By PAUL GOTHAM
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Greece Post 468 used a big inning to clinch a sweep in the semifinals and then again in the championship series opener.
No offensive outburst, though, existed in Game 2 of the best two-of-three matchup.
Weston Elkovitch didn’t need one. Even if Championship Series Most Outstanding Player wasn’t at the top of his game.
Elkovitch shrugged off some first-inning struggles and strung together six shutout innings as Greece (20-1) defeated Irondequoit Post 134 (12-6), 2-1 to clinch the American Legion District 7 championship Saturday at University of Rochester’s Towers Field.
“Weston was grinding,” said Greece Post head coach Nelson Madrid. “He didn’t have his best stuff. You could tell his off-speed stuff wasn’t there. He got ahead in a few counts, and he didn’t finish, but he still wanted to go back out there and finish what he started.”
Making his fourth appearance on the mound during the summer season, the 6-foot left-hander struck out five, walked five and allowed five hits.
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“He knows he has a good defense behind him,” Madrid said. “He’s got players that are going to pick him up. Even when he doesn’t have his best stuff as a team we’re going to come together.”
Josh Campbell started the game with a base on balls and moved to second on a balk before coming home on a Tyler Cannon single.
Elkovitch set down the next three batters. He retired the first two in four of the next six frames but only in the fourth did he face the minimum.
“I did have a little bit of an adjustment,” the Canisius University commit said. “At first, my leg wasn’t coming as high. As soon as I got leg up a little more, I started throwing more strikes. I was more balanced.”
The Victor High grad, who threw complete games in the Blue Devils sectional and regional championships last month, improved to 2-0 for the summer. He left the tying run at third in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Irondequoit Post’s Frank Grad roped a two-out triple in the sixth. Elkovitch induced a ground ball from the next batter to leave the runner 90 feet from home. Campbell worked a two-out walk in the seventh and moved to third on a Tyler Cannon base hit to right. Again, Elkovitch got a ground ball. This time to end the game and clinch a championship.
“He told me two or three times, ‘I got this coach,'” Madrid said of his starter. “As a coach, all I can do is step back and let him take it.”
Quentin Grimes took advantage of a spot start and delivered the eventual game winner with a one-out single in the fourth that brought home Brody Froman.
“Baseball’s crazy,” Madrid said. “He’s playing because of an injury. We had to move a few pieces around, but I know from seeing him play throughout the years, that he doesn’t fear that moment. I knew he was going to give us a quality swing. That’s what he did. That’s all you can do. Put the ball in play and try to make something happen.”
Grimes connected on a full-count fastball up in the zone and sent a flare into shallow center.
“I hadn’t swung all day, so I was swinging no matter what,” he said. “I just got enough of it to poke it out to center and score the run.”
Tyler Cannon gets Irondequoit Post on the board. Josh Campbell scores on the play. No outs in the first. pic.twitter.com/5BZAeikvQC
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 20, 2024
Quentin Grimes lifts a one-out flare into center and gives Greece Post a 2-1 lead. pic.twitter.com/mYE9d73lTT
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 20, 2024
Orlando Figueroa ranges behind second and flips to Frank Grad to get the force for the final out in the bottom of the fifth. Greece Post 2 Irondequoit Post 1 @NYALBaseball @MCLegionBSBL pic.twitter.com/TFP3gfwszD
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 20, 2024
Double-play magic: Jeffrey Broadnax to Brady Gerig to Steven Kraus. pic.twitter.com/vp4deifZRk
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 20, 2024
Tyler Cannon puts runners on the corners with two outs in the seventh. pic.twitter.com/ykJvgaysya
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 20, 2024
Jeffrey Broadnax makes the play from second to end it. Weston Elkovitch goes the distance. FINAL: Greece Post 2 Irondequoit Post 1 pic.twitter.com/XWlhuJxaBk
— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 20, 2024
Elkovitch and Steven Kraus both went 1-for-2 with a walk. Brady Gerig walked and scored in the first.
Cannon finished 2-3 with a walk. Orlando Figueroa and Ian Fleck added a single apiece.
Earlier in the afternoon, Derrick Allen struck out seven and hurled a two-hitter as Greece opened the championship series with a 10-0 win in six innings. Jaden Madrid sparked a seven-run fifth with a leadoff double. The next five batters all reached base in the decisive frame that saw 13 go to the plate.
The district title was the third straight for Greece which will look to make it three consecutive state championships when the season continues next weekend in Binghamton.
“The players, whether it’s the returning players that continue to set the standard or the new players that understand what it takes once they get here, respect the process,” Madrid said. “No matter who you play for before or who you’ve been playing for during the summer, when you’re with us, you’re just one of the guys. No one thinks they’re better than anyone else, and they respect the process.”
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