The defending National Champions and Twilight League Champions Albany Athletics have jumped out to a 3-0 start this season with wins over Nolan Propane (7-1), Senators (7-4), and Capital City (5-0).
The A’s got their third win over Capital City thanks to a combined 12 strikeout no-hitter by Shawn Ryan (3 IP, 4 K), Bill Lawton (2 IP, 4 K), Zach Halloran (1 IP, 1 K), and Chris Salamida (1 IP, 3 K). Rookie infielder Tim O’Connor preserved the no-hitter in the 3rdinning when he snared a groundball behind second base on the run and shorthopped it to first for a close out. First baseman Ben Paniccia cleanly picked the ball on the play.
Dan Barbero continued his torrid start by doubling, singling and scoring twice. Drew Cody singled in a run and Paniccia and Chris Smith also drove in runs on groundouts.
To start the season, the A’s got another stellar pitching performance by committee. Bill Lawton (2 IP, 5 K), Don Potter (1 IP, 2 K), Zach Halloran (3 IP, 7 K), and JJ Pearsall (1 IP, 2 K) combined for 16 strikeouts and yielded just five hits. Barbero hit a solo homer while Pat Landers singled three times and Ron Patterson singled twice as the A’s won its 7thconsecutive season opener.
In the win over the Senators, Albany got a two-run homer from Barbero and a pair of singles from Vin Barbato. Ron Patterson singled in a run and Salamida also scored twice. Southpaw JJ Pearsall hurled a three-inning save to secure the win. Pearsall fanned four, retiring all nine batters he faced in the final three innings.
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