By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — On May 16th of this year the Honeoye Falls-Lima baseball team suffered a 5-0 defeat at the hands of the Irondequoit Eagles. It was the third straight setback for Dan Hoyt’s squad, a stretch in which the Cougars scored just one run over 21 innings of play.
HF-L dropped to 9 wins and 9 losses on the season. Of the 18 games played, they had scored two or fewer runs in 10 of those contests including four shutouts.
On Tuesday night, HF-L (15-9) punched its ticket to the state quarterfinals with a sixth straight win. A streak in which the Cougars have averaged nearly nine runs per game.
“The kids believe in themselves,” Hoyt said after HF-L’s come-from-behind 6-4 victory over Greece Athena (18-6) in the Class A regional qualifier at Innovative Field. “They just keep going.”
Landon Hammond finished 2-for-3 at the plate and gave HF-L its first lead of the night with a bases-clearing, two-out double in the fourth inning. The junior third baseman later provided the eventual game winner.
“Earlier in the year, we pitched great and we played great defense,” Hoyt said. “But we could not come through with that two-out hit with runners in scoring position. We did it today.”
Trailing 2-0, Robert Brown reached on fielder’s choice. Connor Finn walked, and Nolan Smith started the scoring with a ground-rule double to left field that put runners on second and third. Edward Brown loaded the bases when he was hit by pitch setting the stage for Hammond.
“I kinda missed it a little bit, but, hey whatever it takes,” Hammond said of his double over the third-base bag. “The leftfielder was playing left center. I knew if I could just get one over there, I could run for days. That’s what happened.
“To see everyone touch the plate and get the dugout all excited, it was a feeling I can’t describe. It was awesome.”
Landon Hammond clears the bases with a two-out double over the third-base bag to give @HFLCSDAthletics a 4-2 lead heading to the fifth. pic.twitter.com/3qPHFt8fWW
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 30, 2023
The Cougars had a 4-2 lead and did not trail again in the game.
Hammond plated Finn with the go-ahead run in the bottom of the sixth.
Finn led the stanza with a double. Smith reached on an error, and one out later Hammond singled to right field.
“Landon Hammond’s been great all year putting the ball in play,” Hoyt said of HF-L’s leadoff hitter.
Nolan Smith gets Hf-L on the board with a two-out, one-run, ground-rule double. pic.twitter.com/LVSQ5f2ubo
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 30, 2023
Carson Joint came out from behind the plate and worked a scoreless seventh inning to clinch the victory.
With the win, HF-L turned the tables for a second straight game. On Saturday, the Cougars avenged a pair of regular season losses with an 11-2 win over Pittsford Sutherland in the Class A2 championship game. Athena defeated HF-L, 3-0 when the two teams met on April 27th.
Hoyt pointed to the mid-season call-up of Finn from junior varsity as part of the reason for the Cougars’ turnaround.
“The turning point for us was the Mendon games,” Hoyt said of the contests on May 1st and 3rd. “I really thought that they were important. That’s when we made the move and brought Connor up. We decided we needed another bat in the lineup. We shut them out twice. That started us rolling.”
One player can’t win a game, but that individual can make enough of an impact to be a difference.
Finn reached base all three times he came to the plate on Tuesday. The sophomore second baseman walked twice, doubled and scored two runs out of the seven-hole.
“Halfway through season, I was like we got to try something, so we did,” Hoyt said. “It’s really helped.
“We still played some really tough teams down the stretch and lost a couple games, but I felt like we got a shot. I kept telling these guys that if we do what we do, we’re going to end up where we are. We’re one game away from a place we’ve never been. Saturday’s a big game for us.”
HF-L will make its third trip to the state quarterfinals on Saturday. The Cougars lost to Hamburg, 7-3 in the 2015 regional and 7-6 in 10 innings to Grand Island in 2012.
A sectional run that started with wins over School of the Arts and Mendon has HF-L looking to clinch its first state semifinal appearance in program history.
“We haven’t had this type of energy in the three years that I’ve been on varsity,” Joint said. “We were first-round exits my first two years on varsity. We went 20 games in the regular season this year. We struggled. The energy wasn’t coming, but we hit Mendon in sectionals, and we weren’t going home. The energy has not gone away, and it’s not going to.”
Trent Wager worked two innings of relief to pick up the win, Tuesday.
Joint was 2-for-4 at the plate. Nate Weber walked and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly. Matt Meacham went 2-for-3. Smith scored a pair of runs.
Jaden Madrid led the Athena offense going 2-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Sammy Saucke drove in a run with a double and later scored. Riley Catena singled in a run and also scored. Sam Butera walked and came home to score. Caleb Mitchell added a single for the Trojans.
HF-L will play Section VI champion Williamsville East (17-4) on Saturday. A 10 AM first pitch is scheduled at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia.
“This is my second sectional championship,” Joint said. “My first one was football my sophomore year, and we didn’t get a chance to go to states (tournament was cancelled due to the pandemic).
“It feels awesome to keep it going. We’ve already made history winning sectionals. It’s our first time in eight years. Now it’s gravy and we’re going to keep fighting and clawing until the last pitch. It feels amazing.”
Carson Joint takes over on the mound and finishes it off. HF-L advances to regionals with a 6-4 win pic.twitter.com/VOZ7BORvxG
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 30, 2023
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