Horseheads tops Maine-Endwell in 10 innings, setting up Class A title series against U-E

Far different were the paths Horseheads and Union-Endicott took Friday to advance to the Section 4 Class A baseball championship series. The contrast sets up a compelling finals between two of the top programs in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference.

While second-seeded Union-Endicott (15-5) finished a 15-2 victory at third-seeded Vestal (11-6) in five innings because of the mercy rule, the other semifinal between top-seeded Horseheads and fourth-seeded Maine-Endwell wasn't decided until Jackson Holloway's aggressive base running led to the lone run in a 1-0, 10-inning marathon.

"It was a battle for sure," Horseheads coach Jeff Limoncelli said. "Those guys pitched great and we’re lucky enough to have two great arms that went for us. I felt good if we could just somehow get a guy at second. We had a guy at second for six innings, we just couldn’t get the big hit.

"It kind of ended on a fluke, but great high school game. I tip my hat to those guys. They pitched well, they played great."

Horseheads (15-5) won the 2022 Class AA title but has moved to Class A. Maine-Endwell (11-7) was defending Class A champion and coming off a 4-1 quarterfinal win over fifth-seeded Johnson City on Thursday.

Up next

Up next will be a best-of-three finals scheduled to start Monday at Horseheads. Game 2 is Wednesday at Union-Endicott and Game 3, if needed, would be played Friday back at Horseheads. Games are officially scheduled for 4:30 p.m. starts, though Friday's contest began 30 minutes later than scheduled.

M-E at Horseheads Stars of the Game

This tension-filled semifinal was mostly about the pitchers. Horseheads sophomore co-aces Micah Hays and Mason Holloway combined on a six-hitter, each allowing three hits and no walks. Hays, a southpaw, struck out five in 5 1/3 innings and righty Holloway fanned eight in 4 2/3 innings.

Holloway took over in the sixth and worked out of a jam with help from catcher Jackson Cook's pickoff of a runner at third, then escaped trouble in the 10th by inducing a grounder to the mound with runners at second and third.

"They're great pitchers. They've carried us the whole year," Jackson Holloway said.

Maine-Endwell right-hander Liam Hadfield matched zeroes with the Horseheads duo. He reached the postseason pitch limit of 125 on his final batter and ended up striking out 12, surrendering two hits and walking three in eight innings. Adam DeSantis took over in the ninth and gave up the unearned run.

Both teams came up with defensive gems, though the clear showstopper was a sprawling, back-handed catch from Horseheads center fielder Ian Ruhmel to end the fourth inning off a blast from Anthony Policare deep into the left-center field gap.

U-E at Vestal Stars of the Game

In its first game since putting up 18 runs against Oneonta in taking the STAC tournament title last weekend, Union-Endicott erupted for 15 runs in five innings Friday. That included five runs in the second and seven in the fourth.

Cooper Hughes led the way Friday, going 2-for-3, with a homer and five RBIs. Michael Ferranti also homered as part of a two-hit day, Nick Lang went 3-for-5 with a double and Cameron Nunn was 3-for-4 with two RBIs.

Jacob McTigue gave up two unearned runs on two hits in five innings for the win.

How Horseheads scored winning run

Holloway led off the bottom of the 10th with a single to right field, Horseheads' third hit of the day. Alex Daugherty, who nearly won the game in the seventh with a line drive that was a few inches foul down the third-base line, followed with a sacrifice bunt.

With leadoff batter Cook at the plate, Holloway darted for third on a pitch in the dirt that ended up near the catcher. The throw to third was high and Holloway beat the throw home by a safe margin, leading to a celebration near the first-base line with teammates.

"It was a do or die situation," Holloway said. "Get there. I went and it paid off. ... It was fun the whole way. It was a close game. They're very competitive, a great team, but in the end we're better."

Should Holloway have taken off? He's likely out on a good throw, but bottom line was he pushed the envelope in a game in which pitching dominated.

"He’s fast, but he knows maybe that was a little bit of a gamble for me with Jackson Cook at the plate," Limoncelli said. "But guess what, it worked. If it works, it’s great. He’s an aggressive kid who does a lot of really good things for us, but I would rather that ball goes to the screen before he goes to third."

More: Section 4 baseball 2023 tournament seeds, schedule, game information

Quotable

Said Limoncelli: "Class A baseball is a little different. Five teams can win this thing. It's hard, it's challenging, but we like that."

Looking ahead to finals

The title series will add to a sterling spring for the two baseball programs that included Horseheads' 18-0 win over U-E in the STAC junior varsity final, the Raiders' sixth straight conference championship.

Horseheads' varsity won the STAC West title before losing to Oneonta in the conference semifinals. The Blue Raiders were a 6-2 winner at U-E on April 13 in their only meeting of the season.

"That’s going to be a challenge. They’ve been swinging it," Limoncelli said of facing the Tigers. "They’re a hot team. We’ve got to come to play. We’ll see what happens."

Said Jackson Holloway: "It's going to be a tough three games, but I believe in our squad and I think we'll come out on top."

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 Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin: Horseheads, Union-Endicott win Section 4 Class A baseball semifinals