Niskayuna Baseball Misses Out on Sectional Championship

The regular season has come to a close in what seemingly feels like the blink of an eye, and sadly, Niskayuna's championship run has ended in the semifinals against the Saratoga Blue Streaks. After many months of hard work and preparation leading up to the spring season, Niskayuna finished with a record of 9-5 in the Suburban Council (13-7 overall), enough for the third seed in the Section II tournament. 

The Silver Warriors faced Guilderland in the first round, who defeated Niskayuna 6-4 earlier in the season. On the mound for the Dutchmen was Wake Forest commit Cole Miller, an elite pitcher with a very strong arm. But Niskayuna had an ace of its own in Parker Aikens, who pitched a no-hitter helping Niskayuna stroll to a 7-0 victory. He threw 108 pitches, 65 of which were strikes, and had 9 strikeouts and 2 walks. Aikens had already thrown a no-hitter earlier in the season against Burnt Hills, and nearly threw a perfect game in the playoff gem. After the game, Aikens said that the previous no-hitter was in the back of his mind, as he said that he, “tried not to think about it and tried to erase everything. It was me and the hitter.” 

Aikens couldn’t have done it alone, and Nisky’s stellar defense behind him was able to make plays, making no errors in the game. Tyler Toth made a highlight-reel catch on the run in the right field gap, making what nearly was a hit look like an easy catch. The Silver Warriors did not back down from the challenge posed by Cole Miller, as they were able to methodically get runners on base and in scoring position. Jacob Pirrone-Salisbury had the best day at the plate, with two of Niskayuna’s five hits, as well as an RBI. In addition, catcher David Sardella hit a bomb for a triple, and he and Dylan Mennillo both had sacrifice flies which each scored a run. 

The team's improvement from last year's 7-13 season had been made clear, with Coach Chris Bianchi saying, “They’re battle-tested now.” But up next was their biggest test against Saratoga Springs, who was able to defeat the 7-seed CBA by a score of 6-0, powered by an incredible night from pitcher  Michael Mack. Niskayuna defeated the Saratoga Blue Streaks earlier this year 7-0, and while Niskayuna was able to dominate in that contest, the result was unfortunately not the same at Joe Bruno Stadium for the Class AA semifinals. The game started out close, with neither team able to get on the board early in the contest. Niskayuna’s Billy Canale didn’t allow a hit until the fourth inning, when Saratoga was able to break through and get two runs on the board, powered by RBIs from Drew Adams and Orion Lansing. After giving up those runs, Niskayuna struck back in the fifth inning. They were able to load the bases, but only put up one run by the end of the inning from a sacrifice fly by Jacob Pirrone-Salisbury. Saratoga was able to score one more run in the sixth inning off of an RBI from Michael Mack that scored Camden Rhude, who hit a triple earlier that inning. Saratoga’s starting pitcher Christian Mello was relieved by submarine-style pitcher Trevor Duthaler after a walk in the seventh inning, but unfortunately Niskayuna was unable to come back and fell by a score of 3-1. This makes it the third year in a row that Saratoga has knocked the Silver Warriors out of Sectionals, and the Blue Streaks will go on to face Shenendehowa in a three game series for the Section II crown.

This ending for the Silver Warriors is tough to swallow, as they seemed poised to go to the championship this year. Luck did not fall into Niskayuna’s hands, as many of their hits to the outfield against the Blue Streaks were directly towards fielders. Coach Bianchi said that Saratoga’s starting pitcher Christian Mello was able to get out of trouble, as, “...he seemed to have the flurry in the fifth inning there and we just couldn’t push across more than one. It seemed like we maybe had them on the ropes, but we let them off the hook.” 

Niskayuna will look to build back and improve in the offseason, with high hopes for next year. Holes will need to be filled for next year following the departure of seniors Tyler Toth, Sam Booth, Billy Canale, Dylan Mennillo, David Fields, and Justin Sargent. We wish them the best of luck with their futures on and off the field.