GUILDERLAND — Jeff Carter got better as Wednesday’s Suburban Council baseball game with Shenendehowa and Guilderland progressed, while the Dutchmen did a slow fade.

Carter pitched five innings of shutout ball after giving up a run in the first, and the Plainsmen scored five unearned runs after miscues by the reigning Section II Class AA champions in a 6-2 victory.

Guilderland ended up with five errors, the same number of hits it accumulated against the right-handed Carter.

“You can’t give any team at this level extra outs, and a team of their caliber, you can’t give them anything,” Guilderland coach Doug LaValley said. “If we make plays, it’s a ballgame.”

It may have been, with Carter opposed by Siena College-bound C.J. Sohl in a matchup of elite Class AA moundsmen. But while Shenendehowa backed its pitcher with a steady defensive effort, Guilderland crumbled behind its ace. The Dutchmen committed three errors in the third inning, when Shenendehowa collected four hits and scored four times with two outs to break a 1-1 tie.

“I was shocked by their defense early in the game. They’re usually a lot better than that,” said Shenendehowa coach Jim Carrese. “But you’ve also got to give my kids credit for putting the ball in play, and making things happen.”

Alex Gong and Bryan Marotta both had a double, single and two runs batted in for the Plainsmen (9-3, 15-4), David Balsalmo tripled, Bryan Hunter singled and scored two runs and Tim Jones also scored twice.

“It’s always good when you get offensive support,” said the

Oneonta-bound Carter, who struck out five, walked three and allowed one earned run. “When you get five, six runs, it’s easier to pitch.”

Carter issued two of his walks in the first inning, with Ivan Plata drawing the first and stealing a base before Jake Colavito stroked an RBI single. Carter allowed only one free pass and four singles after that frame, including Chris Murray’s seventh-

inning, two-out RBI hit that came after Shenendehowa’s lone error.

“He [Carter] settled in after the first inning. At first, I think he was a little nervous,” said Marotta, a sophomore catcher. “After that, he started getting his curve over, and his change was really working.”

“I had two rough starts in a row. This was a redemption start for me,” Carter said. “I pitched to my ability, and helped my team get a big win.”

Guilderland (7-5, 11-9) helped, too.

“It came down to communication and making plays, and we didn’t do it,” LaValley said. “We’ve got to figure it out.”

Jones walked to start Shenendehowa’s second inning, and scored on a two-out throwing error to tie the game at 1-1. Hunter hit a one-out single in the third, took second base on an outfield throwing error and advanced to third on a flyout. Mar­otta followed with an RBI single. Back-to-back infield throwing errors led to another run, and after Travis Belleard singled to load the bases, Gong delivered a two-run double.

Marotta hit a two-out RBI double in the fourth as the playoff-bound Plainsmen went up, 6-1. The Blue Division-leading Plainsmen

entered the game ranked No. 10 in the state.

Shenendehowa 014 100 0 — 6 8 1

Guilderland 100 000 1 — 2 5 5

Carter and Marotta; Sohl, LeClair (5) and Sherwood, Gareau.