It was a good week for the Newburgh Free Academy baseball team.

It also was one of the busiest.

The Goldbacks have played five games in six days, winning all five, including a three-game sweep of the Middletown Middies, and culminating with a 5-2 win on Saturday against the James I. O’Neill Raiders at Delano-Hitch Stadium in Newburgh.

The Goldbacks also defeated the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders to take two out of three in that key Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I series.

They need one more divisional win to guarantee themselves a spot in the Section 9 Class AAA tournament at the end of the season.

“It was a big week,” Newburgh catcher Chris Leggett said. “A big game changer for us. We got a lot of confidence, so that’s good.”

Leggett on Saturday caught a masterful performance by Edwin Nunez, who threw five innings, allowing two runs, one earned, with four walks and eight strikeouts.

“He threw strikes, which is what he needed to do,” Leggett said. “He pumped the zone and was working on getting it over the plate, and it worked.”

Colin Wing threw the final two innings, finishing the game with four strikeouts.

The Goldbacks, meanwhile, broke a 2-2 tie in the third inning when Nick Schmidt walked with one out and stole second base. Joe Santo was then hit by a pitch, and Chase Rounds walked to load the bases.

Schmidt broke the tie when he scored on a wild pitch by O’Neill pitcher Yandhel Fernandez. D.J. Clifford walked to reload the bases and two more runs came in when Daniel Decker reached on an error.

The Goldbacks opened the week with their first of five games on April 22 with a 5-4 win over the Middies at Faller Field. After a day off on April 23 – their only one of the week – the Goldbacks beat the Middies, 5-2, at home.

They used two pitchers in each of the games against the Middies. Connor Hollenback came back on two days rest to throw six innings in a 13-3 win over the Monroe-Woodbury Crusaders.

Friday’s game was the one that tested the pitching staff as the Goldbacks continued their season sweep over the Middletown Middies with a 12-6 win in nine innings. Logan Voltaire went the first four, Santo pitched the next three, while Chase Rounds and Luis Pagan each pitched for the second time in the week.
“(Managing the pitching) was a little frightful at times, but it worked great,” Leggett said.

The Goldbacks will be busy this week, as well, but will play on four straight stays starting with Tuesday’s divisional game against the Kingston Tigers. They will follow with non-league games against the Goshen Gladiators, Beacon Bulldogs and Wallkill Panthers.

“This team is all heart,” Leggett said. “We’ve just got to show our heart and play together.”