SAUGERTIES - With a bye into the regional final and just one game to win for a trip to the state final four, Suffern planned on pitching Jack Scanlon Saturday. On Friday, the Texas Tech-bound seniortold coach Chris Michie he had some reservations. His prized right arm was still tenderafter either pitching or catching seven straight Section 1 playoff games.
Michie made the decision to pitch left-hander Adam Bloch, the team's wins leader who beat Ketcham last Sunday in the Section 1 championship.
"I was a little tired, but I wanted to catch and we had faith in Adam," Scanlon said. "It's been a one-two punch with us the last two years and it's been phenomenal."
With Bloch starting, Scanlon stayed behind the plate and Suffern's co-aces combined to pitch an 8-6 victory in the Class AA state regional final at Cantine Field.
► SCOREBOARD: Section 1's results from theNYSPHSAA baseball regionals
Bloch pitched the first five innings and Scanlon tossed the final two. He then found himself at the center of a celebratory dogpile after the Mounties earned their first state final four berth.
They will play Friday afternoon in Binghamton.
"It was huge. We have heart. We never lose faith with our guys," Scanlon said. "As a team captain, I’m so happy being with these guys. We’ve been together forever — since we were 8 years old. It’s time to go win a state championship."
► CLASS AA FINAL: Jack Scanlon helps keep Suffern alive
► CLASS AA FINAL: Suffern ends Section 1 championship drought
Suffern will have that chance thanks to rallies in the fifth and sixth innings that included contributions from throughout the lineup. The game was tied 1-1 prior to the fifth when the Mounties scored three runs on a hit by pitch, a walk and a sacrifice fly with the bases loaded. Kingston responded with four runs in the fifth, but the lead was shortlived. Suffern scored three more times in the sixth, highlighted by RBI singles by Kenny Dodson and Kasey Sullivan.
"That was huge. We were really patient at the plate early on. We kept working counts and working counts. That’s what ran his pitch count up," coach Chris Michie said of Kingston starter Joe Ferrer, who was knocked out in the fifth. "He’s really a great pitcher. We just put a couple of things together."
During that sixth-inning rally, Michie had Sullivan and teammate Brian Paroff getting loose, but Scanlon — who last pitched a week ago — pronounced himself ready.
"Once we got that base hit, I said, 'Coach, put me in. No messing around,'" Scanlon said after Dodson's game-tying single. "No messing around."
Scanlon struck out the first four hitters he faced until an error and a walk left him facing the tying run with two outs. Kingston's Jake Mcnu*tt singled to left to score a run, but Sullivan, who moved to catcher, fielded a throw at the plate and fired to third baseman Tyler Edelman to nab the trailing runner with the final out.
"It was instinct," Sullivan said. "No one was there by Tyler. Luckily he saw it and I hit him and stride and we made that big play."
Player of the game
Jack Scanlon, Suffern. In a long game with several twists and turns and plenty of heroes, the big right-hander finally brought a sense of calm. He pitched the final two innings and struck out five to record the save. He also reached base three times on a single and two walks.
By the numbers
Suffern (22-5-1) — Bloch earned the win, pitching five innings and allowing five runs on eight hits. He tied for the Section 1 lead with his ninth win. ... Dylan Hoy went 3 for 3 with a double, an RBI and two runs scored. Sullivan went 1 for 2 with three RBI, Dodson had two hits, scored two runs and had an RBI and Michael Sepulveda had two hits and a run scored.
Kingston (18-4) — Ferrer, who pitched a two-hit shutout against Clarkstown South last year's regionals, allowed four runs on six hits and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. ... Reliever Nick Deising was tagged with the loss. He allowed three runs in the top of the sixth when Suffern regained the lead. ... Virginia Tech-bound shortstop Fritz Genther had a double, two walks and scored a run. Mcnu*tt went 3 for 4 with a double and a two-run triple in the fifth that briefly gave Kingston a 5-4 lead.
Quotable
"All year we’ve been in a lot of close one-run games, two-run games and we come from a very good section. We played Ketcham and a very good John Jay-East Fishkill team twice, so we’re battle tested. We were ready," Sullivan said. "This team was very tough and they gave it to us, but we continued to fight through everything they threw at us. I’m really proud we came out with the win."
Up next
Suffern will play Section 5 champ McQuaid Jesuit in the Class AA state final four. They will meet at 2 p.m. Friday at Binghamton University and the winner will play either Shenendehowa (Section 2) orMassapequa (Section 8) for the state championship on Saturday morning.
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