Things were looking bleak for the Oneonta baseball team on Wednesday. The Yellowjackets were hosting league rival Windsor and found themselves down 6-0 in the early going.
But the reigning Section IV Champions showed the resilience befitting their pedigree, fighting back inning by inning until they came up with four straight two-out hits in the bottom of the seventh to defeat the Black Knights 8-7 on Cameron Sitts’ walk-off single to cap off what was arguably the best game of the young 2023 season so far.
“It was a great comeback win,” OHS coach Joe Hughes said. “We were down 6-0, played pretty sloppy. We didn’t have good pitching early, we didn’t have good fielding early. But then Bruce [Mistler] settled down, put up some zeroes, we fought our way back at the plate, Britten Zeh came in and did a good job and then you saw what happened at the end, four base hits in a row. Cam Sitts had a great ball game, great at-bats, four hits, a couple RBIs”
Sitts finished the game 4-for-4 with three RBI including the winner in the seventh. Brady Carr went 2-for-4 with an RBI while Bruce Mistler drove in two runs.
Things didn’t start well for Oneonta as Windsor plated five runs in the top of the first. The Black Knights’ first six batters of the game reached base safely, with Tyler Sienko’s two-run single representing the big blow of the inning.
It looked like the Yellowjackets might respond in their half of the first, but instead left runners stranded on second and third.
Windsor would add another run in the third inning, but Mistler was able to stop the bleeding by stranding the bases loaded. Oneonta was able to break through in its half of the third when Sitts scored on a passed ball and Mistler drove in a pair of runs with a two-out single to cut the deficit to 6-3.
In the top of the fourth inning, Carr made a spectacular diving catch in right field to prevent extra bases for Windsor with a man on first. Oneonta would add two more runs in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a two-run single by Sitts that made the score 6-5.
“We just kept fighting back, getting back in it,” Hughes said. “We spotted them that big lead early and we settled down. Pitching got better, defense got better and we fought our way back and gave ourselves a chance.”
The Black Knights plated an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on a passed ball to increase the lead to two, and got the first two outs in the bottom of the seventh on a pair of fly balls.
Down to his last out, Hughes made the move for a pinch hitter by going with Kaden Halstead, who had missed the early part of the season due to an injury. Halstead came up big with an infield single to start the Oneonta rally.
Jameson Brown and Carr followed up with singles of their own, with Carr’s hit tying the game by driving in Cameron Horth (replacing Halstead as a pinch runner after he had replaced Horth at the plate).
Sitts then came up to bat looking for his fourth hit of the game. The senior outfielder came through once again, sending a hard-hit ball through the Windsor infield, driving in pinch runner Ben Casola and sending the Oneonta bench into delirium.
“He’s a scrappy hitter, he’s a scrappy player,” Hughes said of Sitts, adding with a laugh, “He broke his windshield on his truck before an earlier hit. He had a real good day at the plate.”
The dramatic victory improves Oneonta’s record to 7-0 on the season. The Yellowjackets will look to remain perfect on Thursday when they host Chenango Valley.
Hughes said his team’s ability to win a game against a strong opponent when they didn’t play their best will only benefit them in the long run as they eye bigger prizes down the road.
“Any time when you come back when you’re down 6-0 and you get a win, it’s gotta make you feel good,” he said. “I’m happy for the guys; they hung in there, they didn’t quit, they battled. We’ve had some moments earlier in the season when we weren’t playing as well as we wanted, and they kept plugging away, they kept believing, they kept working, they kept believing in each other, pulling for each other. It’s a really good win for us.”
Oneonta 8, Windsor 7
Windsor 501 001 0 — 7 8 2
Oneonta 003 201 2 — 8 10 2
Win: Dylan Decker, Tyler Sienko (4, L), and Ashton Werner
OHS: Bruce Mistler, Britten Zeh (6, W), and Jameson Brown