No matter the result, the historic 2016 Solvay baseball season was going to end at Maine-Endwell High School, near Binghamton, where the state Class B final four took place on Saturday.
The Bearcats just wished it had won twice more.
In a tense state Class B semifinal, Solvay pitching ace John Dippold again was stellar – but Section IX champion Marlboro got to him for a single tally and, getting its own strong work on the mound from Nick Mongelli, edged the Bearcats 1-0.
This was the last year of the state tournament format where both semifinals and the title game would get played on the same day. Solvay knew that, in 2015, each team that won the first semifinal beat those that won the second semifinal, so an opportunity was present.
Still, the Bearcats had to get there, so it turned again to the left-handed Dippold, who had thrown two no-hitters this season and had gone 3-0 in the playoffs against Clinton, Westhill and Binghamton Seton Catholic.
Marlboro countered with Mongelli, also a lefty, and the pair worked through the first three innings without much resistance. Then, in the top of the fourth, the Iron Dukes put two men on base, but Brett Peterson’s sliding catch in right field ended the threat.
Solvay’s best chance to go in front came in the bottom of the fourth. Patience at the plate led to a pair of walks, but Mongelli picked both of those runners off base.
With two outs in the top of the fifth, Dippold hit Robert Parra with a pitch, and then threw a wild pitch to send Parra to second base. John Mooradian promptly singled to bring Parra home with the game’s first – and only – run.
In the bottom of the fifth, with a runner on second and two out, Colin Lucio singled to right, only to see Justin Conte throw to Jack Rusk at first, who turned and fired home, seeing catcher Cole Nicolls tag out the runner.
One more chance for Solvay came in the bottom of the seventh, again with two outs. Josh Chrysler beat out an infield hit, only to get retired on a force play to end the game – and the Bearcats’ dream season.
Marlboro went on to defeat Fredonia (Section VI) 8-7 in the final, the Iron Dukes earning its first-ever state championship.
