SARATOGA SPRINGS — The underdog status the Saratoga Springs baseball team reveled in when it captured the 2022 Section II Class AA title has been replaced by a No. 2 seed and thoughts by many the Blue Streaks are the team to beat this season. Friday, the defending champions sure looked the part of a favorite.
Led by the extraordinary pitching exploits from junior star Michael Mack, Saratoga Springs broke a scoreless tie in the fourth inning and added more runs in the fifth and sixth and posted a 6-0 quarterfinal victory over Christian Brothers Academy.
Mack earned his fourth shutout of the season and carried a no-hitter into the seventh. CBA senior outfielder Jackson Lilley ended the bid with a clean single to center on the first pitch of the inning. Mack struck out 15, including against Jack Gialanella to end the game.
“Michael Mack is throwing three pitches for strikes,” CBA coach Casey O’Connor said. “Once he gets in a rhythm, he is tough to beat. We knew we had to get to him early and we didn’t.”
Saratoga Springs (16-5), which lost to CBA 8-1 in April, returns to action Monday at Bruno Stadium for a semifinal contest against No. 3 seed Niskayuna. The Silver Warriors beat the Blue Streaks 7-0 last month.
In 2022, the top three seeds in the Class AA field — No. 1 Colonie, No. 2 Guilderland and No. 3 CBA — all lost in the quarterfinals. Friday, the top three seeds prevailed as No. 1 Shenendehowa blanked Ballston Spa 4-0 and No. 3 Niskayuna defeated Guilderland 7-0 behind a no-hitter by Parker Aikens. The other quarterfinal went in favor of No. 5 Bethlehem as the Eagles edged Colonie 5-4.
Mack, who has been named the Suburban Council Pitcher of the Year, and CBA starter Matt Sgambati put up zeros until the bottom of the fourth when back-to-back doubles by Patrick McMinley and Owen Redick opened the scoring.
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