By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Miguel Matos struck out 14 and hurled a complete game as top-seeded East High defeated No. 8 Palmyra-Macedon, 6-1 in the 2024 Section V Baseball Class A quarterfinals on Monday.
Matos allowed one run on three hits. He walked three and hit two batters.
“We’re not done,” the senior right-hander said. “Our team has been working in practices, games, fall season and indoor league for this. We’re going to keep it going.”
Matos faced the minimum in the first inning but allowed the first batter to reach in each of the next five innings.
“I had to keep it going and stay in the game,” he said. “I can’t put my head down because I got a team behind me that needs me.”
Matos was at his best in the sixth inning when Pal-Mac had two on and one out. He induced a ground ball for a force out and then fanned a batter to end the threat.
“He’s been able to do that all year,” said East High head coach Kyle Crandall. “We’ve worked a lot on the mental side of the game. In general, he’s got the physical tools to be able to do it. It’s more the mental piece. This year, that’s been our focus. I can’t be any more proud of him because he has been able to fight and to battle.
“When he gets himself in a bit of a jam, he goes out and he battles and he fights. For him to be able to have the mental capacity now and fight through adversity, shows a lot of strength and growth in him.”
Eric Jones finished with four RBI to lead the East offense. The sophomore first baseman cleared the bases with a two-out double in the fifth inning.
“I had to put something in play,” Jones said. “I had to do it. I had to do it for the team. I had to do it for Miguel. He had given us one of the best games he had given us on the mound. I had to give him a hit.”
Leading 2-1, Albert Cisnero started the inning with a single to left field. Omar Rodriguez moved the runner with a sacrifice bunt, and Justus Robinson worked a base on balls. A wild pitch put both runners in scoring position, and Matos was intentionally walked to put the force in play.
Emille Diaz brought home the first run of the inning with a walk, and Jones followed from there.
He fell behind O-and-2 in the count before connecting on a one-ball, two-strike offering.
Class A: Down 1-2 in the count, Eric Jones clears the bases with a two-out double. @eastbaseball585 6-1 in the fifth. pic.twitter.com/s6qW0iGEW5
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 20, 2024
Class A: Miguel Matos leaves runners on second and third with his 11th strike out of the game. @eastbaseball585 6 @palmacsports 1 pic.twitter.com/nxZd57ipUr
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 20, 2024
Class A: Miguel Matos sends a flare to left center. Justus Robinson gets a good read on the play, scores from second. @eastbaseball585 1-0, no outs bottom of the first. pic.twitter.com/Sj352bFvKx
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 20, 2024
“Off the bat, I knew it was getting down,” Jones said. “It felt like a sigh of relief when I hit second base knowing that I put my team on top. It opened up the game. We had Miguel on the mound. It felt amazing.”
Pal-Mac had won three straight Class B1 titles coming into the season. The Red Raiders made it a 2-1 game in the second inning when Noah Dapolito plated Brennan Pipitone with a two-out double.
East closed the regular season with a late-inning rally to beat Brighton, 4-1. A week earlier, the Eagles had outlasted East Rochester, 5-3. Earlier in the month, they used a four-run fourth to pull away from a scoreless tie and beat Webster Thomas, 5-2.
Crandall pointed to those games when his team was able to handle the pressure faced against Pal-Mac (12-10) on Monday.
“All season long, we’ve been in games where our backs have been against the wall. Sometimes, we’ve been down. Sometimes, it’s been close game like this – one or two runs. You still feel the pressure. You still know that it’s a game that can go either way.
“I felt coming into this tournament, there was nothing that we haven’t seen. There was no situation that we haven’t been in. Today the kids responded.”
East grabbed an early lead in the game. Robinson and Kyle Markham led the bottom of the first with back-to-back walks. Matos singled to bring in the first run of the game. Markham scored on an RBI groundout from Jones.
Matos reached base all three times he came to the plate. Cisnero finished 2-for-3.
Pal-Mac’s Dapolito went 2-for-3.
Class A: Noah Dapolito gets @palmacsports on the scoreboard with a two-out RBI double. Brennan Pipitone scores on the play. Heading to the bottom of the second @eastbaseball585 2-1 pic.twitter.com/zpwrzw76Ji
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) May 20, 2024
At 21-0, East is the only current, remaining unbeaten team in Section V Baseball. The last club to enter sectionals with an undefeated record was the 2022 Pal-Mac team which started the postseason with a 19-0 mark and went 24-0 before falling in the NYS Class B semifinals.
East will face No. Honeoye Falls-Lima in the Class A semifinals. HF-L won the 2023 Class A2 title and eventually advanced to the regional final. A 5 PM first pitch is scheduled Wednesday at East High.
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