One team has won 13 of its past 15 games and hasn’t lost to a Class A team all season. The other has taken eight of its past nine and only given up more than one run in one of their past four outings.
Pittsford Sutherland will meet Grand Island on Tuesday in a clash of Section V and Section VI. The winner advances to the NYS Class A quarterfinals. This will get you ready:
PITTSFORD SUTHERLAND KNIGHTS (18-5/Monroe County Division IV/No. 5 NYSSWA Class A)
vs.
GRAND ISLAND VIKINGS (18-4/Niagara Frontier League/No. 24 NYSSWA Class A)
Tuesday, Frontier HS, 4:00 pm
How they arrived here: Pittsford Sutherland opened sectional play with a 1-0 win over Batavia in the Class A quarterfinals before taking down Geneva 5-4 in the semifinals. The Knights then defeated Honeoye Falls-Lima 2-1 to win a sectional championship. Grand Island knocked off Kenmore East (9-1), Starpoint (12-5), and Amherst (7-1) to win the Section VI Class A1 title before beating Olean (10-0) to advance to the subregional.
Scoring offense: Pittsford Sutherland (6.0 RPG), Grand Island (9.4 RPG)
Scoring defense: Pittsford Sutherland (3.7 RPG), Grand Island (3.5 RPG)
Trends: Pittsford Sutherland has wins in 13 of its past 15 games. Only twice in that span have the Knights allowed more than three runs. Grand Island has picked up seven consecutive victories, six of which have been by six runs or more.
Players to watch for Pittsford Sutherland: Sam Byrne Sr. (.227 BA, 15 H, six XBH, one HR, 10 RBI, 16 R, 38.0 IP, 2.39 ERA, 5-1 record, 50 Ks) Maddox Johnson Sr. (.297 BA, 22 H, two XBH, 12 RBI, 15 R), Chase Dermody Sr. (49.2 IP, 1.40 ERA, 7-1 record, 77 Ks), Aidan Kress Sr. (.329 BA, 23 H, four XBH, one HR, 21 RBI, 11 R), Ryan Munzinger Sr. (.254 BA, 18 H, six XBH, one HR, 15 RBI, 20 R), Hudson Lazenby Jr. (.271 BA, 16 H, four XBH, one HR, nine RBI, 15 R, 31.2 IP, 2.43 ERA, 4-1 record, two saves, 40 Ks)
Players to watch for Grand Island: Ryan Whalen Jr. P/3B (complete game to win sectional title), Don Collure Jr. OF/P, Jon Neville Sr. OF/INF, John Chiarenza Sr. SS
Coaches: Brandon DeRosa (Pittsford Sutherland), Dean Santorio (Grand Island)
History 101: Pittsford Sutherland last reached the state quarterfinals in 2024. The Knights are looking to reach that round for the 11th time since 2005. Grand Island is coming off of its first sectional title since 2012. That year, the Vikings reached the NYS Class A title game.
What’s at stake: A spot in the NYS Class A quarterfinals against the winner of Scotia-Glenville (II) and Waverly (IV).
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