Herkimer College baseball, softball win regional playoff games

CLINTON - Playing far from home for the NJCAA's Region III playoffs, Herkimer College's baseball and softball teams won games to start the final weekend of play within the region.

The baseball team shut out Erie Community College 10-0 in its first game of double-elimination play at Auburn's Falcon Park, and the top-seeded softball team split the first two games of its best-of-three Region III-A championship series at Hamilton College with Jefferson Community College.

Herkimer and Jefferson will complete their softball series Friday afternoon with a 2:30 p.m. first pitch at Hamilton.Seeded second overall in baseball, Herkimer plays at noon Friday against Genesee Community College, the winner of Thursday's opening game. Genesee, seeded fourth, was a 4-3 winner over Niagara County Community College, the No. 1 overall seed and West Division champion.

More: High seeds have Herkimer at home for regional baseball, softball; MV hosts track nationals

Softball

On Hamilton's turf, Jefferson rallied in the seventh inning of Game 1, erasing a 3-1 deficit and taking the lead on a bases-loaded walk after fouling off the first 3-2 pitch, then retired Herkimer in the bottom of the inning to grab a 4-3 victory.

The loss snapped a 12-game Herkimer winning streak dating back one month to an April 15 loss to Mohawk Valley Community College, the 20-6 Generals' only previous loss to a Region III team this season.

Herkimer came out swinging in the second game, scoring three runs in top of the first inning and three more in the second on the way to a 15-3 win stopped after six under the postseason mercy rule.

Leading 6-0 with one out in the second inning and threatening to score more, that rally ended with an unassisted double play by Jefferson catcher Katie Call who caught foul popup neat the first base dugout and rushed back to the plate in time to tag out a General who had tagged up on the play.

Jefferson (19-8), playing as the home team in Game 2, chipped away at its deficit, scoring one run in the bottom of the second inning and two in the third to cut the Herkimer lead in half before the Generals got those runs back in the fourth and fifth innings and pushed the margin past the eight-run threshold with six in the sixth.

Shelbi Hagues, a freshman from Poland, pitched a complete game for the win in Game 2 and ended the game with a strikeout. Herkimer batters drew six walks and scored eight runs through four innings against first-team regional all-star Delaney Wiley who had closed out Game 1 in relief.

Herkimer had beaten Jefferson 18-13 in the first game of a scheduled doubleheader at home April 16. The second game that day was suspended due to darkness after three innings.

The Generals advanced to the Region III-A championship series by sweeping Erie Community College 18-0 and 14-1 at home Saturday in the first two games of their best-of-three semifinal series. Kelsey Richardson homered in both games of the doubleheader; three other Generals homered in the first game and one in the second.

Clinton Community College, a finalist at last year's Division III World Series, earned a return representing Region III-B with a sweep of Hudson Valley Community College. Corning won 3-1 and 8-4 Thursday.

Baseball

Herkimer is seeking a third consecutive regional title this week on Cayuga Community College's field where the national tournament will be contested starting next weekend.

The Generals had hosted the regional tournament in Little Falls for several years before it was moved to Auburn last year.

Colin Skermont, a sophomore left-hander out of Whotesboro High School, faced only 22 batters in a five-inning complete game for the Generals, striking out six batters while walking three, hitting one, and allowing two singles.

Herkimer loaded the bases in the first inning and took a 1-0 lead when David Bernard walked and forced a run home. Skermont and Erie's Adam Staniszewski kept the lineups quiet until the fourth inning when the Generals struck for six runs and knocked Staniszewski out of the game. Ethan Glossa drove home the first two runs with a single, and another scored on a double by Donovan Rhoden. Glossa scored on an error, Bernard singled to drive home his second run of the game, and Michael Schleider capped the rally with a sacrifice fly.

The Generals loaded the bases again in the fifth inning, kept them loaded when Rhoden walked home a run, and Sotaro Ishida cleared them with a double that ended the game under the 10-run mercy rule.

Ishida, Jaden Madrid and Mikey Rodriguez each had two of the nine Herkimer hits, and Rodriguez scored three runs.Herkimer and Genesee play Friday's first game with the winner advancing to the championship round that starts with a noon game Saturday. The loser of the early Friday game returns to the field later in the day for an elimination game against the winner of the second game between Niagara and Erie.

Herkimer advanced to the Final Four by beating Finger Lakes 12-3 and 11-3 in the first two games of last weekend's best-of-three series.

This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Herkimer College baseball, softball win regional playoff games