CENTRAL NEW YORK – Three years ago, the Fayetteville-Manlius baseball emerged from a low seed and a sub-.500 regular season to earn the program’s first-ever Section III championship.
The Hornets’ designs for another stunning sectional title run remained alive after Tuesday’s 5-4. eight-inning victory over Utica Proctor in the sectional Class AA quarterfinals.
Despite its 6-12 record, F-M had the no. 5 seed, and against the no. 4 seed Raiders, it took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second on run-scoring hits from Chris Hoalcraft and Sam Kuss.
Proctor countered with three runs in the bottom of the third off Max Danaher, but somehow Danaher got out without further damage, the Raiders leaving the bases loaded.
Again, Proctor loaded the bases in the fifth, but got just one run. Instead of a blowout, F-M only trailed 4-2, and pulled even in the sixth when, again, Hoalcraft and Kuss had run-scoring hits.
They stayed 4-4 until the eighth, when the Hornets got its own bases-loaded opportunity. Michael Dutch hit a fly ball that scored the go-ahead run and Seth Albert, who had relieved Danaher in the sixth, pitched his third scoreless inning of relief to end it.
Meanwhile, in the Class A opening round Jamesville-DeWitt battled past Oswego 4-2 to earn its own shot at a no. 1 seed – namely, undefeated Whitesboro.
The no. 8 seed Red Rams fell behind 1-0 in the first inning, but answered with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. After the Buccanneers tied it 2-2 in the top of the fifth, J-D regained the lead in the bottom of the fifth and tacked on an insurance run an inning later.
A.J. Sumida pitched six innings, striking out six and holding Oswego to four hits, before Carter King worked the last inning of relief. Sumida, King, Aaron Ko and Aidan McGuire each had an RBI at the plate.
Bishop Grimes could not make it out of the opening round of the Class B sectional tournament, the no. 12 seed Cobras falling to no. 5 seed Homer 6-1.
They were scoreless until the bottom of the third, when the Trojans got a pair of runs off Cobras pitcher R.J. Benedetto. Grimes cut it to 2-1 in the fifth when Nick Colgiovanni singled and scored.
Homer got away, though, with four runs in the sixth, Benedetto and reliever Will Markwood surrendering those runs. Colgiovanni’s single was the only hit off Trojans pitcher Joey Case as the Cobras’ season ended with an 8-10 record.
Among area softball teams, while Jamesville-DeWitt and East Syracuse Minoa waited for sectional quarterfinals in Class A and a possible semifinal against one another, Christian Brothers Academy defended its no. 6 seed with a 9-0 opening-round victory over no. 11 seed Watertown.
In the pitcher’s circle, Juliette Zimmerman stood out for the Brothers, keeping the Cyclones off the board as she allowed just four hits and one walk while striking out six.
At the plate, Mackenzie Witz singled twice and drove in four runs. Zimmerman and Julia DelPino had two RBIs apiece as Avery Bowman added a pair of hits. CBA will face no. 3 seed Camden in Thursday’s quarterfinals.
