Dan Cevette
New York Scouting Director

Elmira 5 - Horseheads 3

The Elmira Express won its first Section 4 Class AA baseball championship with a 5-3 victory over rival Horseheads. This marks the first sectional baseball title for an Elmira school since the inception of Section 4 tournament play. The Express (14-8) now heads into the New York State High School Athletic Association Class AA playoffs, they will face Section 1 champion at 4:00 PM on Friday June 6th at Arlington High School.

Elmira scored all their runs in the second inning with a double from Tyler Lynch and singles from Kevin Snyder, Jordan Judson, Justin Judson, and Alex Bellardini. Horseheads responded in the fourth inning taking advantage of three Elmira errors and a double by Brett Wieland but was unable to overcome the 5 run deficit.

Elmira out hit Horseheads 11-2 in the contest and threatened to score in almost every inning. Tyler Lynch showed great poise on the mound. He entered the game in the bottom of the fourth with the bases loaded but was able to retire the next two batters on fly balls to end the Horseheads threat. Lynch only allowed one hit the test of the game to collect the win.

Auburn 8 - Fayetteville-Manlius 7

Auburn continues its Cinderella season by defeating F-M Friday night 8-7 to win the Section 3 Class AA baseball championship. The game ended due to F-M's Mike Hoalcraft being called for runner's interference during a play at second base which resulted in a game ending double play for Auburn.

Auburn scored 4 runs in the top of the first inning and held a 8-4 lead going into the bottom of the seventh. F-M rallied in the bottom half of the inning and had cut the lead to a single run when the interference play occurred and preserved the win for Auburn.

Matt Brooks was 4-for-5 for Auburn with an RBI and a double. Justin Valentino was 3-for-4 with 2 RBI's, Trent Valentino was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI's, and Stephen Bennett was 3-for-4 with an RBI. Bennett came on in relief of starting pitcher Justin Valentino and secured the win for Auburn.

Mike Hoalcraft was 2-for-4 for F-M with 3 RBI's and Josh Loeffler was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI's. F-M finished their season with a 15-7 record. Auburn now advances to the New York State High School Athletic Association Class AA playoffs, they will face Shenendehowa at 7:00 PM on June 7th at Joe Bruno Stadium located in Troy, NY.

Shenendehowa 10 - Christian Brothers Academy 4

Rain delayed the start of the game Friday night by 90 minutes but that did not stop the Shenendehowa Plainsmen from winning their second straight Section 2 Class AA baseball championship. Shenendehowa defeated Christian Brothers Academy by a score of 10-4. The game was tied at 4-4 in the fifth inning but Shenendehowa took control of the remainder of the contest.

Matt Drum, John Novenche and Matt Bloise all had doubles for Shenendehowa, while Zack Dethomasis added a double for CBA. Aaron Kalish started the game for Shenendehowa and completed 4 2/3 innings giving up 3 runs on 3 hits. Hard throwing lefty Bryan Warzek pitched in relief and allowed 1 run on 3 hits striking out 3 to record the win.

Shenendehowa will now advance to the New York State High School Athletic Association Class AA playoffs. They will face Section 3 champion Auburn at 7:00 PM on June 7th at Joe Bruno Stadium.