COLONIE — The first at bat of the game for Colonie cleanup hitter Gabby Baumann did not go well Wednesday against Ballston Spa and the senior’s second plate appearance was even worse. Baumann made sure her third and final opportunity against Ballston Spa pitcher Hadley Donnelly proved to be far more productive.
Baumann, hitting with two runners on and two outs in the bottom of the sixth, followed an epic 11-pitch encounter between Donnelly and Colonie’s No. 3 hitter Katie Parisi that resulted in a walk. After producing a pair of weak pop ups in her first two plate appearances, Baumann delivered a decisive blow when she laced a 1-1 offering from Donnelly off the centerfield fence for a two-run double that helped lift the Garnet Raiders to a 2-0 victory over the Scotties in Suburban Council action.
“I knew she was going to come with some kind of spin,” Baumann said. “It felt good coming off the bat. I wanted to hit a line drive or something to get on.”
Although the Garnet Raiders had six runners on base prior to Baumann’s at bat, they had not generated a hit yet.
“That was our message: we did not have a lot of great at bats,” Colonie coach Sean Merchant said. “We were seeing a lot of changeups and changes of speed. I said after the fifth inning the game would come down to who is going to make the adjustments first is going to win.”
After being tied up on inside pitches in popping up to first and back to Donnelly, the lefty-hitting Baumann was able to get extension to produce the hardest hit ball of the game and Colonie’s lone hit. The runs driven in were the senior’s fourth and fifth of the young season.
Colonie freshman pitcher Adrianna Laraway produced her second stellar outing inside the circle as she tossed a two-hitter and struck out nine. She worked out of a jam in the second inning when the Scotties (2-2, 1-2) put runners on first…
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