By: Aidan Joly
Down by three runs early on, Saratoga varsity baseball did not get worried and plated nine straight runs in order to grab a 10-4 victory over Bethlehem on Wednesday afternoon.
After starter Alex Henderson had struggled and was pulled after just 2 1/3 innings and down 4-1 heading into their half of the third frame, the Saratoga bats roared to life. The Blue Streaks strung together four runs in the bottom of the third on a two-run single from Gordon Hogben followed up by a two-run triple from Devin McArthur that gave them a 5-4 advantage.
The hot bats came back in the fourth inning as they scored three more runs, highlighted by Hogben coming up big with an RBI double that nearly cleared the yard. Hogben had a very nice day at the plate, with two hits and three RBIs. He also pitched the final two innings for Saratoga after Cam Flemming had come in to relieve Henderson.
“From the plate I was just trying to hit the ball hard, stay hot, get the ball in play and move runners over,” Hogben said.
After they trailed 4-1 early on, Saratoga head coach Andy Cuthbertson was not worried about the deficit and believed that his team could come back.
“We’re preaching that it takes an army to get a lot of these wins done. So I really didn’t put the panic button on, I know that we (have) a lot of run support in our lineup, so had it been the fifth or sixth inning maybe I would have thought different, but I was confident that we had a chance to come back,” he said.
The offense got Bethlehem starter Trey Sgroi pulled in the fourth inning after 3 2/3 innings of work.
Saratoga improves to 9-2 and is playing their best with only a few short weeks until sectional play begins.
“I just told the guys that, yes we are playing good baseball but the second you become satisfied with what you’re doing is when you’re looking back in the rearview mirror. I said we’re doing some things well, let’s keep doing those things well, but don’t be satisfied (because) there’s a lot of baseball left,” Cuthbertson said.
They will play again on Friday, facing Guilderland on the road at 4:15 p.m.
Bethlehem falls to 8-3 on the year. They are back in action on Friday as well, taking on Niskayuna at Joe Bruno Stadium as part of a Coaches vs Cancer fundraiser game. First pitch for that game is at 7 p.m., in a doubleheader that also features Cairo-Durham vs Green Tech right before.