SCHENECTADY — The four-game Coaches vs. Cancer baseball event held Saturday at Schenectady’s Central Park ‘A’ Diamond is designed to raise money and awareness in fighting the dreaded disease in all its forms. The Hoosick Falls baseball team also used Saturday’s game vs. Mechanicville as a chance to show that opening this season with four losses does not mean the Panthers are finished.
Hoosick Falls entered the game with one win in six Wasaren League outings, having played against Saratoga Central Catholic, Tamarac and Stillwater. It emerged with an uplifting 13-9 league triumph over the Red Raiders on a sun-drenched afternoon. The loss for Mechanicville was its first in seven outings.
The Panthers (2-5 overall, 2-5 Wasaren League) prevailed despite committing six errors.
“This is really good. Hopefully, we can get things rolling,” said Hoosick Falls senior shortstop/pitcher Jake Sparks, who delivered two doubles and three RBIs Saturday. “When everyone hits one through nine, you can see what we can do. I think we set limits on ourselves early. Now, coming out here and beating an undefeated team, our heads should be on Cloud 9.”
“It was good to get a win in a game Jake didn’t start,” Hoosick Falls coach Mike Lilac Jr. said of his senior star who will pitch next spring at Division I Marshall University. “We still have a long ways to go. … It is good to see guys still playing hard. We’ve had some tough losses. This is a good group. They keep working hard. We’ve got a lot of young guys.”
The teams were tied at 3 entering the fourth inning, but Mechanicville (6-1, 4-1) watched Hoosick Falls produce three runs in the fourth and six more runs in the fifth to grab a 12-3 advantage. In those two innings, the Panthers pounded out five hits and also utilized three hit batters, two walks, one error and a wild pitch to seize command.
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