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By JAMES A. ELLIS
BROADALBIN — After being shut out in a one-hit performance by Johnstown’s Antonio DeMarco on Wednesday, the Amsterdam Rams were looking to get back in the win column Friday against Broadalbin-Perth.
Emmanuel Santos and Spencer Cotugno provided the Rams with the power they needed, belting home runs to help secure a 6-1 victory in Foothills Council baseball action at Broadalbin-Perth High School.
“That night, honestly, offensively things just didn’t fall,” Amsterdam coach Robbie Hisert said. “We did hit the ball hard, it just didn’t hit the ground. We are aggressive at the plate, so that wasn’t anything I was going to worry about because I knew we would still be aggressive at the plate. Yesterday, we drilled on the spin and just trying to pick up the laces and see different pitches and recognize them earlier.”
While Santos and Cotugno proved the power, Amsterdam outfielders Kai Brennan, Brodie McNeil and Jude Flint anchored the defense, chasing down long drives off the Patriots’ bats, squashing potential Broadalbin-Perth rallies.
“They knocked down any rallies they tried to have,” Hisert said. “There were at least three really well hit balls they were able to run down. The outfield just played shutdown defense.”
Amsterdam got on the board first, putting up a pair of runs in its first at-bat. Broadalbin-Perth got a run back in the bottom of the first to put the score at 2-1.
Santos gave the Rams a little breathing run with his leadoff home run in the top of the third. The Patriots infield came up with a big play to get out of the inning when starting pitcher Ryan Savoie caught the Rams’ Ryan Reagan off second, and the Patriots completed the run down with Alex Rogers applying the tag to end the inning.
The Patriots looked to build in the momentum from the play as Lorenzo Tambasco led off with a walk and moved into scoring position on Cotugno’s sacrifice bunt.
Reagan, Amsterdam’s starting pitcher, ended the scoring threat with a pair of strikeouts to get out of the inning.
Amsterdam added another run in the top of the fifth on a bases-loaded walk to stretch their advantage to 4-1.
The Patriots loaded the bases in the bottom of the fourth and had runners at second and third in the bottom of the fifth, only to have the Rams outfielders run down drives in the gap to end the threats.
Amsterdam closed out its scoring in the top of the seventh when Cotugno hit a two-run blast off relief pitcher Bradley Savoie.
“Give credit to them, they are a good baseball team, but we are a good baseball team too,” Broadalbin-Perth coach R.J. Pingitore said. “They just made more plays than us today, offensively and defensively. Our youth was showing a little bit. We start four sophomores and a freshman. We have matured and have grown up quickly, that is why we have been successful. They were one play better than us today.”
The Patriots, who came into Friday’s game leading the Foothills Council point standings, collected four hits, all singles, from Ryan Savoie, Thomas Platt, Colin Cotter and Tambasco.
Ryan Savoie collected seven strikeouts on the mound for the Patriots, while walking six, while Bradley Savoie struck out two.
“We had the opportunities, but they got the 21 outs before we could get the job done today,” Pingitore said. “The good thing about baseball is that we can come back in a couple of days and do it all over again.”
For the Rams, Santos finished with a home run and a single, with four runs scored and four strikeouts in two innings of relief on the mound. Cotugno had a home run and two runs scored, while Flint connected for a pair of singles to go with singles from Brennan and Brady Foss.
“They bounced back today after a tough game the other night and I am proud of them for that,” Hisert said.
Amsterdam will host the Patriots Monday in a 7 p.m. start at Shuttleworth Park.
Amsterdam 201 010 2 — 6 7 0
Broadalbin-Perth 100 000 0 — 1 5 1
