By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Bruce Newton delivered a walk-off single in the ninth inning, and School of the Arts (SOTA) defeated Wilson/Early College, 5-4 in RCAC Baseball action Tuesday at Cobb’s Hill Park.
With the win, SOTA clinches a spot in the championship game of the City Tournament.
Newton sent a two-out, two-strike pitch through the left side of the infield.
“I saw the spin on it, and I thought it was about to curve back in,” the sophomore infielder said. “I had two strikes. I had to stay alive, make contact in any way. I got what I wanted. It was right there.”
Benjamin Barnosky scored from second on the play.
“There was no one really holding me close, so I was able to get a big lead,” Barnosky said. “I looked at coach and saw that he was telling me to go. I knew the ball was in the outfield, and that we were going to win.”
Barnosky reached on a two-out infield single to start the winning rally. He moved to second on a wild pitch.
“On first, I was thinking I have to get to second,” he said. “I had to get in scoring position because he had been putting balls in the outfield all day. I knew I had to get in scoring position for him.”
Walk-off winner: Bruce Newton sends a two-strike pitch through the left side of the infield and scores Benjamin Barnosky with the game winner. SOTA 5 Wilson 4. Silverhawks will face Edison in the RCAC championship, Thursday. pic.twitter.com/sSShPBAuA9
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 8, 2024
Henry Hawkinson came on in relief with bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning and escaped the jam with two strike outs. The right-hander set down seven on strikes over 4.2 scoreless innings. The Silverhawks’ starting catcher retired 14 of the 20 batters he faced while limiting Wilson to two balls out of the infield
“I had been in the same situation a couple of times before today,” Hawkinson said. “I was ready. This is playoffs. The curveball was working good.”
Newton retired the only batter he faced on strikes to pick up the win.
Bennie Laver walked and scored on a Gio Petrone single to center to get SOTA on the scoreboard in the first inning. Wilson took advantage of three walks and a hit by pitch to knot the game in the second.
Laver and Hawkinson both had base hits in the bottom of the second when SOTA scored twice to take a 3-1 lead. Kaisel Cuevas singled and scored in the third for Wilson.
Double-play magic: Bruce Newton to Ben Barnosky to Jack Wingert. 6-4-3 GDP. @wildcats_wilson gets SOTA 3-2 heading to the bottom of the third. pic.twitter.com/4wGx7xB250
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 7, 2024
Gio Petrone gets the scoring started with a single to center. Bennie Laver scores on the play. SOTA 1 Wilson 0 pic.twitter.com/PB25sx6URy
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 7, 2024
Newton singled and scored to give SOTA a 4-2 lead.
Cuevas and Joe Baldrich crossed home in the fifth to tie the game for Wilson.
Newton and Hawkinson both finished 3-for-5 at the plate. Laver reached base three times and scored twice.
Cuevas was 2-for-5 for Wilson and struck out 13 over 7.1 innings of work. He was lifted after fanning the first batter in the eighth because of pitch-count rules.
Slider catches the outside corner. Kaesel Cuevas leaves runners on second and third. Heading to the second: SOTA 1 Wilson 0 pic.twitter.com/2sV596rb87
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 7, 2024
Yankriel Gonzalez runs down the fly ball in left field. SOTA gets two takes a 3-1 lead into the third. pic.twitter.com/r3vHGNcpoW
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 7, 2024
SOTA will play Edison Tech in Thursday’s championship game. A 5 PM first pitch is scheduled at Greece Olympia High School.
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