Corning captures Section 4 Class AAA baseball title behind Terwilliger's two-hitter
A chance to win the Section 4 Class AAA baseball title slipped away from Corning in Game 2 of its best-of-three series against Elmira. With the season on the line, the Hawks put the ball into the unyielding right hand of senior Nolan Terwilliger on Friday afternoon and he helped deliver a championship.
The right-hander pitched a two-hitter, striking out 11 and walking three, as the Hawks won the series two games to one with a 3-0 victory at Elmira High School.
Terwilliger picked up the win in Monday's 5-4 Game 1 victory with five strong innings. During a phone call early Friday afternoon, Hawks coached Eric Kizis asked Terwilliger if he had five more innings in him. Terwilliger told his coach he would give Corning seven and added, "Coach, I refuse to lose. We won't lose."
Terwilliger punctuated his performance with a strikeout after giving up a one-out walk. Corning celebrated the title twice after umpires conferred and ruled Hawks shortstop Gavin Walker trapped a line drive on what would have been a double play.
"I felt like I got stronger throughout the game," Terwilliger said. "Adrenaline really does take over."
Elmira swept Corning in last year's sectional Class AA championship series after stunning the Hawks with a seventh-inning comeback in the semifinals two years ago as Corning chased a third straight sectional title. Those outcomes were on Terwilliger's mind during a sometimes contentious series between the rivals.
"They beat us the last two years and I’ve wanted nothing more than to beat them and to beat them on their home field," Terwilliger said. "There’s nothing better than that. It was awesome."
3 runs more than enough
Logan DeMember was hero of Thursday's Game 2 with a three-run double with two outs in the seventh inning that gave Elmira (10-11) a one-run lead in an 8-6 victory. He gave the Express 5 ⅔ strong innings on the mound Friday, allowing five hits and three runs, only one of which was earned.
The Hawks struck for two runs in the third. Walker scored with two outs on an error on a grounder off the bat of Cam Kennedy and Connor Monroe followed with an RBI double.
Larsen Burch's single with two outs in the sixth scored Monroe with the third run. Monroe led off the inning with his second double.
More on Terwilliger's gem
Terwilliger threw 63 of 105 pitches for strikes. He credited his success to being able to change speeds and hit his spots.
"I’ve had a rough senior year this year, so to come out and absolutely dominate, there’s nothing better," he said.
Kizis had high praise for Terwilliger, who hadn't pitched on three days' rest this season. Kizis said it appeared as if Terwilliger was getting better as the game went on.
"He was locked in, he was focused, he was on a mission," Kizis said. "He’s usually a social kid, he’s usually loud. He sat in the corner, he was focused. He thought about every hitter that was coming up in every inning and he had a plan."
Hawks bounced back from brutal loss
After coming within an out of a series sweep Thursday, Kizis said his team was mentally ready to play Friday. He praised the Express as "a very good, well-coached baseball team" in crediting Elmira for finding a way to prolong the series with its comeback.
"We were the lowest of the lows and the highest of the highs in two days," Kizis said.
Said Terwilliger: "(Thursday) night it was a tough loss, tough loss. They don’t give up. That’s a great Elmira baseball team. We just came back. Our motto is we’ve got to draw first blood. We did that tonight and we won."
More: Quick start propels Corning boys lacrosse team to fifth consecutive Section 4 title
Up Next
Corning (10-11) will take on the Section 1 champion in a New York State Public High School Athletic Association sub-regional at 4 p.m. May 30 at Horseheads High School. If Corning wins, it would meet the Section 9 titlist at 1 p.m. June 1 at Horseheads in the regional final.
Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Corning won deciding game of Section 4 Class AAA baseball title series
