Webster’s playoff run ends

By Paul Casey Gotham

SCIO, N.Y. – Similar to the previous two nights, Dave Brust’s Webster Yankees found themselves locked into a tight battle with the Allegany County Nitros. Unfortunately for the Yankees, the deciding contest of the NYCBL West Division semi-finals played out like game two of the three-game set.

Allegany’s Justin James (Ave Maria) carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and held Webster to three hits over eight-plus frames as the Nitros defeated the Yankees 3-2 to take the series 2-1.

The Nitros plated two runs with four hits in the first and never surrendered the lead. Anthony Genna (Webster College) slashed a base hit into left center scoring Nick Barbalato (St. Thomas Aquinas) and Tyler Fisher (Georgetown/ Kentucky) for the early lead.

Webster cut the lead  by one during the third stanza. Wes Winkle (Ball State) worked a lead-off walk and stole second. Tyler Grogg (Toledo) moved the runner with a sacrifice bunt. Winkle then used some crafty base-running to score on a ground ball. When Matt Delewski (Toledo) pulled the pitch to third, Winkle waited and perfectly timed his departure. Jake Rowell (Arkansas-Little Rock) released the ball, and Winkle scampered home easily beating the throw.

The pinstripes added a run in the sixth. Delewski led off and reached on an error and moved to second with a sacrifice bunt by Matt Boulter (So. New Hampshire). One error later, Delewski stood at third, and Ollie Bertrand (Flagler) broke up the no-hit  bid with a ground ball through the right side of the infield.

Webster starter, Bryant Guilmette (U Mass-Lowell) battled all night against an Allegany County lineup intent on blowing out the game. The Nitros racked up 15 hits putting multiple runners on the base paths in four of the six complete stanzas tossed by the native of Hopkinton, Massachusetts.

Pat Corrigan (MCC) retired five of the six batters he faced. He came on in the eighth with a runner on second and struck out the first batter he faced. One hitter later, Corrigan retired the side on a lazy fly ball to left field.

The denizens of “The Basket” rallied in the ninth. Bertrand led with a flair to left. Monte Marrocco (U Mass-Lowell) followed with a bunt intended to move the runner. When the ball hugged the first base path like it was slow dancing with its prom date, Marrocco sped up the line safely reaching the bag.  One out later, the runners moved ninety feet on Winkle’s ground ball to the right side of the infield. But that was as far as they would get.

For the second night in a row, Webster left the tying run stranded at third. It was a painful reminder of the tiny margin that lies between victory and defeat, between moving on in the playoffs and going home for the summer.

“We have a lot to be proud of,” said Brust. “These guys never stopped battling. This was a great season.”

Of their 41 regular season games, the Yankees played 15 decided by one run. The Yanks won six of those games decided by the smallest of margins. The trend continued in the playoffs as Webster fell 2-1 in game two after winning 4-2 in Friday night’s thriller.

Bertrand ended his career as a Webster Yankee with two hits and a sacrifice bunt in four trips to the plate. Including the three playoff games this weekend,  Bertrand has played 71 games (primarily as a catcher) for the home nine over the past two summers. Last season, he earned all-league honors. This year the native of Quebec finished tied for the team lead with 22 RBI.

Allegany County moves on to face Elmira in the divisional finals for a spot in the league championship series against either the Amsterdam Mohawks or the Glens Falls Eagles.