OAKFIELD — The exhilaration and the heartbreak of the Section V postseason was on full display on Monday night in the Class C1 quarterfinals.
Down by one heading to the seventh, No. 7 Geneseo rallied for a run to tie it and the Blue Devils would then plate a pair in the top of the eighth as they stunned No. 2 Oakfield-Alabama 4-2 to advance to the semifinals.
With one out in the seventh, Cooper Warner was hit by a pitch before Luke Davis struck out for the second out of the frame. With the Hornets one strike away from advancing, James Hy reached on an error to keep the inning alive and Chanler would later score on a passed ball in the next at-bat to send the game to extra innings.
Errors would then doom O-A in the eighth and the Hornets weren’t able to recover.
“As far as confidence goes, I think it grew as the game went on,” Geneseo head coach Scott Miller said. “When you stay in a game with that good of a team, you give yourself a chance to make something happen at the end.”
Phillip Dotterweich was outstanding on the hill for Geneseo. He allowed two runs in the first and then shut the Hornets down as he went the full eight innings and walked just one, while he struck out eight and allowed seven hits.
“Defensively, we played our best game of the season which gives you a chance when you play that good of a team,” Miller said. “Phillip Dotterweich was brilliant and really changed speeds well all day.”
Bodie Hyde got the start for O-A and went 4 2/3 innings and allowed just one unearned run on three hits, while he didn’t walk a batter and struck out six; Hyde was also 2-for-4 with both runs batted in.
Colton Yasses allowed three runs — none earned — in his 3 1/3 innings, allowing three hits and striking out four. Yasses was also 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.
“Saying goodbye is hard, especially to this special group of kids,” Oakfield-Alabama head coach Mike Anderson said. “These boys have battled from the beginning. Dating all the way back to our winter open gyms they have grinded every single day to get better, both as an individual and as a team. They genuinely got better each day and grew together as a team and as a family as we progressed through the season. They accomplished so much this season and they have so much to be proud of.”
Aiden Warner was 2-for-4 with a run scored and Brendan Wescott added a hit as O-A finished its season at 17-4.
Brady and Kellen O’Brien each had a hit and a run scored for Geneseo, which is now 13-9 and will meet No. 3 Bloomfield on Wednesday.
“If we look at this game from a championship perspective, us as a group fell a little short,” Anderson said. “But that doesn’t take away any of the successes or accomplishments that each of these kids had throughout this baseball season. The stats, the wins, the accomplishments that happened on the field are one thing, but I think what is more important is what they can take with them. Not only have they learned a lot of life lessons, but they’ve also created memories for themselves and us as coaches that will last a lifetime. The thing that these guys may not see or understand is how much of an impact they’ve left on everyone who has watched them throughout their careers in the baseball program.”
CLASS C1
NO. 4 AVON 11, NO. 5 LETCHWORTH 6
Avon (12-4): Michael Rowland [3-for-4, 2-2B, 3 RBI]; Christopher Kashorek [2-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBI]; Trevor Stroud [2-for-4, run, RBI]; Lee Hartke [2-for-3, run, RBI]
Letchworth (12-8): Chris Shearing [2-for-3, run, RBI]
Note: Avon scored nine runs in the first inning.
CLASS C2
NO. 1 NOTRE DAME 16, NO. 9 BYRON-BERGEN 0
Notre Dame (19-1): Ryan Fitzpatrick [4 IP, 5 H, 0 BB, 4 K]; Bryceton Berry [2 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 4 K; 2 hits, 3B, 2 RBI]; Jaden Sherwood [1 IP, 2 K; 2 hits]; Jay Antinore [3 hits, 3 runs, 2B, 2 RBI, 3 SB]; Jordan Welker [3 hits, 3B, 3 runs, 2 RBI]; Chase Antinore [2 hits, 2 RBI]; Chase Cummings [2 hits]; Jimmy Fanara [2 hits, 2 RBI]
Byron-Bergen (8-8): No Report
Coach’s Quote: “Tonight we used all three of our horses Ryan, Bryceton and Jaden on the mound and they delivered big time with another shutout and 10 strikeouts. This makes two sectional games and two shutouts with 27 strikeouts and only one walk. Our hitting today was solid as well as we jumped them for six big runs in the bottom of the first. Sectionals is all about pitching, defense and timely hitting and today we got all three. Now we move on to play Campbell-Savona, the same team we played in last year’s semifinal. This will be a big test for as they are very good and very well-coached. We need just keep doing what we have been doing all season long. Just be smart and disciplined,” Notre Dame head coach Rick Rapone said.
