PORT HENRY — In one of the more competitive playoff games thus far, second-seeded Moriah advanced to the Section VII Class C baseball finals with a 7-5 win over third-seeded Northern Adirondack on Friday.
The Vikings will play rival and top-seeded Ticonderoga in the best-of-three title series, starting Thursday at 4:30 p.m. in Ticonderoga.
Austin Mandy led Moriah offensively with a triple, two singles, two runs and one RBI. Owen Bobbie drove in two runs.
Both pitchers — Moriah’s Joey Kazlo and NAC’s Tripp Hicks — went the distance and were hurt by errors. The two teams combined for eight miscues.
Kazlo picked up the win as he allowed one earned run, walked three, allowed six hits and struck out nine.
Hicks, meanwhile, surrendered two earned runs, seven hits, walked four and struck out seven.
“Kazlo struggled early with his command but made a few adjustments and was tough down the stretch,” Moriah coach Casey Nephew said. “He’s a gutsy player.
“Hicks is tough on the mound. Our guys made him work. We put the ball in play and good things happened.”
NAC took an early 2-0 lead with Anthony Soule’s single, driving in a run in the second inning. But Moriah tied it in the bottom of the second with Mandy starting things with a triple.
Jackson Frasier’s single knocked in the second run of the inning.
“Mandy came up big with the bat today,” Nephew said. “His triple sparked us, got us some energy and confidence.”
The Vikings then scored five times in the third with the help of three NAC errors to take a 7-2 advantage. Kazlo doubled to start the inning, and Mandy singled in a run. Another run came across on a fielder’s choice, and the other three runs were a result of errors.
NAC got three runs back in the fourth to make it 7-5 and threatened for more. Emmett LaClair, who had two hits in the contest, began the inning with a triple, and Hicks later drove in two runs with a single.
Both Kazlo and Hicks put up zeroes the rest of the way, and the game ended when Kazlo induced three ground outs to shortstop Bobbie in the seventh.
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MCS 7, NAC 5
NAC;110;300;0;—;5;6;5
MCS;025;000;x;—;7;7;3
Hicks and Rabideau. Kazlo and Orr. WP- Kazlo. LP- Hicks. 2B- Kazlo (MCS). 3B- LaClair (NAC), Mandy (MCS).