Baseball: Gove, Drucker help Burke Catholic beat Pine Plains to repeat as Section 9 champ
SAUGERTIES — As the Burke Catholic baseball team gathered after its victory Saturday, opinions varied a bit on how the accomplishment should be celebrated. An afternoon pool party? A good nap to unwind after intense competition? Those are happy disagreements.
But there was one thing about which the group was in total accord and said almost in unison during its post-game huddle: “The job’s not finished!”
Because, even in the afterglow of capturing a second consecutive section championship, the Eagles hadn’t forgotten about the aftertaste of their season-ending loss last season.
“It was so disappointing, we’ve thought about it a lot since then,” senior Mason Gove said of the subregional last spring. “That was a big part of our motivation this season, wanting to get back there and redeem ourselves.”
The first big step in accomplishing that, of course, was advancing to that stage.
Aaron Drucker drove in the go-ahead run in the fourth inning, and Gove allowed a hit in four shutout innings of relief to lead No. 2 Burke Catholic in a 3-2 win over top-seeded Pine Plains in the Section 9 Class C final.
4 for 4: Bonagura, Hoffman help Chapel Field win fourth straight Section 9 Class D title
They're back: Fernandez's walkoff hit lifts Marlboro to Section 9 Class A title
“I can’t say enough about how the kids played today,” Eagles coach Al Trezza said. “The pitching was outstanding, and we did enough offensively to beat a really good team.”
Burke earned itself a regional rematch with Section 1’s Tuckahoe, and the teams will square off at 3 p.m. Thursday at SUNY Purchase.
Just as it was a year ago, the Eagles are coming off a thrilling win over Pine Plains and are firm in their belief this team can reach the state tournament. The run last season ended abruptly with an 11-0 loss to Tuckahoe. “We owed it to ourselves to get back there and try to have a better outcome,” Trezza said.
Burke scored twice in the fourth inning to create the margin against Pine Plains, and Ryan Malone scored the winning run on Aaron Drucker’s sacrifice fly. Gove struck out seven and allowed only a fifth-inning single.
Malone was 2-for-2 with a walk and an RBI, and Brendyn Quinn and Matthew Sorge each scored a run. Jordan Drucker started and allowed two runs in three innings.
“This year is my first year at the school, but I love these guys,” said Jordan Drucker, a sophomore. “I know how important it was to them to get another championship. This means everything to me.”
Pine Plains’ Warren Lounsbury went 2-for-3 with an RBI, Dom Wisniewski was 2-for-3 and Austin Mielich drove in a run. Brodie Rathjen allowed four hits and three runs and struck out seven in a complete game.
“We were kind of flat, and the energy wasn’t right,” Gove said of the subregional last season. “We’re approaching it differently this time, and we’re gonna be hyped going in.”
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com; 845-437-4826; Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Baseball: Drucker, Gove lead Burke Catholic to Section 9 title repeat
