The defending AABC National Champion and League Champion Albany Athletics (16-2 overall) have gotten off to another hot start this year recording a 12-0 League record through June 23rd. Since last year the team has won 15 straight regular season games.
The A’s swept four League games on the week to pull within 6 games of its 18-0 start in 2012. The A’s defeated Blue Slate 4-1 behind the outstanding pitching of Justin Brantley who went 6 innings and gave up just two hits for the win. Chris Salamida tripled home a run and Jayson Sullivan singled another in.
Albany also came from behind to defeat Lids 7-2 on June 22nd. Down 2-1, the A’s rallied in the 4th and 5th innings behind a solo homer from Salamida and singles from Mike Allen, Dan Barbero, and Sullivan who all scored. Salamida finished with two singles and a homer. O’Connor, Allen and Sullivan each had two singles in the win. Righthander Shawn Ryan threw a complete game and yielded just 5 hits and 2 earned runs while striking out 3 batters.
The A’s swept Capital City by 12-0 and 9-0 scores. Altogether, Albany pounded out 21 hits in the doubleheader and were led by Derick Horn who hit an RBI single and RBI double in game #1, then hit 2 doubles, a single and 2 RBI in game #2. Allen had a 2-run homer and RBI single in game #2 in which lefthander JJ Pearsall threw a complete game, three-hitter for the win.
Salamida, meanwhile, won game #1 with a complete game five-hitter on the mound and also contributed with a 3-for-7 day at the plate in both games. Luke Burns singled home two runs and doubled in two runs while Sullivan tripled and doubled, and O’Connor singled and doubled.
The A’s have outscored their opponents by a 70-19 margin over the last 8 games and have opened a 5 game lead in first place.
