Roy C. Ketcham comes up just short in state Class AAA baseball final, bowing to Fairport
A never-say-quit approach carried Roy C. Ketcham baseball to the verge of yet another state title but the Storm came up just short of history.
Trailing Fairport 3-0 headed into the top of the seventh inning of the Class AAA title game at Binghamton University in Vestal, Ketcham rallied for a pair of runs and had the bases loaded. But a final sharp grounder from Tyler Durkin did not elude the reach of first baseman Matt Bartusek, who snared the ball and won the shorter race to the bag to end the contest. Section Five champ Fairport, a 3-2 winner, claimed its first state title.
Less than 24 hours earlier, Section One champion Ketcham similarly trailed Section Two winner Shenendehowa in the first of two semifinals. The Storm rallied for three runs to tie the game in the top of the sixth and beat the Plainsmen 4-3 in 10 innings.
Fairport turned to right fielder Sam Roselli to relieve starter Nate VanDeVoorde to start the seventh – the move nearly backfired as Ketcham got aggressive at the plate. Jason Due ripped the first offering to right field for a single and pinch runner Shane Riley moved up when Ryan Mealy ripped a single just inside the third-base bag. One out later, Riley Weatherwax laced a 2-2 pitch to right to knock in Shane Riley, who beat a tag at home plate for Ketcham’s first run.
Fairport chose to walk Gatorade New York Player of the Year Owen Paino to load the bases. Luke Picone grounded out on a slow roller to second, scoring Mealy. Again, Fairport walked No. 3 batter Connor Durkin to load the bases. Tyler Durkin worked the count to 2-1 before hitting the sharp groundout to Bartusek, setting off a wild celebration by Fairport.
A quick first half of the game saw its first break in the Fairport fourth inning. Ketcham starter Weatherwax had faced the minimum nine batters before giving up a leadoff single to VanDeVoorde. One out later, Sam Miller slipped a single past shortstop. Cleanup hitter Jackson Rucker ripped a 2-2 offering from Weatherwax to the wall in right-center, plating two runners. Rucker scored on a wild pitch for the 3-0 lead – as it turns out, it was all the runs the Red Raiders would need.
Ketcham is facing a rebuild, losing 11 players from the final four roster, seven of whom started on Saturday.
Ketcham was trying to repeat as champion: The Storm beat Commack 2-1 in the Class AA final in 2023. This was the first year the New York State Public High School Athletic Association expanded, adding the Class AAA.
Ketcham beat Sachem East, 3-1, in the Class AA final in 2005. Ketcham lost to Auburn 14-7 in the Class A final in 1985.
The game wrapped up in a swift 1 hour, 45 minutes on a breezy afternoon with intermittent sunshine.
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An updated version of this story will appear later.
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Ketcham falls to Fairport in state Class AAA baseball championship
