Tyler Johnston gripped the ball in his right hand and glanced over at first base. But then, his focus went back to Gowanda’s Drew Kota at home plate.
Working with two strikes, Johnston released and hit his target on the outside corner, ending the game and starting Wilson’s celebration. Johnston tossed a three-hitter and retired a dozen as the fifth-seeded Lakemen knocked off No. 2. Gowanda, 3-1, to win the Section VI Class C championship, the program’s first since 1996.
Wilson (14-7) plays a yet-to-be-determined opponent from Section V in the Far West Regional at 7 p.m. Friday at Salamanca High School.
“As soon as I got that first fastball by him and I saw he was late, I’m just like, might as well go right at him and just end this game right here, right now,” Johnston said.
All season, Johnston rarely gave up runs when on the mound. The Niagara commit entered the final against the Panthers having allowed only one run over his two postseason outings, including a 3-2 win against Frewsburg in the semifinal Thursday.
The Panthers still managed to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second after Johnston’s attempt to check Ruff went past first baseman Tyler Woolson. The Panther senior advanced to third, following the error and later scored on a passed ball after a missed bunt attempt by Kota.
But, following the error, Johnston took control of the game from the third inning onward. And once again, he did so with his toolbox of pitches that had helped him throw a perfect game at Barker on May 6 and become the section’s new career strikeouts leader (currently at 372).
A combination of fastball, slider and splitter, Johnston retired 15 of his final 17 batters after the Panthers’ run. Of those retired, 10 were strikeouts, with seven going down swinging.
“He knows they love to pull the ball,” Wilson head coach Bill Atlas said. “So, he really tried to work the outside half of the plate, knowing that, if they’re going to be stubborn and try to pull it, all they’re going to do is hit dribblers up the middle or to the right side. Knowing them and what they liked a little bit, he sort of used that against them.”
To help support Johnston’s day, Wilson needed to produce at the plate against a tough draw in Gowanda’s Blake Herman. The junior had only allowed 0.9 runs in his previous nine starts, while the Lakemen only scored 4.3 per game.
Outside of Johnston drawing a walk in the first, Herman recorded eight strikeouts over the first three innings, with a combination of hitting the inside and outside corners. But, with 1-out in the fourth, Wilson began to make progress, starting with Johnston’s single to left.
Conner Ernest reached base on an infield error, and Herman’s balk during Tyler Durow’s at-bat sent him and Johnston into scoring position. Johnston then scored on Durow’s sacrifice groundout to tie the game at 1-1.
Wilson then responded in the fifth with its best frame at the plate in the game, all with 2-outs. Colton Frerichs reached base on a dropped third strike and Ryan Hough drew a walk.
Frerichs later scored on Blake Simpson’s RBI single up the middle to center two batters later for the 2-1 lead. Hough then scored on Herman’s wild pitch from third two pitches later to give the Lakemen a 3-1 lead.
“We’ve been talking a lot about just manufactauring runs,” Atlas said. “I mean, in high school baseball, we don’t have home run hitters. So, you just got to be able to put the ball in play to put pressure on the defense. And, that’s really what Blake was trying to do.”
In the win, Simpson, Johnston and Casey Sidote had one hit apiece for Wilson.
For Gowanda, Herman struck out 11 and allowed two hits in five innings of work while Ruff, Brayden Smith and Carter Capozzi. Gowanda finished the season with a 16-6 record.