by TYLER HATHAWAY
NEWARK, N.Y — The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines “pounce”, a verb, as “to swoop upon and seize something with or as if with talons.”
While commonly used with birds of prey, like falcons or hawks, the term can also be used when talking about No. 3 seed Geneseo’s offense throughout its 12-3 win over top-seeded Sodus in the Section V Class C1 title game on Friday night.
Geneseo’s opponent, Sodus, entered Friday’s showdown allowing 1.6 runs per game. In only three of 20 games this season did the Spartans allow their opponent to score three or more runs. But the Blue Devils pounced- scoring three runs in the first inning to spark a win that gave Geneseo its first sectional title since 2018.
“It’s great,” said Geneseo head coach Scott Miller about the win. “It’s cool watching these kids work. A lot of the core seniors have been on [varsity] for four years. They’ve put in the work, they’ve taken the time in the off-season, so it’s really cool to see.”
The first inning got off to an explosive start for the Blue Devils. Brady O’Brien walked. Bryce Patterson and Cooper Warner had back-to-back singles. And suddenly, three at-bats into the game, the bases were loaded.
“I think we had a unique opportunity being the away team,” said Geneseo head coach Scott Miller. “I told them on the bus that we had a chance to go jump on them. It’s important that we get that done, and let’s make them uncomfortable.”
Tyler Churchfield then connected on a sacrifice fly that scored O’Brien. Two batters later, Phillip Dotterweich hit a double to right field that scored Patterson and Warner. Geneseo had taken a 3-0 lead.
“They (Sodus) were 19-1,” said pitcher and Class C1 Sectional MVP Luke Davis. “We knew that they haven’t lost much this year and that if we jumped on them they might not know what to do.”
Sodus responded with a run in the bottom of the frame, and neither team scored in the second inning. But in the third inning, Geneseo was on the attack once more. Warner led off the inning with a triple. Churchfield walked. Peter Granger knocked in Warner with a sac-fly. The next at-bat, Dotterweich doubled for a second time, and scored Churchfield. In a flash, Geneseo had scored two more runs.
Davis forced three groundouts in four at-bats in the bottom of the third inning. As his team was jogging off the field back to the dugout, Miller challenged his squad.
“Five is not enough!” he yelled to his players. “Five is not enough!”
After O’Brien walked and Bryce Patterson got hit by a pitch, Warner doubled and scored O’Brien. The Blue Devils would go on to score two more runs in the frame, and led 8-1 through four innings.
“We knew that no lead was safe against those guys,” said Warner. “They’ve been winning all year and have that winning mindset. We just had to keep hammering it on, and just keep going.”
“We know that crazy things can happen in high school baseball, and we’ve been on both ends of that,” said Miller. “The more [runs] we can get the better. We needed to keep our foot on the gas and make sure that we continue to play baseball the way we want to play baseball.
Geneseo would go on to score two more runs in the fifth inning and another pair of runs in the sixth inning. The win was the 15th straight for a Geneseo squad that opened the season 4-4 after a trip to Myrtle Beach and a few games against schools in higher classifications.
“Going down to Myrtle is always helpful,” said Miller. “I think it exposed some things that we needed to work on which was great. I think we show resilience when bad things happen. We learn from it, we move on, and we get better.”
In 2024, Geneseo reached the Class C2 championship game but fell 4-2 to Bolivar Richburg. In 2023, the Blue Devils reached the sectional semifinals but lost. Miller credits past leaders as being a big part of this year’s run.
“The seniors beforehand were amazing leaders, and the seniors before that were amazing leaders. Even if we didn’t have the talent to win it all, it’s built upon itself. There’s so many names I can throw out there that have had an impact on this team that aren’t on this team right now. So that’s been really cool. I think they [this year’s seniors] have all learned from those guys.”
For current seniors, like Davis and Warner, it’s a monkey off of their backs. Davis pitched the first five and two third innings and retired 10 batters on strikes. At the plate, he singled and scored.
“It just feels great to finally get it done,” said Davis. “Last year was a heartbreaker. So, it feels good.”
Warner ended his day 3-for-5 at the plate with a triple, a double, a single, an RBI, and three scored runs.
“It feels great,” said Warner about the title. “We have a great core group of seniors who’ve been on the team for four years, Phillip [Dotterweich] has been here five. It feels great to finally get it done.”
Warner came in to relieve Davis on the mound and tossed the final inning and a third. He struck out three batters and allowed no one to reach base.
“It felt good to close it out,” said Warner. “I was just hammering the strike zone, I knew the guys behind me would back me up, and they did when we got the final out.”
Dotterweich doubled twice, had three RBI, and walked. Peter Granger was 2-for-4 with a double, three RBI, and a scored run. Oren Ray doubled, singled, scored, walked, and had an RBI. O’Brien singled twice, scored twice, and walked twice. Patterson scored twice, singled, and knocked in a runner. Churchfield had two RBI, two walks, and scored. Avery Hepler had an RBI.
Evan Laird collected three hits in four at-bats for Sodus. He got the start on the mound for the Spartans and struck out two batters over two and a third innings. Austin Cincinello had a two-RBI double. Parker Orbaker pitched the final inning and two thirds, singled, and walked. Braydn Orbaker pitched three innings of relief and struck out a batter. Garrett Barron singled and scored twice. Carter Salerno, Cooper Ingersoll, and Jordan Orrange-Paton each singled once.
The game was the second in two days for Geneseo after a rainout on Wednesday forced the Blue Devils to play their semifinal game on Thursday, less than 24 hours before the time the championship game was scheduled for.
“It’s hard to play two games in 24 hours but they did it”, said Miller. “I Just told them to make sure they take care of their bodies and went to school and all those things.”
The Blue Devils (19-4) will have until Tuesday to prepare for their next game, the regional qualifier. They await the winner of the C2 championship game between Kendall and Genesee Valley-Belfast.
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