SARATOGA
TODAY
SPORTS
Week of June 1 - June 7, 2012
31
Saratoga Central Catholic Bows Out in Semifinals The Saints’ bid for a fourth-straight Section II Class B championship ends with loss to Catskill at Bleecker Stadium. by Andrew Marshall Saratoga TODAY SARATOGA SPRINGS – The Saratoga Central Catholic Saints’ three-year run as the Section II Class B champions came to an end May 26, dropping their semifinal contest with the Catskill Cats by a score of 4-3 at Bleecker Stadium. Spa Catholic’s starting pitcher Casey Cohan went the distance, pitching all seven innings and surrendering four runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out four and walking only one batter. Sean Hart did the majority of the Saints’ offensive damage, with a two-run double in the bottom of the fourth, but the Saints would never hold a lead on the afternoon thanks to a four-run third inning for Catskill. The two teams played a relatively quiet first two innings before Catskill’s outburst. The Cats’ Kyle Lyles would get things started with a bloop single. The next batter, Hans Schmidt, would attempt to
bunt the runner over, but ended up reaching first safely on third baseman Tyler Gereau‘s throwing error. Lyles would advance to third base on the throw as well. Following the only walk of the afternoon for Cohan, Catskill’s Cameron Overbaugh and Anthony Gjergji would both single to send all three base runners home. Overbaugh would eventually score following a wild pitch, after Cohan mishandled the throw from Nick Hladik. With the notable exception of the third inning, Cohan was otherwise stellar on the mound, allowing only two hits and not allowing a runner past second base. Catskill’s four-run lead would be cut into right away by the Saints, who never seemed to back down from Catskill. Jesse Winters hit a two-out double to score Hladik in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 4-1. They would strand two runners on base following a Cam Coons groundout to end the inning. The fourth inning proved to be
the most productive for Saratoga Central, as Sean Hart’s opposite field two-run double would bring the Saints back within one. This would send the Catskill starting pitcher, Joe Vierheller, to the bench after three and two third innings. Hans Schmidt was called in from first base, and forced John Natale to fly out to shortstop to end the threat. Schmidt would stay in for the remainder of the game and only needed 38 pitches to record the last 10 outs and seal up a trip to the Section II Class B finals at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy. Saratoga Central Catholic would strand the tying run in both the sixth and seventh inning but could not get the run in to score, ending their season a bit earlier than some of their players might be used to. The Saints’ run of three straight Section II Class B titles would not reach a fourth year. Head coach Phonse Lambert guided his squad to 18 wins during his 25th season at the helm for
Photo by MarkBolles.com
A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE - Spa Catholic’pitcher Casey Cohan, shown during the Saints’ May 26 semifinal loss to Catskill, turned in a solid effort, but it ultimately wasn’t enough to move on for a fourthstraight championship game at Joseph L. Bruno Stadium in Troy. Saratoga Central Catholic. To reach the semifinals, the Saints defeated Tamarac High School during the quarterfinals in another close contest by a score of 5-4. Jesse Winters pitched a com-
plete game and helped his own cause with an RBI. Cam Coons and Casey Cohan would also drive in runs during the game. John Natale and Sean Hart would each score two runs as well.