Pickin' Splinters

Rochester's Independent Sports Source

Fairport outlasts Roy C. Ketcham to win program-first state title

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By PAUL GOTHAM

BINGHAMTON, N.Y. — One week after erasing a pair of opposing scoring opportunities in a state quarter-final matchup, the defense of Fairport baseball keyed another post-season victory.

This time, history was made.

Sam Roselli’s third-inning catch preserved a scoreless tie, and less than two frames later the Red Raiders (21-4) had all the runs needed to defeat Roy C. Ketcham (23-4), 3-2 in the 2024 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AAA championship game.

Roselli chased down a blast off the bat of Ketcham shortstop Owen Paino, timed his jump to reach over the fence and made a grab before the ball landed in the right-field bullpen of the Bearcats Baseball Complex on the campus of SUNY Binghamton.

“Obviously, the ball was hit pretty hard,” the sophomore outfielder said. “Near the warning track, my teammates called ‘Fence.’ I went up for it. I had to trust in my teammates and made the catch.

“I felt it pretty firm in the glove, so it felt good coming down.”

Paino turned on the third offering of the at-bat from Fairport starter, Nathan VanDeVoorde.

“I knew he got one,” said the Red Raiders’ senior shortstop, Jackson Rucker. “I said ‘Uh oh’ when he hit it. Roselli was back there. He would track it down and what a catch, man. What a catch. Tip my cap to him. That was pretty clutch.”

Paino, the Gatorade New York State Player of the Year and Ole Miss commit who is ranked No. 116 in the upcoming MLB draft, went 0-for-4 in Ketcham’s 4-3 win over Shenendehowa (II) in Friday’s final four matchup. The 6-foot-3 shortstop popped-up in his first trip to the plate in Saturday’s championship game.

“Sam did what he’s been doing all season just playing fearless,” said Fairport head coach Kieran Murphy. “He knew the fence was coming up. Even if he ran full speed into that fence, he wasn’t going to care. He was going for that ball. He was going to make sure that that was in his glove because that’s how much he cares for his teammates.”

The third-inning blast had the makings of getting Paino untracked at the plate and tilting momentum in the favor of the reigning NYSPHSAA Class AA champions.

“All the credit to Owen,” Murphy said. “As he was running by AJ Nelson, our catcher, he looked at him and said ‘Hey, tell your right fielder that’s a heckuva catch.’ Big kudos to him. It’s a very mature thing for him to do. He’s going to be wildly successful no matter what. I’m rooting for him. I’m a big fan after seeing him play today and seeing him play last night. I wish that kid the most success in his future in baseball.”

In Fairport’s 5-2 regional win over Lancaster a week ago, VanDeVoorde threw out the go-ahead run at home plate from center field. Then Matt Bartusek combined with third baseman Will Stanek on a 5-3-5 double play to end another threat.

Roselli’s grab on Saturday was just the start of the highlights for Fairport’s defense on Saturday.

Jerry Ostrander robbed Ryan Mealy with a diving catch on a sinking line drive in left field for the first out of the fifth inning. Bartusek made a sliding stop on a ground ball then ranged into foul territory to grab a pop-up before it fell into the netting along the first base side for the second and third outs of the inning.

Murphy wasn’t surprised by the defensive effort after his team’s pre-game warm-up.

“Usually our ‘in-and-out’ isn’t great,” Murphy said when talking about the infield and outfield practice his team takes prior to games. “Today it was laser-focused. It was probably the best ‘in-and-out’ we took all year. You could just see it from the time we stepped on to the campus. These guys were going to play for each other and give it everything they had today.”

The championship triumph came less than 18 hours after Fairport walked off the field at Mirabito Stadium, home of the New York Mets Double-A affiliate, Binghamton Rumble Ponies, with a 9-5 victory over Commack (XI) in a game that started near 10:30 p.m. and ended after midnight.

“I don’t think I’ve played a baseball game that went into the next day,” Rucker said. “That was pretty crazy. I think it was about the fifth or sixth inning, I looked up at the scoreboard and it was Saturday. That was pretty surreal. What a ride. man, it’s just unbelievable.”

Intermittent showers caused delays on a couple occasions during the second and third games of the day. The tarp was placed on the grass-playing surface after Ketcham’s win over Shenendehowa.

That game went 10 innings, and the reigning state champions used the top two pitchers of the their staff, Monmouth commit Ryan Mealy and SUNY Cortland commit Connor Durkin.

Looking to give their teams the best chance to win a championship, Murphy and Commack head coach, Matt Salmon agreed that they wanted to avoid having to play a potential 8 a.m. game and subsequent double-header on Saturday.

“There was never a doubt in our minds that that was the thing for us to do,” Murphy said. “It made for a really late night. This game wasn’t until four o’clock today, so we knew we had some time to sleep in a little bit beforehand. Yeah, it was a late night, but our guys responded today. Just really, really proud of the way that they worked. These guys deserve all the credit in the world. We give them opportunities. They do all the work so couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Miller struck out seven over 5.2 innings and picked up the win as Fairport jumped to a 5-1 lead after two innings on the way to a 9-5 victory over Commack (13-9).

“We thought we were going to have to play a doubleheader today, but obviously not,” the SUNY Binghamton commit said. “We just kinda stayed out there on the field. Me and AJ (Nelson) stayed out in the bullpen for an hour. It was a little bit of adversity, but we got through it.”

Rucker highlighted a three-run Fairport fourth in the championship game with a triple that scored VanDeVoorde and Miller.

“I’ve been struggling as of late,” Rucker said. “I was just trying to get a pitch I wanted, just trying to help the team and put a ball in play.”

The Hobart College commit drove a two-strike fastball into the right-center gap.

“I saw it up. That’s kinda the spot where I like to see the ball out. I like driving it the other way. As soon as I swung, I knew I got it.”

Rucker came home on a wild pitch with the eventual winning run.

VanDeVoorde scattered four hits and a walk over six scoreless innings to pick up the win. Roselli came on in relief in the seventh.

Jason Due and Mealy led the Ketcham seventh with back-to-back base hits. One out later, Riley Weatherwax singled to right. Due scored on the play and a throwing error put runners on second and third. Paino came to the plate representing the go-ahead run. He was intentionally walked to load the bases. Luke Picone followed with an RBI-groundout.

Bartusek corralled a ground ball at first for the final out of the game.

“It doesn’t matter the situation,” Murphy said. “It doesn’t matter what’s going on around them, they always find a way to win. Today, they found way to win. We made it interesting for ourselves, but couldn’t be more proud of the fact that they went and got it done.”

Fairport baseball had won eight sectional titles prior to this season. Only the 2006 team had advanced to the state final four, but that squad lost to Colonie (II), 7-1 in the state semifinals.

Saturday’s win ended the drought.

“To be the first in history is so special for Fairport,” Rucker said. “I just think about all the great people in Fairport and how deserving it is. Playing for something bigger than yourself has always been my thing. This is the icing on the cake and I couldn’t be happier than to do it any other place than Fairport for all the people who coach, teach and live here. It’s awesome.”

“They can call themselves the first state champions in the history of Fairport baseball which is pretty special, pretty special,” said Murphy a 2009 Fairport graduate who went on to play four years at St. John Fisher.

For Murphy and the senior class that includes Bartusek, Miller, Nelson, Ostrander, Rucker, Stanek and VanDeVoorde , Saturday’s win capped a journey that started when the second-year varsity head coach took over the program’s Modified-A team four years ago.

“These guys, they mean the world to me the senior class. For them to bring it home and move on to the next chapter of their lives with a state championship, a story-book state championship…I’m so excited for them.”

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