MLB Fairport wins first baseball Section V title in 10 years: Here's how
Fairport was the first team pushed down during the Section V Class AA Baseball Tournament Final.
But the Red Raiders pushed back and their high-scoring second inning was enough to defeat Victor 5-3, giving Fairport players a chance to raise the championship trophy high as their arms allowed Saturday at Innovative Field.
There was pressure applied before Fairport's good times.
The Blue Devils loaded the bases during the bottom of the fourth inning but were denied runs. Victor's Cooper Loyal was standing on second base, Jameson Ricigliano on first with one out in the fifth but a strikeout and ground out gave Fairport starting pitcher Sam Miller the outs he needed.
Loyal led off the Victor seventh with a double, but never reached third base before Miller fielded a grounder hit back at him and threw out the batter to end the game.
Player of the game
Fairport starting pitcher Sam Miller, who maintained his poise after the first three batters in the Victor lineup scored, pitched all seven innings. He struck out seven Blue Devils and walked three. Red Raiders infielders turned a double play from shortstop to second base to first base in the third.
Plays of the game
The bases were loaded with one out when Fairport third baseman Will Stanek snagged a hard line drive in the infield, allowing the Red Raiders to remain ahead 5-3. Carter Fink, the next Victor batter, hit a bouncing ball to shortstop to Jackson Rucker and was thrown out.
By the numbers
3 - Runs scored by the Blue Devils, all in the first on an error, wild pitch by Miller and RBI-groundout by Adam Ruffalo.
2 - Hits for Victor lead-off hitter Mitchell Schalberg.
3 - RBI-singles in the decisive second by the first three batters in the Fairport order Stephen Rizzolo, Will Stanek and Miller.
2 - Runs driven in when Owen Andreatta doubled during the Fairport second.
They said it
"You're never going to get the opportunity (to win sectionals with all of the current team members again. You do it for them, the people who lead you." - Fairport outfielder Owen Andreatta, a sophomore
"That's happened to us, and I don't think it affected us. We knew it was going to be a close game the whole time." - Fairport starting pitcher Sam Miller, a junior
"They punch us, you punch back." - Andreatta
"Willie, I love you for that, that kept the lead. He had to dive for a little bit and the ball was hit really hard." Miller on Will Stanek's catch with the bases loaded in the fourth.
"Probably the play of the game." Victor coach Sean Rucker said.
What's next
Fairport's first sectional baseball championship trophy since 2013 is the team's ticket to the state tournament. The Red Raiders take on the Section VI or Buffalo region champion during the state regional or quarterfinal round June 3 at Grand Island High.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Fairport beats Victor for Section V baseball championship
