New Hartford prepares for matchup with Jamesville-Dewitt in Class A Final after win over ESM

Throughout his magnificent high school career, New Hartford’s Zach Philipkoski usually displayed his athletic prowess on the hardwood.

But, on Saturday, he emblazoned it on the diamond for all in attendance at Onondaga Community College.

The senior hurled a masterful complete game as he led the fourth-seeded Spartans to the Class A Section III Final with a 7-2 win over No. 9 seed East Syracuse Minoa Saturday night at OCC.

The win brought NH to its first section final under coach Kevin Green. Given the pressure entering Saturday’s showdown, Green knew captains like Philipkoski needed to step up.

“It’s phenomenal to have him,” Green said. “He’s a flatlining kind of kid, never too high, never too low.”

Philipkoski, who earned trips to boys’ basketball states the last two years and was the state Class A Player of the Year this season, said he felt electric after the win.

“Throwing a whole game, allowing two runs,” he said. “Lucky, I guess.”

ESM didn’t use its ace – Carter Stewart – in the 4-3 upset over Whitesboro, so the senior, who is known for his hat falling off after most pitches, got the nod for the Spartans.

NH added two runs in the second after a quiet first, neither of which came on a hit. The first run pushed on an error and the second on a sacrifice fly.

East Syracuse tied it up in the third, but New Hartford’s big break in the bottom half of the inning came from an unlikely source.

John Vitullo spent much of the season on JV. His only regular season game action came in NH’s final regular season game – 1-2 in a 7-5 loss to Proctor.

But Vitullo started Saturday’s game and delivered a massive three-RBI, bases-clearing double to jump ahead 5-2.

The freshman admitted he was nervous in that at-bat, especially with two strikes.

Green said Vitullo is somewhat of a fawn due to his youth.

“His heartbeat and his game control are top-notch,” Green said. “He has that grit and all those things you look for in a kid you call up during the season. I’m still looking for him to do more.”

The three-run lead also gained some run support for Philipkoski, something Green said NH struggled with this season.

“Normally, there’s a lot of pressure pitches that have to be, and there’s no room for him to settle in,” Green said. “So today was different, for him to have the opportunity to throw his other pitches with more relaxation to them.”

Philipkoski noted the run support gives him more confidence.

“They keep hitting, they keep putting up runs, I’m going to keep trying to not let them hit the wall,” he said.

The right-hander accomplished that feat. For the next four innings, ESM failed to gain much of a rhythm as it put a runner on first but didn’t do much afterwards.

On the other side, NH didn’t tally another run until the sixth. A double to left from Matt Greene and a wild pitch totaled 7-2.

In the fourth and fifth, the Spartans left multiple runners on base. Green credited ESM’s pitchers for throwing good pitchers to escape from those jams.

“They made some pitches that were most pitchers pitches than hitters pitches, so they made it challenging for our hitters,” he said. “We need to ensure we’re at least putting the ball in play and trying to make something happen.”

Their next opponent, the second-seeded Red Rams of Jamesville-Dewitt, do pose a massive challenge, especially after their 15-0 thrashing of Indian River in Saturday’s earlier game.

J-D’s ace, Luke VanMarter, can pitch Monday. The senior only acquiesced more than two earned runs twice this season, both against AA foes.

Philipkoski, meanwhile, cannot throw Monday after exceeding the 71-pitch threshold.

Due to this, Philipkoski said he wouldn’t have minded being pulled early if the Spartans had grown their lead.

He added that, if NH remains calm and confident, it can beat the favored Red Rams. Green said he expects a dog fight, but is excited for the opportunity.

First pitch from OCC is set for 6 p.m. Monday.

Noah Ram is the sports reporter for the Observer-Dispatch. Email Noah Ram at nram@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: New Hartford will face Jamesville-Dewitt Monday night in the Class A Final