SARATOGA SPRINGS — The first time the Shenendehowa baseball team faced arch-rival Saratoga Springs on the baseball diamond last month, a slow start proved too difficult to overcome. Friday afternoon, the Plainsmen scored first and then were overwhelmed in the final two at bats by the Blue Streaks.
Junior ace pitcher Michael Mack limited Shenendehowa to four hits and struck out 12, including the final batter he faced, as Saratoga Springs maintained possession of the I-87 Cup with a 7-1 Suburban Council victory at East Side Rec’s Ben Fasulo Memorial Field.
The I-87 Cup, created in 2017 and awarded to the winner of each contest between the two rivals, is something both teams passionately care about possessing. Friday’s triumph was the third straight win in the series for the Blue Streaks (12-4 overall, 9-3 Suburban Council). Saratoga Springs won two of three meetings in 2022, the last coming in the Section II Class AA semifinals. Shenendehowa dropped the first encounter against the Blue Streaks April 7 with an 8-5 setback in a non-league contest.
“We haven’t played seven innings (against them). They did and we didn’t,” Shenendehowa coach Greg Christodulu said.
“This is definitely a date we circled on our calendar and a team we want to beat every year. It was nice to do it again,” said Mack, who improved to 6-0 this season. “This is definitely a statement big win and a big one in the Suburban Council.”
Friday’s victory tightened the league title race as the Plainsmen (10-3, 10-2) remain atop the standings with the Blue Streaks and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake each one game back at 9-3.
Mack and Shenendehowa senior starter Nino Salati worked four scoreless innings against each other until the Plainsmen pushed across an unearned run in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by Ethan Farina, one of three hits on the day for the shortstop.
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