By NATE DISCAVAGE
LITTLE FALLS, N.Y.- After the completion of a suspended game earlier in the day, the Albany Dutchmen officially clinched the second seed in the Eastern Division with the Mohawk Valley Diamond Dawgs finishing third. That made the final game of the regular season nothing more than a formality—something the players on both sides quickly noticed. Albany won the game 10-4; however, neither team seemed to completely have its head in the game.
Monday’s finale featured four defensive miscues, eight runners thrown out trying to take an extra base and batters trying to hit from the opposite side of the plate for the first time. The highest level of intensity fans saw in the game was during the games between innings—featuring match-ups between Albany and Mohawk Valley players in wheelbarrow races, sprints around the bases and water balloon tosses.
The Dutchmen put the game out of reach early in the top of the second. After two early defensive missteps by the Diamond Dawgs, Albany tallied eight unearned runs. The offensive onslaught was highlighted by Griffen Herrera’s (Azusa Pacific) grand slam and a two-run home run by Chase Allen (Limestone).
Tom Moore (Saint Rose) hit his first home run of the season for Mohawk Valley in the bottom of the third inning to put his team on the board, but it was too-little, too-late. He finished the day 2-for-3.
Colin Kaucher (Ohio Dominican) drilled a line drive past a diving Austin Pollack (Hofstra) in right field for an inside-the-park home run in the top of the eighth inning to give the Dutchmen their 10th run of the game.
Adam Elliot (Louisville) finished the game going 4-for-5 for Albany with a home run and double.
Mohawk Valley was lead by Tim Zeng (Fairfield) offensively, who went 3-for-4 with a run scored.
Diamond Dawgs coach Blake Nation was aware that both teams were taking the foot off the gas pedal going into the final game.
“In a 50-game season where you are basically playing every day, it’s good to have fun—especially before the biggest game of the year,” Nation said. “These guys will definitely be locked in tomorrow.”
The two teams will face each other in the opening round of the Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League Playoffs Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. The winner of Albany (33-16) and Mohawk Valley (29-18) will play the winner of Saugerties (20-28) and Amsterdam (36-12) in the Eastern Division Finals.
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