PLATTSBURGH — Saranac and Saranac Lake in Class B and Lake Placid and Bolton in Class D were winners over the weekend to advance to their respective finals in the Section VII baseball playoffs.
The top-seeded Spartans and third-seeded Red Storm tangle today at 4:30 p.m. at Plattsburgh State’s Chip Cummings Field in the B championship game.
Meanwhile, the top-seeded Blue Bombers and third-seeded Eagles vie for the D crown on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Plattsburgh High School.
CLASS B SEMIFINALS
SARANAC 10
AUSABLE VALLEY 1
SARANAC — Adrian Barnes went the seven innings to get the pitching win. Barnes allowed five hits, one walk, one earned run and struck out nine.
“I thought we did a great job defensively in the game,” Saranac coach Robby Knowles said. “It started with our pitcher pounding the zone and mixing pitches to keep hitters off balance.
“We ran into some outs on the bases but, fortunately, it didn’t hurt us. That is something we need to clean up for the championship game against Saranac Lake.”
Zack Lucia paced the Spartans offensively with three singles, while Barnes and Brody Macomber added two singles apiece.
Saranac took the lead for good with four runs in the second inning and broke it open with four in the sixth.
“Our at-bats still need to get better,” Knowles said. “We need to have more competitive at-bats throughout our line-up and cut down on swings and misses.”
Keegan Holzer’s triple was one of the five hits for the Patriots. Konnor Facteau took the pitching loss.
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Saranac 10, AuSable Valley 1
AVCS;000;001;0;—;1;5;3
SCS;040;114;x;—;10;10;1
Facteau, LaMountain (6) and Hanshaw. Barnes and Lucia. WP- Barnes. LP- Facteau. 3B- Holzer (AVCS).
SARANAC LAKE 7
NORTHEASTERN CLINTON 4
CHAMPLAIN — Cedar Rivers went the distance for the pitching victory as he struck out 10, walked two and allowed seven hits. Rivers struck out five in a row during one stretch in the contest.
The big difference in the game was defensively where the Red Storm made just one error and the Cougars five.
Losing pitcher Jimmy Wells gave up five runs, all unearned, in going four innings and had seven strikeouts.
NCCS held a 2-1 lead before Saranac Lake scored four runs in the fourth inning to take the lead for good, taking advantage of three Cougars’ miscues.
Chayse Delosh led the Red Storm offensively with a double and single, while Adam Lewis added two singles. Dillon Wilson chipped in with a two-run single and Zack Goetz a double. Eight of the nine Saranac Lake starters had at least one hit in the contest.
Jimmy Wells accounted for two singles and a RBI for the Cougars, while Owen Ebersol added a single and double. Wells and reliever Jacob Perkins combined for nine strikeouts.
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Saranac Lake 7, NCCS 4
SLCS;100;402;0;—;7;10;1
NCCS;011;001;1;—;4;7;5
Rivers and Willett. Ji. Wells, Perkins (5) and Ebersol. WP- Rivers. LP- Ji. Wells. 2B- Goetz (SLCS), Delosh (SLCS), Ebersol (NCCS).
CLASS D SEMIFINALS
LAKE PLACID 14
CROWN POINT 4
LAKE PLACID — Winning pitcher Vann Morrelli rapped a single and triple, while teammates Jon Caito and Will Landriault added two singles apiece to lead the way offensively for the Blue Bombers.
Morrelli went six innings to get the win as he struck out nine, didn’t walk anyone and allowed one earned run.
Evan Carey once again swung the big bat for the Panthers with a double and two singles.
“After Crown Point scored a run in the first, we battled back with two in the second and seven in the third to take a 9-1 lead,” Lake Placid coach Brian Brandes said.
“We were able to get solid defensive play behind Morrelli and then Caito in the seventh, along with some timely hitting from Hyler Isham and Owen Thomsen.”
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Lake Placid 14, Crown Point 4
CPCS;100;120;0;—;4;7;3
LPCS;027;122;x;—;14;9;3
Hurlburt, Pertak (3) and J. Russell. Morrelli, Caito (6) and Thomsen. WP- Morrelli, LP- Hurlburt. 2B- Carey (CPCS), Thomsen (LPCS). 3B- Morrelli (LPCS).
BOLTON 6
JOHNSBURG/MINERVA 5
JOHNSBURG — The Eagles scored four runs in the first inning and held a 6-1 advantage before holding on for their win.
Jace Hubert struck out seven and allowed two earned runs in going the first five innings for the win. Sully Eager went the final two innings to record the save.
Hubert and Tyler Trowbridge each had a double to account for two of Bolton’s three hits.
Jeremiah Freebern, Hawk Millington and Rowan Olesheski each rapped a double for Johnsburg/Minerva, which finished with four hits. Cole Millington started and took the pitching loss.
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Bolton 6, Johnsburg/Minerva 5
BCS;400;020;0;—;6;3;5
J/M;100;020;2;—;5;4;2
Hubert, Eager (6) and Morehouse. C. Millington, Campbell (1), Englert (5) and Sauer-Jones. WP- Hubert. LP- C. Millington. Sv- Eager. 2B- Hubert (BCS), Trowbridge (BCS), Freebern (J/M), H. Millington (J/M), Olesheski (J/M).