Stampede Opens Tourney With Win

Mike Allen, Scott Hladik, and Justin Wilock all doubled and scored, and starting pitcher Kyle Baldani gave up just two runs and worked into the sixth inning as the Saratoga Stampede defeated Helmuth-Ingalls Post 232 in their opening game of the 13th Annual Cooper’s Cave Tournament at East Side Rec on Tuesday night.
After a scoreless first inning, Helmuth posed the first scoring threat in the bottom of the second.
Baldani walked Justin Corney to start the inning, but then Cory Gogola bounced a 0-1 pitch to Allen at short, and he flipped to Matt Coleman for the force. Tyler White drew a walk, and Helmuth had runners on first and second.
But Baldani fought back and worked out of the inning by striking out Jeff Ostrander and Wes Roberts.
Saratoga took the lead in the top of the third. After a walk to Erich Lange, Wilock doubled, and when the return throw from the outfield went wild, Lange scored on the error for a 1-0 lead. Coleman then laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Wilock to third. Lee Jay Pollachi followed with a ground ball to short, but Helmuth shortstop Matt Martin threw the ball away, and Wilock scored to put Saratoga on top by a 2-0 margin.
The Stampede doubled their lead in the fourth. Allen opened the inning with a double, but then Neil Callahan popped out to Martin for the first out. Hladik then doubled, plating Allen to make it a 3-0 game. After Baldani reached on an infield single, putting runners on the corners, Lange popped out to Corney at first for the second out. Wilock then came up with the big hit, a two-out single to right-center field to score Hladik and give Saratoga a 4-0 advantage.
Helmuth put together its second serious threat in the bottom of the frame, but again Baldani worked out of it. Martin led off by reaching on an infield single, and was advanced to second and then third on a pair of ground outs. But Baldani enticed White to swing at a 1-2 pitch, and it was grounded to Coleman for the final out.
Saratoga went quietly in the top of the fifth, but Helmuth finally broke through in the bottom of the inning. Ostrander led off by smacking a single to right, but Baldani struck out Wes Roberts on four pitches, his fifth K of the game. Tyler Heck drew a walk, and then Chris Hughes moved the runners up when he grounded out to third baseman Levi Washburn. A passed ball brought Ostrander home to cut the deficit to 4-1, and then a wild pitch plated Heck to reduce Saratoga’s lead to 4-2. Baldani walked Lee Foxton next, but Foxton was gunned down by Hladik trying to steal second to end the inning.
In the sixth, the Stampede threatened, but couldn’t extend their lead. Callahan drew a walk to start the inning, and then after Hladik flied out and Baldani struck out, Lange doubled to put two runners in scoring position. But Wilock struck out on a 2-2 pitch, and Helmuth was out of the jam.
The bottom of the inning would be Baldani’s last. Martin led off with a scorching line drive to right field, but Wilock chased it down before hauling it in on a full-extension dive while running backwards for the first out. Baldani was showing signs of wear, and when he walked Corney, he was pulled in favor of Callahan.
Callahan got Gogola to chop a 1-0 pitch in front of home plate, and Callahan threw to first for the out, advancing Corney to second. A wild pitch moved Corney up to third, but then Callahan got Jordan Doroshenko to look at a called third strike on a 2-2 pitch to retire the side.
In the top of the seventh, Saratoga tried to bring home an insurance run, but didn’t get it done. With one out, Lee Jay Pollachi reached on an error, and made it all the way around to third on a wild pitch. With a 1-2 count on Washburn, the Stampede let Pollachi attempt to steal home, but he was tagged out just before his foot hit the plate.
The Helmuth Post proved that they had some fight left in them, but Saratoga held them off. Ostrander led off the inning by smacking a grounder to deep short, but Allen’s throw got past Hladik, who had replaced Callahan at first. Ostrander then took off for second, but Hladik recovered and threw over to Allen and the run-down was on. Allen threw back to Hladik, who placed the tag for the first out of the inning. Roberts then slapped a single up the middle, but Callahan got Heck to smack a ground ball to short, and Allen stepped on second and fired to first for the game-ending double play.
Next up for the Stampede in the tournament will be South Kingston, Rhode Island on Wednesday.