NO. 7 YORK 8, NO. 3 WARSAW 7 (8 innings)
York (10-6): Maddox Timothy [hit, BB, run; 6 IP, 12 K]; Ryan Brady [3-for-4, 3B, 2B, 3 RBI, 2 runs]; Liam Ezard [2-for-3, 2 BB, 2 runs; 2 IP, 3 K]; Brodie Hatfield [hit, 2 BB, HBP, run]; Carl Szczech [2B, 2 RBI]
Warsaw (14-4): No Report
Coach’s Quote: Tonight was a great back-and-forth game with Warsaw. We were able to get excellent production from all parts of the lineup. We had some really patient at-bats and some timely hits with runners in scoring position. On the mound, Maddox and Liam did a great job of getting ahead of batters and limiting the damage the Warsaw hitters were able to do. I’m so proud of these guys and the product that they’re putting on the field day after day,” York head coach Ed Green said.
CLASS D2
NO. 5 ELBA 14, NO. 4 HINSDALE 1
Elba (7-13): Connor Scott [4 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 9 K; 2-for-4, 2B, 4 RBI, BB, 3 runs, 5 SB]; Gage Chamberlain [1-for-1, 4 BB, HR, 3 runs]; Angelo Penna [3-for-5, 2B, 3 RBI, 4 SB]; Nicholas Scott [2-for-5, 4 RBI, 3 SB]
Hinsdale (7-12): No Report
Coach’s Quote: “Super proud and happy for the boys, this is just a testament of how good GR baseball really is. We have been battle-tested all season by great teams, I think we are playing our best baseball at the right time. We need to have our best practice of the season tomorrow because we are right back at it on Wednesday. Our staff has been preaching we need to play 21 innings of our best baseball to be where we want to be at the end of the year,” Elba head coach Andy Boyce said.
CLASS B1
NO. 3 LIVONIA 22, NO. 6 MIDLAKES 2
Livonia (14-6): Conner Benitez [4-for-6, 3 runs, 2 RBI]; Tom Stewart [3-for-4, 3 runs, 4 RBI]; Alex Benitez [3-for-5, 2 runs, 2 RBI]; Aidan O’Keefe [run, 2 RBI]; Zack Williamson [2 RBI]; Brady O’Keefe [2-for-4, 4 runs, 2 RBI]; Matt Bean [4 IP. 3 H, 8 K]; Conner Feehan [3 IP. 2 H, 5 K]
Midlakes (10-10): No Report
NO. 4 HORNELL 6, NO. 5 BATAVIA 5
Hornell (13-5): Gates Miller [WP, 7 IP, 8 H, 2 K]; Davin Oyer [2-for-2]; Charlie Oyer [hit, RBI]; Shawn Rose [run]; Andy Davis [RBI]
Batavia (9-12): Shawn Kimball [4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 K]; Sawyer Siverling/Dane Dombrowski [2 hits apiece]
CLASS B2
NO. 3 BATH-HAVERLING 14, NO. 6 ATTICA 0
Bath-Haverling (9-9): Zach Musso [WP, 6 IP, 2 H, 0 BB, 9 K; 2-for-3, 2 BB 2 runs, RBI]; Evan Pendle [2-for-2, 2 runs, RBI]; Alex Beyler [2-for-4, run, RBI]; Owen Smith [hit, BB, 2 runs, RBI]; Ethan Brotz [hit, BB, run RBI]; Dylan Wenban [2-for-3, 3 runs]
Attica (9-10): Daniel Bialek/Sam Strzelec [hit apiece]