Dutchmen score 16 runs in rain-shortened win

LOUDONVILLE — The Albany Dutchmen were off and running on offense as they scored 16 runs in six innings against the Adirondack Trail Blazers before the game was called due to rain in the middle of the seventh inning with the score at 16-3.

They set the tone early as they scored three runs in the first inning and four more in the second as they jumped out to a 7-1 lead after two frames, giving them a lot of breathing room. Those runs were highlighted by three RBI’s from Mike Handal, who had a single in the first inning and a two-run triple in the second. Chris Seng and Luke Franzoni also recorded RBI’s.

“Us being able to get some runs early and give us a lead settles everybody down,” Dutchmen manager Nick Davey said.

They scored four more runs in the fourth inning and capped the day off with an additional five in the sixth. This gave them the total of 16 in the first six innings, the most they’ve scored in a game this season, and still have a minimum of two offensive innings to go when the game gets picked up. Franzoni and Ben Metzinger drove in runs in the fourth, while Seng, Metzinger and Will Duff drove in runs in the sixth.

“Much better job of keeping it going. I thought what we did today was much better, puts us in a good position to lead into tomorrow,” Davey said.

On the mound, Ian Murphy set down the Adirondack bats, tossing four innings of two-run ball and struck out seven hitters.

“He was as advertised. Once we get him to be a little bit more consistent on the plate, percentage-wise, he’s got a chance to probably be one of the better arms that we’ve seen here,” Davey said.

It rained on and off for the entire game under overcast skies and the forecast pulled the teams off the field in the middle of the seventh inning, and the rain started to come down less than 10 minutes later. The official call to end the game came at 7:32 p.m.

Also, news circulated around the ballpark just before gametime that current Dutchmen infielder Parker Noland had been taken in the 31st round (921st overall) of the MLB Draft by the Miami Marlins. Noland has not joined the Dutchmen for the summer yet, but will on Saturday, according to Davey.

Thursday, the Dutchmen will face the league-leading Amsterdam Mohawks, a huge early-season test for the team. It will be at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam and begin at 6:45 p.m.