By PAUL GOTHAM
ENDWELL, N.Y. — A third straight attempt at a come-from-behind victory fell short as Northstar Christian baseball saw its dreams of a state championship end in defeat Saturday afternoon.
The Knights erased an early two-run deficit, but a late score proved to be the difference as Northstar fell to Chapel Field (IX), 3-2 in the NYS Class D Championship game at Gary Crooks Field on the Maine-Endwell High School campus.
“Our guys battled,” Northstar Christian head coach Dave Valle said. “They got down two-nothing and they stayed in it. They made some huge plays defensively.”
Matt Allen delivered a one-out, two-run single to tie the game in the fourth.
Matt Allen ties the score with a one-out single in the fourth. AJ Mitchell and Tim Leary score on the play. pic.twitter.com/Pti3FjPTtZ
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) June 10, 2023
The Knights had the tying run on third and winning run at second with one out in the bottom of the seventh but could not take advantage.
“We gave ourselves a chance,” Valle said. “I thought we were going to get it done in the last inning, but that’s the way baseball goes sometimes.
“I feel badly for the seniors. That’s the biggest thing. They’re not going to have any opportunity to ever be back here again.”
The game contrasted Friday’s error-filled affair in which Northstar committed four fielding miscues but took advantage of seven errors to defeat Parishville-Hopkinton (X), 7-5. On Saturday, both teams played clean defensive games.
“I pray before the game,” Valle said. “I wanted our guys to play their best game of baseball today regardless of what the result was. I think they did that, but someone has to be on the losing side. I felt like we represented ourselves well. I think we represented our school. We represented Christ well today. Someone has to come away with a loss. It just happened to be us today.”
Matt Allen makes the play at short. AJ Mitchell with the stretch. Tim Leary takes over on the mound with two on, no outs and retires the first three he faces. Heading to the bottom of the 5th NYS D Championship: Chapel Field 2 Northstar 2 pic.twitter.com/RuBvYF2HrE
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) June 10, 2023
Logan Garvey connected on a two-out double in the top of the seventh to bring home Mikey Bonaguro with the go-ahead run.
For Chapel Field, which had to overcome a scheduling change to win two games on Saturday, the win was redemption for a loss in last year’s championship game.
Logan Garvey’s two-out RBI double gives Chapel Field a 3-2 lead in the top of the seventh. pic.twitter.com/DMis2cVMgp
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) June 10, 2023
“I give them so much credit because they did not give up,” Chapel Field head coach Shawn Powell said.
The Lions semifinal matchup with reigning state champ Deposit-Hancock was played earlier in the morning after rain postponed the game originally scheduled for Friday. Chapel Field avenged a 14-5 loss in last year’s state final with a 5-0 win at Mirabito Stadium to reach the championship game.
“This wasn’t an ideal situation; we might have beaten the odds today,” Powell said. “We lost one inning out of 14 innings today. We did not give up anything. We one-hit Deposit-Hancock. It’s real, real hard to win two games of baseball in a day. To hold the line and see it in the fifth and sixth innings, to say I was nervous is an understatement.”
Bryce Hollo struck out five and allowed two runs on five hits and five walks to pick up the win.
Chapel Field’s boys’ basketball lost in the state championship to Avoca-Prattsburgh in March.
“We finished the state championship for basketball, and we started playing baseball the next day,” Powell said. “Every one of those basketball starters including Bryce was there for us to start practice. They knew it was that special. They were waiting.”
Northstar trailed Section VI champion North Collins 1-0 in the fifth inning before pulling out a 3-1 win to claim the NYS Class D Far West Regional championship. On Friday, the Knights trailed 5-4 before scoring two runs in the fourth and another in the fifth.
Dom Kurmis finished 3-for-4 in the game including a one-out double that put runners on second and third in the bottom of the seventh.
“These guys, they did not give up right until the last out,” Valle said of his squad. “This is a really good team. They were in the state finals last year. They fell a little short. They’re experienced. They’ve been here. This is our first time. Second time around, the nerves probably aren’t as much as it was for our guys early on in the game.”
A.J. Mitchell and Tim Leary scored on a Allen’s fourth-inning single.
Allen started and struck out five over three-and-a-third innings of work. Micah Schwaderer, who ended opposing threats in both Friday’s state semifinal and in the regional championship, threw two-thirds of an inning. The right-hander was coming back after throwing four-and-a-third on Friday. Leary entered with two-on and no outs in the fifth and escaped unscathed. The right-hander set down the first eight batters he faced.
“It kinda laid out like we planned it,” said Valle. “They weren’t easy innings. They’re a really good hitting team.”
Leam Powell walked and eventually scored on a delayed steal of home to give Chapel Field a 1-0 lead in the first. Noah Swart singled and scored to double the advantage in the fourth.
Northstar was making its first state championship game appearance since winning the Class D title in 2004.
“Sometimes a state title seems like a pipe dream,” Valle said. “If you’ve never been there, it seems like it’s so far away. Now that we’ve been here, we realize we can get here. The underclassmen the next few years will come in with a lot of confidence. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
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