Baseball: Landon Stichbury's walkoff sends John Jay-East Fishkill to Section 1 semifinals
Sure, it would've been ideal to record three quick outs and win comfortably. Of course, it was frustrating to have a medley of miscues undo six impressive innings and put the season in jeopardy.
But style points don't count much in the playoffs.
"It's not how I would've preferred it," John Jay-East Fishkill baseball coach Eric Frink said, "but the goal is to advance. Sometimes the 'how' doesn't matter."
Because after a series of fielding gaffes contributed to the Patriots blowing a three-run lead Wednesday, the team gave itself reason to celebrate minutes later.
Landon Stichbury's walkoff single scored Brady Feliciotto in the eighth inning, lifting John Jay to a 5-4 win over Mamaroneck in a Section 1 Class AA quarterfinal.
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"For me, it was relief," Frink said, "but for the kids, it was excitement. You get a walkoff in a win-or-go-home game and it's definitely exciting."
The fourth-seeded Patriots (12-6) will visit No. 1 Ketcham to begin the double-elimination semifinals at 11 a.m. Saturday.
Feliciotto and Aidan Gallagher each singled to open the bottom of the eighth, setting the stage for Stichbury, who lined a one-out single to left for the dramatic finish before a roaring home crowd.
Stichbury went 2 for 4 and drove in Gallagher to give the Patriots a 4-1 lead in the fifth. But Mamaroneck rallied with one out in the seventh, aided by what Frink described as "uncharacteristic mistakes," including a dropped pop up.
"Give them credit for not giving up and capitalizing on their chances," Frink said of the fifth-seeded Tigers. "They were gritty and didn't go away."
But, neither did the Patriots, who cut their teeth this season against a challenging schedule and have responded to pressure.
"We'll have to play better and clean things up going forward," the coach said. "We can't afford to repeat these mistakes because you don't always get an opportunity to make up for them."
Gallagher and Feliciotto each drove in a run, and Michael Geary pitched a scoreless eighth to earn the win. Sophomore Spencer Natoli allowed three earned runs and struck out nine in seven innings, getting a no-decision in his playoff debut.
John Jay faced Ketcham twice last week in the regular season, taking two-run losses in both. That could be considered somewhat encouraging against an opponent that has pummeled its opponents by an average margin of 6.04 runs.
"We're prepared and there'll be no surprises," Frink said. "It'll come down to execution. In the two previous games, they executed a little better than us, and we need to be the team that does that this time."
Stephen Haynes: shaynes@poughkeepsiejournal.com, 845-437-4826, Twitter: @StephenHaynes4
This article originally appeared on Poughkeepsie Journal: Baseball: Stichbury helps John Jay top Mamaroneck in 'AA' quarterfinal
