Everybody loves Raymond

Matt Raymond is a newcomer to the South Troy Dodgers - he pitched for Sorensco last summer - but he felt right at home Friday afternoon against the North Colonie Padres in the Mickey Mantle World Series qualifier at Geer Field.

Raymond, a rising junior at Columbia High School who pitched for the Blue Devils' junior varsity squad this spring, pitched out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the third inning by inducing a pair of sacrifice flies. He faced the minimum the rest of the way, leading the Dodgers to a 5-2 victory and a berth in Saturday's championship round, which begins at Noon at Geer Field.

"I wanted to get the strikeout or get a groundball to get out of it with a double play," Raymond said of the third inning jam, "but the fly balls, they were all right."

"I’ve been saving Matt for the right situation," said South Troy manager George Rogers. "Matt has been a huge addition to this team and I know he wants the ball in those situations. That’s why I brought him in. He did the job and shut them out the rest of the way."

South Troy pitcher Peter Quandt deals during the Dodgers' opening game against the Long Island Titans. He earned the win in 2.1 innings of one-hit relief and started the second game, combining on a two-hit performance against the Padres with Raymond. (Photos by Tom Killips - The Record)

South Troy shortstop Josh Ingham applies the tag to a Long Island baserunner caught stealing second in the sixth inning of Friday's 13-5 victory for the Dodgers. Ingham reached base all four times in that game (three singles and a walk) scoring three runs and driving in two more.

South Troy pitcher/outfielder Mike Doyle had a pretty nifty day on the diamond, too.
The rising junior at Catholic Central delivered the go-ahead single in the game against Long Island and added an outfield assist and an insurance RBI in the victory over North Colonie. He pitched a few days ago, but just like Raymond, he's awaiting the call to pitch and help out the team whenever he's needed.

"We have a ton of pitching," Doyle said. "We have four guys left that haven’t really pitched yet. We have a lot of arms left and that’s always useful in this kind of tournament."