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'Everyone stepped up.' Honeoye Falls-Lima's huge inning leads to Section V baseball title

James Johnson, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
·3 min read

A little faith early during the high school baseball season, paid off big for Honeoye Falls-Lima, carrying the Cougars across the finish line for a Section V championship.

The Cougars turned a one-run lead into a one-sided Section V Class A2 tournament final Saturday by scoring nine runs in the fifth inning to defeat Pittsford Sutherland 11-2.

Honeoye Falls-Lima lost to Pittsford Sutherland not once, but twice during Monroe County league play. Reversal of those regular season results came without Dan Hoyt, Honeoye Falls-Lima's coach, in the team's dugout at Innovative Field.

One of Hoyt's children was getting married, but the Cougars coach told the team throughout the season the ballclub was good enough to win.

"At the start of the year we weren't hitting, but were pitching and fielding awesome," Honeoye Falls-Lima third baseman Landon Hammond said. "We put everything together."

Player of the game

HF-L second baseman Conor Finn makes a catch as he falls backwards in shallow right field to put out Sutherland's Owen Osborne in the first inning.
HF-L second baseman Conor Finn makes a catch as he falls backwards in shallow right field to put out Sutherland's Owen Osborne in the first inning.

Honeoye Falls-Lima second baseman Conor Finn, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the final after driving in three runs. He knocked in two during HF-L's big fifth when he hit the ball up the middle of the diamond and past Sutherland's infielders, who were set up closer to home plate than normal.

Play of the game

The HF-L dugout celebrates as Carson Joint scores in the fifth inning.
The HF-L dugout celebrates as Carson Joint scores in the fifth inning.

Carson Joint, with Hammond on third base and two out in the top of the third inning, hit a ball high in the air that landed between three Sutherland fielders in shallow right field. The Cougars led 2-1, moving in front after Hammond reached base on a single, stole second and went to third on a balk before scoring on Joint's well-placed ball.

By the numbers

10 - Hits cranked out during HF-L's big inning, including RBI-singles by Finn, Nate Weber, Aidan Neenan, Matt Meacham, Robert Brown and Joint.

3 - Number of times Hammond scored, including twice in the fifth.

2 - Hits by Hammond in the fifth. Both were bunt singles.

4 - Innings pitched by Weber, who allowed one run, walked one batter and struck out two.

1 - Size of the lead for Pittsford Sutherland, after first baseman Andrew Holvey hit a single to right field in the bottom of the first to drive in Jack Armanini.

They said it

"Everyone stepped up, and I mean everyone," - HF-L third baseman and lead-off hitter Landon Hammond

"Dan is the glue-guy, he keeps things even-keeled. He told the kids all season that we're good enough to play for a Section V championship." - HF-L assistant coach John Russ on coach Dan Hoyt.

"It's been a dream of mine for a long time. We've played together forever, since we were six year old." - Hammond

What's next

Honeoye Falls-Lima plays the Class A1 champion, Churchville-Chili or Greece Athena, May 30, 5 p.m. at Innovative Field for the chance to move into state tournament play. Section V's overall Class A champion then faces the Buffalo region champion during the Far West regional round, the state tournament quarterfinals.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V baseball: Honeoye Falls-Lima beats Sutherland in title game