Playoff Preview

Courtesy of Glens Falls Golden Eagles Sports Information

After finishing 31-10 in their fifth year of existence, the Glens Falls Golden Eagles and skipper John Mayotte prepare for another playoff appearance. For the second-straight year, the green and yellow will be the proud owners of the #1-seed in the Eastern Division. On Friday, August 1, Glens Falls will play host to the fourth-seeded Watertown Wizards at East Field--where the Golden Eagles are a dominant 17-3.

This summer, the Golden Eagles have won six of eight match-ups with the Wizards, taking three of four in both Watertown and Glens Falls.

In the eight 2008 meetings, Glens Falls has outscored Watertown by a mere eleven runs. Only one of those games was decided by more than three runs, an 8-4 Golden Eagles win at East Field on July 25.

Chad Stang (Midland) has been tearing up Wizards pitching to the tune of .371 with a double, triple and four runs batted in. Stang adds three steals in three attempts and a .405 OBP. Jose Valerio (San Diego), Luis Feliz (Rutgers) and Nick McCoy (San Diego) are all batting at least .333 against their foe from the north country. Valerio has not committed a single error this season in 305 chances at first base.

Scott Denault (San Diego) threw a complete-game shutout against the Wizards in his only appearance. Denault struck out six, walked one and allowed only two hits. Shane Davis (Canisius) tossed six innings of two-run ball in a no-decision at Watertown early in the summer. Jack Wagoner (Sacred Heart) is 2-0 in three starts against the Wizards. Billy Barrett (Illinois), Will Hassett (Siena) and Jamie Storey (Midland) collected the other wins in the season series. The Golden Eagles are expected to pitch Davis, Denault and Wagoner in the playoff-opening series.


The following excerpt courtesy of John McGraw, NYCBL Media Relations

1. Glens Falls (31-10) vs. 4. Watertown (17-23)
Game One: Watertown at Glens Falls, 7:00 PM (Aug. 1)
Game Two: Glens Falls at Watertown, 7:00 PM (Aug. 2)
Game Three: Watertown at Glens Falls, 7:00 PM, if nec. (Aug. 3)

Season Series: The Golden Eagles won six of eight games against the
Wizards during the regular season. Seven of the eight contests were
decided by three runs or less.

Players To Watch:
Glens Falls: Kody Johnson .321 BA, 44 H, 26 R, 7 HR, 24 RBI
Stefen Romero .265 BA, 28 R, 16 HBP, 6 HR, 25 RBI
Shane Davis 5-0, 0.33 ERA, 8 GS, 2 CG/SHO, 54.0 IP

Watertown: Greg Herbst .321 BA, 36 H, 16 R, 3 HR, 24 RBI
Jake Gorman .290 BA, 36 H, 20 R, 9 DBL, 3 HR, 14 RBI
Ryan George 2-0, 1.02 ERA, 3 SVS, 17.2 IP, 15 APP, 25 K

Notes: The Golden Eagles have won two-straight regular season titles
in the Eastern Division and have back-to-back 30-or-more win
seasons…Glens Falls has made three playoff appearances over their five
years in the NYCBL…The Green and Gold are 4-6 in the playoffs…Golden
Eagles’ manager John Mayotte has amassed 135 regular-season wins in
his five-year NYCBL career…The Wizards are making their divisionleading
fourth-straight playoff appearance. Only Allegany County (five)
has made more postseason trips in a row…The Wizards are 3-9 all-time
in the playoffs…Watertown went 10-8 in the second half of the season
after entering the All-Star break with a 7-15 record. This series marks
the first-ever postseason meeting between the two clubs.