HS Baseball: Deposit-Hancock, Lansing advance to state semis; WG/O-M falls short
Dominant pitching sent defending Class D baseball state champion Deposit-Hancock to a victory Saturday in a regional final while back-to-back hits with the season on the line lifted Lansing to a Class C regional triumph after the Bobcats were one out away from elimination.
Deposit-Hancock was a 3-0 winner over Section 3's Oriskany. Lansing topped Section 3 champ Skaneateles, 4-3. Both moved within two victories of state titles.
In another Section 4 vs. Section 3 state quarterfinal, Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour was held to two hits by Little Falls' Brayton Langdon in the Schuyler Storm's first appearance in the state tournament. Little Falls won, 4-1.
The Binghamton area will host all five New York State Public High School Athletic Association baseball final fours June 9 and 10. Games will be played at Mirabito Stadium, Binghamton University, Union-Endicott High School, Maine-Endwell High School and SUNY Broome.
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Fortunato dominated for Deposit-Hancock
Blake Fortunato struck out 12 and walked one while pitching a two-hitter for Deposit-Hancock in Saturday's victory over Oriskany at Onondaga Community College.
The game was scoreless until the Eagles scored two runs on an error in the top of the sixth inning. They added an insurance run in the seventh.
Barnes went 2-for-3 for Deposit-Hancock, with his second hit leading to an error that scored the final run. Noah Bass, Kaden Rynearson and Tom Reis each had a hit and a run.
Eddie Wright gave up six hits and four walks in 6 1/3 innings for Oriskany (14-5). He struck out nine and all three runs against him were unearned.
What's Next: Deposit-Hancock (21-2) will play Section 9 champion Chapel Field Christian in a semifinal at 5 p.m. June 9 at SUNY Broome. The final is scheduled for 10 a.m. June 10 at Mirabito Stadium. Chapel Field Christian was a 2-0 winner over Bridgehampton on Saturday.
Last year the Eagles went 23-0, capping their state title with a 14-5 victory over Chapel Field Christian. Deposit-Hancock also won the state title in 2018. There was no state tournament in 2020 or 2021 because of COVID.
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Clutch hits, Sperger's pitching lifted Lansing
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh and Skaneateles (15-9) leading 3-2, hits from Ryan Pettograsso-Houk and Korbin Lovejoy carried Lansing to the dramatic victory at Mirabito Stadium.
Liam Coleman's pinch-hit single opened the seventh for Lansing. Cooper Ouellette followed with a one-out single and Zack Sperger popped out for the second out. Pettograsso-Houk singled to left for the tying run and Lovejoy followed with a single to right to score Ouellette with the winning run.
Pettograsso-Houk went 2-for-4 with two RBIs. Ouellette was 2-for-2 with a walk and two runs.
Sperger pitched a complete game, striking out nine, for Lansing. Sperger tossed a five-hitter in the Bobcats' 7-3 win over Chenango Forks in the sectional final and a two-hitter against Interscholastic Athletic Conference Large School champion Waverly in the sectional quarterfinals.
What's Next: Lansing (17-4) will play Section 1 champion Albertus Magnus in a state semifinal at 5 p.m. June 9 at Union-Endicott High School. The championship game is set for 4 p.m. June 10 at Binghamton University. Albertus Magnus took its regional final, 9-2, over Babylon.
Schuyler Storm comeback fell short
Watkins Glen/Odessa-Montour (11-10) was held without a hit by Little Falls' Brayton Langdon at Mirabito Stadium until Ben Heichel singled to lead off the seventh inning.
A single by Brady Bockelcamp scored Heichel to bring the Schuyler Storm within 4-1. With the bases loaded, Langdon bounced back to get a strikeout and fly ball to center field to end the game.
Langdon struck out nine and walked five in his two-hitter.
Chase Regan went 2-for-2 with a triple and RBI for Little Falls.
WG/O-M ace Daniel Lewis, the winning pitcher in the sectional final against Bainbridge-Guilford, went 6 1/3 innings before reaching the postseason pitch limit of 125. He gave up five hits, struck out nine and walked four. One of the four runs he allowed was unearned.
What's Next: Little Falls (20-3) will face Section 1 champion Tuckahoe (15-9) in a state semifinal at 5 p.m. June 9 at Maine-Endwell. Tuckahoe rallied for an 8-7 win Saturday against Port Jefferson of Section 11.
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: Deposit-Hancock and Lansing baseball teams won regional titles
