One team enters on a 15-game win streak. The other is coming off a walk-off win in the state quarterfinals. Webster Thomas and Horseheads (IV) will meet Friday in Binghamton to determine who will play in the NYS Class AA championship. Here’s the breakdown:
CLASS AA
WEBSTER THOMAS TITANS (19-5/Monroe County Division II)
vs.
HORSEHEADS BLUE RAIDERS (18-2/Southern Tier West League)
Friday, Union-Endicott HS, 1:00 p.m
VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM LAURA ACCIAIO.
How they arrived here: Webster Thomas took down Edison Tech with a 22-1 win in the Section V Class AA second round before beating Gates Chili 16-1 in the quarterfinal round. A 6-0 win over Penfield in the semifinals put Webster Thomas into the AA sectional championship, which it won 4-3 over Churchfield-Chili. In the Far West Regional, the Titans defeated Williamsville East (VI) by a score of 5-1. Horseheads defeated Vestal in a three-game series to win the Section IV Class AA championship. A walkoff, ten-inning 1-0 win over Wallkill (IX) advanced Horseheads into the state semifinals.
Tempo and trends: Webster Thomas enters the contest on a 15-game winning streak. The Titans average 7.2 runs per game on offense while allowing 2.6 runs per game on defense. Horseheads produces an average of 6.9 runs per game offensively while allowing 1.5 runs per game on defense.
Players to watch for Webster Thomas: Joey Baller Sr. 1B/P .380 BA, 10 RBI, 22 R, 6 2B; Jake DiCicco Sr. P/INF 1.79 ERA, 47.0 IP, 7-1 record, 33 K, 1.05 WHIP; Tyler Estelle Jr. SS/P .325 BA, 23 RBI, 26 R, 2 3B, 3 2B; Cameron Guffey Sr. INF/P .283 BA, 10 RBI, 12 R, 1 3B, 1 2B; AJ LaLoggia Sr. 2B .397 BA, 16 RBI, 29 R, 4 3B, 8 2B; Charles Sciortino So. OF .351 BA, 12 RBI, 15 R, 1 HR, 3 2B; Max Seaver So. P/OF 1.41 ERA, 59.2 IP, 7-2 record, 52 K, 0.857 WHIP; Connor Smith Sr. P/OF 2.60 ERA, 42.0 IP, 5-1 record, 35 K, 1.21 WHIP; Owen Zimmer Sr. 3B .359 BA, 23 RBI, 9 R, 4 2B
Players to watch for Horseheads: Mason Holloway (nine innings, 13 strikeouts in state quarterfinals); Lyncoln Bennett (walkoff in state quarterfinals); Cooper Ball (got start in Section IV title game and threw final inning of quarterfinal round)
Coaches: Kevin Neenan (Webster Thomas), Jeff Limoncelli (Horseheads)
History 101: This is the second time Webster Thomas has made the state semifinals and is looking for a program-first state championship game appearance. Horseheads last made the state semifinals in 2018 and is looking to win its first state championship game since it won it all in 1999.
What’s at stake: A spot in the NYS Class AA championship game on Saturday against the winner of Fox Lane (I) and West Genesee (III).
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