by TYLER HATHAWAY
“He’s a big game guy.”
Those were the words Gananda head coach Bill McClare used while talking about pitcher Henry Shutts on Tuesday night. The sophomore threw all seven innings, struck out 15 batters, and only allowed three runners to reach base all game. The top-seeded Panthers (19-2) won 3-0 over No. 8 Sodus (12-8) in the Section V Class C1 quarterfinals.
“I mixed it up a lot,” said Shutts. “Tried to keep them on their toes.”
“That’s just a different pitcher than we’ve seen all year,” said McClare. “I mean, he’s been great all year, but that’s just a step up from what we’ve seen.”
Shutts registered at least two strikeouts in five innings. He finished the game with four strikeouts in the seventh inning (one of them was a dropped third strike).
“I had a nice cushion on me with three runs,” the right-hander explained. “Just get the last three outs and we’re good to go.”
The Panthers and the Spartans faced each other twice in the regular season, with Gananda earning one-run wins in each affair.
“They pretty much know everything we do, and we pretty much know everything they do,” McClare said of Sodus. “We know their players, we know who they’re gonna throw. It’s a double edged sword. We know they got a really good pitcher. But we also know how to prepare for the type of pitcher we’re gonna see.”
The Panthers got on the board in the second inning after Matthew Gleason got Sodus’ Logan Bulman to step off the mound and Brady Wadsworth stole home. McClare has made baserunning an importance for his team.
“We have a few wrinkles that we put in if our offense is facing a pitcher like (Bulman) that we can try, and it obviously worked today. We put an emphasis on the little things.”
Gananda scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth inning. Maddox Stoughton connected on an RBI double that scored Anthony D’Agostino, and then Aidan Giancursio crossed home plate on a passed ball.
Gleason singled twice for the Panthers. Shutts doubled. Aidan Giancursio singled. Stoughton and Jackson Giancursio were each walked once. For Sodus, Bulman pitched six innings and struck out five batters. Jordan Paton doubled and got on base once via a walk.
“We got a young team and I think they came to play today, and it feels really good to be in the semis,” said McClare.
Gananda advances to face No. 5 seed Letchworth in the Class C1 semifinals on Thursday. The game will be played in Gananda.
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