The only way that the Jamesville-DeWitt and Christian Brothers Academy baseball teams would face again in 2016 was if the Section III Class A championship was on the line at Onondaga Community College and both sides had survived three tense rounds to get there.
For J-D, the expectations of a title were real, given that it had the no. 2 seed and finished the regular season with a 14-game win streak, including two late-season conquests of CBA four days apart. For CBA, the owners of a no. 12 seed and an 8-11 regular-season mark, the odds appeared longer.
But by the time the quarterfinal round was done, the Red Rams were out, courtesy of a 3-1 defeat to Camden – and the Brothers were still alive, having survived a trip to Homer and then routed Mexico to make it out of the early stages.
Given the 15-team field, the Red Rams had to play an opening-round game last Tuesday against no. 15 seed Phoenix. It still proved stress-free as J-D wiped out the Firebirds – and the winning margin in this 2 -15 contest was, ironically, 15-2.
Starting with a four-run first inning, the Rams got runs in each of the first five fames, capped by a six-run outburst in the bottom of the fifth. There was sloppy defense on both sides (10 total errors, six of them by Phoenix), but J-D still produced 13 hits.
Matt Cappelletti had three of those hits, with Casey Kretsch adding two doubles and two walks. Cappelletti, Kretsch, Gavin French, Scottie O’Bryan and Ian Crawford each drove in two runs, with Pat Cramer and Parker Wing adding single RBIs. Dylan McGee pitched most of the way, holding the Firebirds to two hits in six innings.
Now, in the Class A quarterfinal, J-D met no. 10 seed Camden – who had put an end to the fine season of no. 7 seed East Syracuse Minoa in an 8-7 opening-round thriller.
The Spartans had built a 4-0 lead through two innings, but couldn’t hold it as the Blue Devils netted five runs in the top of the fifth to go in front. ESM reclaimed the lead, 7-5, in the bottom of the fifth, but Camden got a run in the sixth and, with the season on the line, scored twice in the seventh and pulled it out.
Shane Krawec worked 5 1/3 innings before Tom Ghika worked in relief, but both pitchers were hurt by five ESM errors. Dan Williams and Jimmy Griffin each scored two runs as Jeff Loder earned three hits and Nick Castrello added an RBI.
Given how hard Camden had worked just to survive its first game, J-D perhaps took the task of eliminating the Blue Devils too lightly – and if so, paid for it.
Even with a first-inning run produced by Kretsch’s double, the Rams couldn’t add to its 1-0 lead against Camden starter Billy Witzigman. And in the top of the fourth, the Blue Devils put two runners on base and brought them home with Dan Birmingham’s single.
Camden tacked on a run in the fifth with Whitney Cook’s RBI single, and from there Witzigman blanked J-D until Rowan Connor came in during the seventh inning to get the save and end the Rams’ championship dreams.
Far from all this, CBA, drawing the no. 12 seed, had visited no. 5 seed Homer for its opening-round game and, with a dramatic final flourish, won 4-2 in nine innings to avenge a pair of regular-season defeats to the Trojans.
Trailing 1-0, the Brothers used single runs in the fifth and sixth innings to go in front, only to see Homer tie it in the bottom of the seventh. It stayed 2-2 until the top of the ninth, when Brian McCann delivered his biggest hit of the season, a two-run single that got the Brothers in front.
When Homer threatened to rally in the bottom of the seventh, Nate Burns, in center field, made a diving catch to snuff it out. Then David Gross, who tossed 2 2/3 innings of relief after Jack Sheridan exited, got the final outs.
Since no. 13 seed Mexico upended no. 4 seed Cortland 8-1 that same day, the Brothers got to host the sectional quarterfinal.
Unlike with Homer, CBA had beaten the Tigers this season, prevailing 13-5 on May 12, and with the momentum from what it did at Homer, the result was even more lopsided two weeks later as the Brothers romped to a 16-1 victory.
Already up 1-0, CBA broke it open with six runs in the bottom of the second, and would add five runs in the fifth on the way to 14 hits, four of them by Sheridan, who had two RBIs, as did Bryce Moore, who doubled and scored three runs, and Jack Lester. Eric Little had a team-high three RBIs.
Given all that run support, James McGlynn pitched six stress-free innings, limiting Mexico to two hits as CBA advanced to the semifinals Saturday at Onondaga Community College against another surprise entrant – New Hartford, who had taken out top seed and defending champion Vernon-Verona-Sherrill 5-1 in its quarterfinal.
The Brothers would prevail, 5-1, over New Hartford, scoring twice in the third inning to go in front for good, but not getting away until earning a run in the fifth and two runs in the sixth on Sheridan’s clutch single.
Spinoso got the win, working five solid innings and keeping the Spartans quiet thanks to terrific defense behind him. The gloves continued to shine when David Gross took over in relief, including a seventh-inning double play that snuffed out New Hartford’s last chance.
The win meant that Sheridan would return to mound for Monday’s sectional title game against no. 3 seed Fulton, who blanked Camden 2-0 in the other semifinal and also beat CBA 9-3 earlier this month.
