Greece Post 468 rallies, walks off with NYS Legion title

By PAUL GOTHAM

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Imagine a swimming pool toy after it’s been handled by a doberman pinscher.

Deflated.

That’s the best way to describe Greece Post 468 for the better part of action at Rochester Institute of Technology on Wednesday.

Greece had steamrolled its first four opponents in the tournament by a combined score of 40-5 to move within one win of a third state title in four years. Then just like that was facing a deficit and down to its final six outs.

Greece dropped a 9-3 decision in Wednesday’s opener. Only once this season had the squad allowed more runs. The loss forced a deciding game.

They trailed 5-2 after five innings. The two runs, scored in the fourth, felt like a last gasp.

That is, until one of baseball’s timeless clichés came into play: one swing of the bat.

Derrick Allen sparked a late-inning rally and Greece Post (20-5) walked off with a 6-5 victory over Hamburg Post 527 (17-5-1) to claim the 2025 New York State American Legion Senior championship.

VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM STEVEN TWARDZIK. 

Allen collected 12 hits in the six games of the tournament. None bigger than a solo shot to lead off the sixth inning.

“I was just trying to get on base and give us a chance,” said the tournament MVP.

He connected on a 1-0 pitch that easily cleared the fence in right field – 310 feet from home plate.

“It gave us that swagger, that confidence,” said Greece Post manager, Nelson Madrid. “It was the first time that our energy was at a different tier. It was where it was earlier in the tournament. Now, the guys believed they could do this.”

Allen’s round-tripper was the first of three straight to reach base in the inning. Cam Barbulean and Tyler Cannon followed with a back-to-back singles. One out later, Nate Brinza tied the game with a double in the left-center gap.

“Prior to that inning the boys were running into the dugout, I said ‘We have to change our approach,'” Madrid said. “‘He (Hamburg Post pitcher Daniel Reese) is executing his pitches, and we’re making it easy for him.’

“We were letting him control the game. We had to change our approach.”

What Madrid wanted, initially, and what Allen provided were two different things.

“We were all thinking of trying to hit it over the fence,” Madrid said. “We needed to play more small ball, try driving the ball and finding some holes.”

Allen responded with his second home run of the season.

“That’s what happens a lot with hitting,” Allen said. “When you start trying hit line drives, home runs happen.”

One inning later, Jake Higgins came home with game winner. Higgins entered the game as a pinch hitter. He led the bottom of the seventh with a double.

Madrid credited coach Jim Capellupo with the decision to send Higgins to plate.

“Coach Capps and I were talking. Savage (Greece catcher, Dylan) had caught both games. His hands were slowing down a little bit. You could tell. He was wearing down, and we knew with the type of pitcher that they had out there, he had a little bit of velocity. When you’re exhausted like that, you may not catch up to it.”

Higgins had a two-run single in Greece’s win over Clinton County on Sunday. Prior to that he hadn’t had a hit since July 6th.

He connected on a full-count pitch and lifted a fly ball that touched just inside the left field line. It was his fourth hit of the season.

“We thought that it was his moment,” Madrid said. “He was giving positive energy the whole game, so we knew he was going to be ready when his name was called.”

Colden Forney followed with a sacrifice bunt to move the winning run 90 feet from home. Hamburg Post intentionally walked Allen and Barbulean to set up the force at every base. Tyler Cannon delivered with a sacrifice fly to win the game and championship.

One year after falling in the state semifinals, Greece returned to the top.

“It feels good because we had a group of guys that came back that had not had the opportunity to win the state title,” Madrid said. “They were hungry. We talked about it at our first practice and throughout the regular season.”

Barbulean hurled a complete game to pick up the win. The left-hander had not pitched in a game since July 5th. It showed early. He labored through the first three innings.

“That was our concern coming into the game,” Madrid said. “He hadn’t pitched in a while. He had been throwing some bullpens, but hadn’t faced live batters. It was going to take him a while to settle in. Once he did, we knew he would be okay. We had to keep the game close.”

During the most recent high school season, Barbulean hurled 5.2 innings in the NYSPHSAA semifinals and picked up the win for eventual champion Pittsford Mendon. On Wednesday, he struck out six and allowed five runs on three hits and two walks. From the end of the third through the sixth he retired 10 of 11 batters.

Barbulean was at his best in the top of seventh. With one out and the go-ahead run at second, Hamburg Post had its top of the order in Chase Haglund coming to the plate. Haglund led the game with an inside-the-park home run. He singled, walked twice and scored a run in the first game of the day.

Madrid and the rest of the Greece coaches considered going to the bullpen.

“As a staff, we were talking about whether we should make a move. We thought that the Cam that was out there in the seventh inning was different from the Cam that he faced earlier in the game. That Cam is going to be able to execute the pitches that we know he can.”

Barbulean made good on the staff’s trust in him with a strike out and ground ball to end the inning.

“We talked with him before that inning, and he said ‘No, I’m good.’ That’s all you need to hear. If he hasn’t hit his pitch count, and he’s telling you that he’s good, he’s experienced player for this age. We were confident that he could do what we needed.”

Allen finished 3-for-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Barbulean was 2-3 with a walk and two runs scored. Cannon singled, drove in two and crossed home once. Mason Davey drove in a run with a single.

Greece advances to the North East Regional next week in Massachusetts. Schedule is TBA.

Nate Brinza knots the game with a one-out, two-run double in the sixth. pic.twitter.com/QCHwJazPEB

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 30, 2025

Colden Forney makes the play on a ball hit up the middle. Cam Barbulean retires the side in order. Clarkson commit has set down 10 of 11. ⁦@GreecePostBSBAL⁩ comes to the plate in the bottom of the sixth trailing 5-2. pic.twitter.com/bAwqi8yBCb

— Paul Gotham (@PickinSplinters) July 30, 2025