The Glens Falls Dragons did not get a hit until the fourth inning and on a slow offensive night fell to the Albany Dutchmen on Tuesday at East Field in Glens Falls by a final score of 4-2.
Dutchmen starting pitcher Greg Marino set the higher standard early on as he set down the first 11 Dragon hitters, not allowing a hit until a two-out, fourth inning double off the bat of Brandon Torres.
By this time, however, the Dutchmen had jumped out to a 3-0 lead. They got the rally started in the first inning as Nick Gallo scored on a passed ball. In the second, it was Brandt Holland coming through with a one-out RBI double to make it 2-0. It was Holland’s second of two doubles on the evening, but he was ejected from the game in the eighth inning for arguing a call at first base.
The Dutchmen rally continued in the fourth inning as catcher Colin Kaucher hit a home run to right field to lead off the frame.
For the first three innings, the Dragons struggled to even make decent contact as they only got one ball out of the infield in their first nine hitters off of Marino, Matt Hamel flying out in the first inning.
“(Marino) was throwing three pitches for strikes and his change-up was effective tonight also,” Dragons manager Cameron Curler said. “We didn’t jump on the fastball and got ourselves out, and he was in a position that he could throw that (change-up).”
Marino had one of his best starts of the season as he ended up going seven shutout innings on just four hits, did not walk anybody and struck out eight in the process. He earned his second win of the season in the process and lowered his ERA to 1.67.
The Dragons did heat up their bats as they scratched across two runs in the bottom of the eighth off of Albany reliever Trace Norkus, but by then it was too late. Albany had made it 4-0 in the top of the eighth courtesy of back-to-back doubles from Nick Estrella and Nick Gallo.
The Dragons’ runs came on an RBI single from Ryan Beamish and a sacrifice fly from Phoenix Hernandez.
The Dutchmen improve to 27-15 on the year and are primed for a playoff spot, sitting tied for second in the East division with Mohawk Valley. They will be back in action on Wednesday as they face that same Mohawk Valley as home at Siena Field in Loudonville. That game will begin at 5 p.m.
The Dragons fall to 15-29 on the season and they will seemingly need a miracle to get into the playoffs. They will also play again on Wednesday as they take on the Amsterdam Mohawks at Shuttleworth Park at 6:35 p.m., and will return home on Thursday as they face Amsterdam again. That game will begin at 7 p.m.
