in the deciding game.

Both Giansanti and Storey return to the 2009 Glens Falls Golden Eagles roster. Expect Storey to make his first appearance on Tuesday in a start against the Mohawks and the everyday player Giansanti to spend time roaming the outfield.

Down the stretch and in the 2008 playoffs Giansanti proved virtually un-hittable, allowing zero runs in over seven innings, saving three games, striking out nine batters, and holding opponents batting average to .087. Of the 23 hitters he faced during the playoffs, two knocked base hits and none walked. During the 2008 season, Giansanti appeared in eight and two-thirds innings, allowed one earned run and one walk in six games. With an ERA just above one, Giansanti struck out 12 hitters and notched one save.

As a batter in the box, Giansanti managed five runs scored, five stolen bases, and 12 hits in 56 at-bats. He played in the second fewest games, starting in the outfield for 13 of his 18 games.

Despite impressive regular season stats, Storey struggled slightly in the post season. He allowed nearly one hit per inning to push his ERA to the high six’s. Opposing hitters batted .217 against Storey during the season, and in the playoffs, opposing hitters batted .243. Storey finished with a 0-1 record in the playoffs, which includes a seven-inning start in game two against the Mohawks, in more than nine total innings-pitched with eight strikeouts and three walks
In his four starts during the regular season, Storey led the NYCBL with three complete games and ranked second on the team with a 1.47 ERA, five wins, seven earned runs. In 43 innings-pitched during the season, Storey struck out 39 hitters, and walked 19.

As a sophomore for the Midland College Chaps, Storey posted a 2-2 record in five games started in 2009. Totalling 40 strikeouts in 27.1 innings, Storey led the Chaps with 13 strikeouts per nine innings. Siena junior pitcher/outfielder/third basemen Giansanti has emerged as a productive offensive weapon for the Saints this season, leading them in several offensive categories, including slugging percentage, homeruns, doubles, triples, and stolen bases—just to name a few.

Following their three-game road trip, with games Wednesday against the Little Falls Miners and Thursday against Saratoga, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles return to host the Miners on Friday, June 12 for Boy Scouts Day and $1 Hot Dog Night.

by Eric Rushia

Tonight marks the Glens Falls Golden Eagles first road game of the 2009 summer season as they head south to play the Albany Dutchmen in the inaugural game at Bleecker Stadium.

Both teams currently hold a 0-1 record heading into the game tonight.

Glens Falls won five of the team’s seven matchups against Albany (formally the Bennington Bombers) last season; however, they lost their last 2008 game against them 10-7

The 6′0″ junior southpaw Chase Richard (Southern) will toe the rubber tonight for the Golden Eagles.

Up until April 1 for the Jaguars in the 2009 season, Richard started six games, posting a 3-1 win-loss record, allowing 12 earned runs, seven walks, and 19 strikeouts in over 35 innings-pitched.

Richard’s best game of the 2009 season came against the LSU when he held the Tigers scoreless through the games’ first five innings, earning a no-decision.

Remember Golden Eagles fans, if you can’t make it down to Albany for tonight’s game, tune into Teamline for an exclusive live free Internet broadcast of tonight’s game. Simply visit http://www.glensfallsgoldeneagles.com and click the link on the right side of the homepage.

by Eric Rushia

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