Tuesday, May 17, 2016 Story and photos by Aidan Joly
Heading into sectional playoffs, Saratoga looked to continue their hot play.
The Saratoga Blue Streaks defeated the Niskayuna Silver Warriors on Tuesday afternoon at East Side Recreation field by a score of 5-0 in the opening round of sectional play, advancing to the quarterfinals.
Danny Coleman got the start for the Blue Streaks, and threw a masterful shutout. He tossed a complete game shutout on just two hits, walked three and struck out a jaw-dropping eleven Silver Warrior hitters.
“He did a great job of throwing first pitch strikes,” Saratoga head coach Andy Cuthbertson said. “He just kept guys off balance.”
The game started out slow, but Coleman had to work out of some tough jams. In the first inning, Niskayuna had runners on first and third with one out, and a leadoff walk in the second inning. They also had two runners on in the third. However, Coleman worked out of all of those to keep the shutout viable.
“The first inning has always been a little bit of trouble for us, I was used to that normal adversity, but I think we settled, and Danny settled down,” Cuthbertson said.
The Saratoga offense started out slow as well, but the floodgates were opened to lead off the third as Jake Kerr doubled to start the inning. He would later score on an RBI single from Brendan Coffey. Kerr would also record a two-run single to give Saratoga a 3-0 lead in the fourth inning.
“Our team is a one through nine kind of team, everyone’s trying to hit, and picking up guys that are struggling a little bit,” Kerr said.
Saratoga would later score two more runs to make it 5-0, and Coleman would strike out the side in the seventh inning to end the game. It was his second time recording a shutout against Niskayuna in just over a week, after Saratoga’s 8-0 win on May 9th.
The loss ends the season for Niskayuna, and ends the baseball coaching career for head coach John Furey, who is retiring after 21 years at the helm. He will fully retire in the fall, as he will coach the football team for the final time in 2016.
“The Niskayuna baseball program, it’s meant to me, great kids. It’s meant to me a lot of exciting times, a lot of tough times, kind of an up-and-down deal, but it’s been more ups than downs,” Furey said. “It’s been a great run.”
Saratoga advances to the Section 2, Class AA quarterfinals. They advance to face Ballston Spa, who they lost to by a score of 4-2 back on April 20th. The quarterfinal game will be played at Ballston Spa High School on Thursday, May 19th. First pitch is scheduled for 4 PM.