BY STEVE BRADLEY
PERINTON – The defending state champions aren’t done yet.
Facing a win-or-go-home scenario in the second game of the Section V Class AAA Championship Series, second-seeded Fairport received a gutty effort from senior Nick Rene and scored in every inning but the first and seventh on its way to a 10-3 victory over top-seeded McQuaid on Thursday afternoon. Game 3 is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Monday at Innovative Field and the winner will become the eighth program in Section V history to win 10 sectional baseball titles.
Junior shortstop Jon Roessel, who reached in all four of his plate appearances from the nine hole in the batting order, got the Fairport offense started with a two-out double in the top of the second inning and the Red Raiders went on to pound out 12 hits in the victory.
“We had two guys get on in front of me and it was just a ‘do your job’ mentality,” said Roessel, who finished 3-for-4 with two RBI. “There were two outs and I was just trying to put the ball in play.”
McQuaid scored a run in the bottom of the second, but Fairport used sacrifice flies by Pat Lindquist and Owen Andreatta in the top of the third to give Rene a 4-1 lead to work with.
“In any baseball game, it’s imperative to take control and flip the momentum when you can,” Fairport coach Kieran Murphy said.
Fairport added another run on a sac fly by Alex Grejda in the fourth and used an inning-ending double play to limit McQuaid to a single run after the first three batters reached base in the bottom of the frame.
The Raiders used three hits, including a pair of bunt singles, and a pair of errors by the Knights to break the game open with four runs in the fifth.
Sam Roselli doubled twice and scored twice and Andreatta added two hits and a pair of RBI for the Raiders.
Rene, who plans to play for Monroe Community College next season, appreciated the offensive support.
“Those boys have had my back all year,” said Rene, who scattered five hits over 89 pitches while improving to 5-1 on the season. “Merr (catcher Ryan Merlo) was fantastic behind the plate. The slider was my go-to today and he called the right pitches at the right time.”
“He’s just a gritty kid,” Murphy said of Rene, who scored twice while adding a single and an RBI at the plate. “He has been giving us that all year and he just competes his butt off.”
Junior Conor Forkey added a hit and scored two runs for the Knights (15-7) and Thomas Bailey, Danny Luce, Dom Corona and Paul Rizzo all added hits for the Knights, who defeated Fairport 3-2 in Tuesday’s series opener.
Murphy and the Red Raiders are expecting McQuaid’s best effort on Saturday.
“I’m excited for the game,” said Murphy, who has guided Fairport to Section V crowns the past two seasons. “Our guys relish the opportunity.”
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