By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Good things come to those who wait, and for the Webster-Schroeder Warriors the time may be now.
Shane Marshall hurled six innings for the win and paced the offense as No. 2 seed Webster-Schroeder outlasted No. 6 Fairport, 5-3 in Section V Class AA semi-final action at Tribune Field on the campus of Monroe Community College, Tuesday.
Marshall struck out five and walked one. The junior right-hander stranded a runner in scoring position in both the second and third innings and left two on base in the fourth.
“I was very comfortable knowing that our best athlete was on the mound today,” Webster-Schroeder coach Matt Knight said. “I knew he was going to give us a good chance to win this game.”
Marshall threw first-pitch strikes to 19 of the 27 batters faced. He recorded seven ground ball outs and of his five fly ball outs only three left the infield.
“My fastball was locating really good,” Marshall said. “The curveball every once in a while really threw them off. When I could locate my fastball, I knew they couldn’t catch up to it and hit.”
The Warriors will get a chance to end their sectional title drought when they take the field Thursday. Webster last won a championship in 1998 during a period of time when the district combined its two high schools into one. Webster-Schroeder took the AA crown in 1978. The Warriors lost to Hilton in the 2008 AAA final.
“It feels amazing,” said Webster-Schroeder catcher Sean O’Neill said. “The first time getting to the sectional championship is senior year. It’s something special.”
“I can’t put it into words,” Marshall commented. “I’m speechless. It’s awesome.”
Webster Schroeder took a commanding lead with a three-run fourth inning. Marshall beat out an infield hit and stole second base before O’Neill connected on an RBI double to left field.
“I was sitting fastball,” the Webster-Schroeder catcher said. “Once I got it, I drove it.”
Phil Ferranti followed his teammate’s lead with a two-bagger of his own, and Zach Jenkins capped the inning with a two-out RBI double of his own for a 4-0 Warriors advantage.
“We battled,” Knight said of his team. “We talked about being tough outs and being productive. We did that today…It wasn’t just our top guys. It was guys late in the order, so it was nice to see.”
Marshall surrendered a leadoff double to Evan Newkirk in the second, but he retired the next three batters without letting the ball get to the outfield. He allowed a one-out single to Chad Riorden in the third. After Riorden stole second, Marshall set down the side with a punch out and a routine ground ball.
“He was working outside fastball,” said O’Neill, Marshall’s battery mate. “He got that over the plate well, and his changeup was spot on.”
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Fairport got on the scoreboard in the fifth. Jake Rugaber led with a triple and scored one out later on a Chris Rizzolo single.
Marshall ended the inning getting a ground ball for a 6-4-3 double play.
Fairport tacked on two more runs in the sixth. Matt Buss reached on a leadoff walk and scored from first one out later on a Mike Sabatine triple to left center field. Sam Gueli made it a 5-3 game with a two-out hit, but Marshall and the Warriors got out of the inning with a routine ground ball.
“We got a good defense, so if you can pitch to contact we usually make the plays,” Knight noted.
Webster-Schroeder started the scoring in the bottom of the first. Justin Graham led with a single up the middle and moved to second on a Steve Smith sacrifice bunt. Marshall delivered with an RBI down the left field line.
Marshall finished the game 3-for-3. Graham was 2-for-3. O’Neill drove in two runs.
Newkirk collected two hits for Fairport.
Webster-Schroeder moves on to play top-seeded East in the AA final. The Eagles are trying to become the first Rochester City School District team to win a sectional title in baseball since 1980.
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