Duffy wipeout a dud for sure

As soon as the final out was made, Brandon Potter left the dugout, peeled off his warm-up shirt and made a beeline for the locker room.

The Watertown Wizards' head coach couldn't look at the scoreboard at the Alex T. Duffy Fairgrounds any longer. He needed to rid himself of Tuesday's 17-0 loss to Amsterdam immediately. It was Watertown's worst defeat of the New York Collegiate Baseball League season.

"We just couldn't do anything," Potter said. "I don't know what to say. We just didn't play well."

Nothing went wrong for Amsterdam (10-8), who was fortunate enough to squeeze in 45 minutes of batting practice before the first pitch. Mohawks coach Keith Griffin told his players to just change their approach at the plate. They executed to perfection, pounding out 20 hits, including eight for extra bases.

"I didn't know we'd have this type of game in us, but I thought our swings would be better," Griffin said.

Potter said he didn't expect the Wizards (11-11) to deliver a dud of a performance. But what transpired in the second inning should've been a strong indicator of things to come.

After Amsterdam's Mel Rojas Jr. smacked a triple, he scored on an errant throw from Watertown catcher Steven Humble to starting pitcher Matt Croglio following a pitch. Wizards second baseman Kosuke Hattori tried to recover the ball in time to throw home, but he mishandled the ball.

Watertown committed three errors, saw pitchers hit three batters and toss one wild pitch.

"It's tough to see them struggle at all," Potter said. "I hate to see them struggle with anything. They all work hard. We just weren't there mentally or physically."

Amsterdam opened up the rout with a five-run fourth inning, which was highlighted by Ian Choy's two-run single. The Mohawks poured it on as five players recorded at least three hits. They failed to score at least one run in just three innings.

"It doesn't happen too often," said Amsterdam's Austin Sheffield, who finished with three doubles. "Hitting can be contagious. We just got on a roll, got a good effort on the mound, started to roll and things worked out for us."

Amsterdam starter Sean Bouthilette pitched with ease over seven innings. He scattered four hits, struck out four and walked one batter to earn his first victory of the season.

"He set the tone early, just kept pumping strikes," Sheffield said. "He just attacked the zone for strikes. He's been great for us the whole year."

Unlike Bouthilette, Griffin said Amsterdam's hitting has been wildly inconsistent this season. But the Mohawks battered the Wizards' relievers, scoring nine runs in the final three innings. Joe Scalfini belted a three-run home run in the seventh inning, and Tony Patane collected three RBIs of his own.

With the win, Amsterdam captured sole possession of second place in the NYCBL's East Division. The Mohawks have handed Watertown its two most lopsided losses of the season. Griffin hopes Tuesday's victory leads to something greater for his club.

"Maybe we can look back one night and look back at the end of the year and say that the turning point was that night in Watertown," he said.

Even though Hattori recorded three of the team's five hits, the Wizards had already flushed their latest defeat. Perhaps a trip today to Albany will help them forget.

"We're back on the road (today)," Potter said. "It'll be a good test for them. We'll see who wants to play and who doesn't."