By PAUL GOTHAM
BATAVIA, N.Y. — The Honeoye Bulldogs used a pair of late-inning rallies to advance to Saturday’s NYS Class D Far West Regional.
Brocton’s Ronald “Bubba” Brown made sure the state’s top-ranked team didn’t have a third straight come-from-behind win in the post-season.
Brown struck out 18 batters and delivered three hits as Brocton (VI) topped Honeoye, 6-4 to reach the state semifinals.
The senior right-hander stranded a runner on first with a strike out to end the first. It was the first of seven straight batters he sent back to the dugout.
Bubba Brown strikes out the side in order for the second straight inning. Righthander has set down 7 straight. Going to the 4th NYS Class D Far West Regional: Brocton 1 @HoneoyeSports 0 pic.twitter.com/Mbd0ei6bEm
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) June 8, 2019
Brown led the second inning with an infield single and eventually scored on a wild pitch to give Brocton a 1-0 lead.
Trailing 2-1 after four innings, Brocton rallied to score four. Brown capped the inning with a two-out RBI single.
Bubba Brown caps a 4-run top of the 5th with a 2-out, run-scoring single through the left side. @HoneoyeSports coming to the plate in the home half trailing Brocton 5-2. pic.twitter.com/3Op8RVF1h4
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) June 8, 2019
Darien Booker reached on an error to start the rally. Booker stole second, moved to third on an errant throw and came home on a wild pitch. Riley Rivera also drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
Charlie Farrell gave Honeoye the lead with a two-out, two-run double. Brett Higley’s infield pop up was lost in the sun and fell for a single. With Higley on second via a stolen base, Clay Allison walked to set up Farrell.
Charlie Farrell gets @HoneoyeSports on the board with a 2-out, 2-run double to left center. Going to the 5th of the NYS Class D Far West Regional: Honeoye 2 Brocton 1 pic.twitter.com/gkT1bDzuw7
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) June 8, 2019
Honeoye rallied in the fifth to cut the deficit to one. Jared Walden and Higley drove in a run apiece to make it a 5-4 game.
Brett Higley takes a full-count offering from Bubba Brown up the middle for a two-out single. Brown fanned the next batter faced. Going to the second of the NYS Class D Far West Regional: Brocton 0 @HoneoyeSports 0 pic.twitter.com/bMiatG94BK
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) June 8, 2019
Honeoye (23-2) didn’t get any closer. The Bulldogs had won six straight games.
Brocton will play the Bolton/Schroon Lake (VII) – Lisbon (X) winner next Friday at Conlon Field in Binghamton.
Complete article to follow.
Jared Walden says
I come back to this post every once in a while. It’s kind of bitter-sweet, I’m happy to have been on the team, we accomplished so much. Though at the same time, it really felt like we were destined to go all the way. We had three seniors who went on to play college ball, arguably the best pitching rotation in Section V, and we all truly had fun playing the game. But when it came to those tight games, we were really able to lock in and compose ourselves. Brocton is one of those games that I’ll always think about. Hats off to that team and their coach, they played a great game. It was a really special game for their pitcher Bubba Brown. 18 strikeouts is just complete domination. Though I believe we put up more hits than Brocton, they majorly capitalized on our defensive mistakes. Personally I’d never experienced anything like I did with Bubba. In all due respect, he was one of those pitchers that you’d be timing from the dugout and thinking “Yeah I got this”. His 4-seam probably topped out at around 82, and he had a big looping curveball, which I at the time thought wouldn’t be a problem. But when you got in the box, it was a completely different story. You’d see what looked like a fastball coming right down the middle, you’d swing and get those big eyes because you know you’re about to smoke one. And then you’d swing completely through it, then the same thing would happen on the next pitch. “How am I missing this, it’s a fastball right down the middle” is what I kept on thinking to myself. The third pitch would look like a hanging curveball again right down the middle, you’d get those big eyes again and when you swung that pitch was already in the dirt. And there you went back into the dugout after three quick pitches. That same exact sequence happened to me twice. I considered myself as a pretty good hitter as well, I could always see the ball pretty well. Bubba just had so much movement on his pitches. I think that’s what really got us, in our league games, again all due respect, we hadn’t faced a guy who could create so much side to side movement with their pitches. I remember a teammate, Dom Trippi once saying, “That’s the first real curveball I’ve ever seen”. Well that’s my first person account, it was a great season to be apart of, and especially to bring some hardware back to Honeoye. Props to Brocton on a great season as well! Also thank you for covering the game Mr. Gotham and always writing awesome reports on pickin’ splinters!