SYRACUSE — A late rally Tuesday, June 2 allowed the Oriskany Skyhawks to complete an unblemished run through Section III and extend the Class D championship streak to four in a row.
The Skyhawks, ranked first in the state and seeded first in Section III in Class D, fell behind briefly in their championship game rematch with McGraw, quickly pulled even, then regained the lead in the sixth inning of an 8-4 victory at Onondaga Community College.
Oriskany had beaten No. 2-seed McGraw 6-3 in last year’s championship game on the way to winning a state championship. The then-Redskins had beaten Lyme in the 2024 final and Belleville-Henderson in 2023. Oriskany was also a sectional finalist in 2022 when Morrisville-Eaton won the title with its 3-2 victory.
As he had the previous two years, Oriskany senior Eddie Wright took the mound for the sectional final, pitched a complete game and delivered a victory. He struck out 11 batters, walked four, and allowed his first earned run in five championship game appearances.
“My senior season, it’s my last year,” Wright said. ” This is one of the three goals we wanted, so it just feels amazing to be able to pitch a game like that and come out with the win.”
Wright pitched in relief as an eighth-grader and as a freshman, then shut out Lyme as a sophomore. In 22 2/3 innings in five sectional finals, Wright allowed one earned run on eight hits while striking out 42 batters.
The Oriskany comeback
In addition to his work on the mound, Wright started the tying and winning rallies in the fifth and sixth innings.
With his team trailing 4-2, Wright led off the bottom of the fifth inning with a single. He stole second base before scoring on Dean Koenig’s triple, and the Skyhawks pulled even when Koenig tagged up and scored on a fly ball hit by Jack Mason.
Owen Mulcahy retired the next batter before walking the bases loaded. Calob Sutton, the McGraw starter who Mulcahy had relieved in the second inning, returned to the mound and struck out a pinch hitter to end the inning.
Two walks, two strikeouts and a wild pickoff throw put Eagles on first base and third with two outs in the top of the sixth. Liam Baker hit a sharp ground ball up the middle and Oriskany shortstop Dawson Foss made a diving stop to his left. Foss made a backhand flip to second base for a force play that ended the inning and preserved the 4-4 tie.
“I think the key play was that play up the middle. That got us started,” Oriskany coach Eric Enos said. “It was the top of our order up, and those guys sent a spark through the rest of the team and got the fire started.”
Mulcahy took the ball again to start the bottom of the sixth and retired the first batter on a ground ball. Wright then lashed a triple to deep right field. The Eagles walked Koenig intentionally, and Jack Mason delivered his second sacrifice play to put Oriskany back on top.
Jayson Mayo and Evan Mason singled home runs, and Trey Smith did the same after McGraw went back to Sutton for a third time on the mound.
Wright then pitched a 1-2-3 seventh inning to close out the victory.
“Our good players are really good,” Enos said. “When it comes down to crunch time, they make plays for us.”
The early going
Oriskany took a 2-0 lead in the second inning on run-scoring singles by Foss and Wright. McGraw scored a run in the fourth inning, then took advantage of two Oriskany errors in the top of the fifth and scored three times to take its short-lived 4-2 lead.
Smith got the Skyhawks started in the second with the first of his two hits. Brody Anderson walked, and Foss singled courtesy runner Jayden Stapleton with the game’s first run. Mulcahy replaced Sutton for the first time, and Wright greeted him with the first of his three hits, sending Anderson across the plate.
Blair Mulcahy led off the fourth inning with the second McGraw hit, and made his way around the bases with a stolen base, a bunt and a pitch that got by the catcher.
One inning later, the Eagles got started with a walk, an error and a bunt. Another bunt left the runners on second and third with two out before Sutton hit a ground ball to the left side; one run scored as Sutton beat the throw to first base, and Baker, running hard from second base, rounded third and followed Owen Lea home as the relay throw got away.
Blair Mulcahy then drove a pitch to right-center, sending Sutton home while attempting to circle the bases himself; right fielder Tyler Tamburino retrieved the ball and flipped in to center fielder Koenig whose throw was cut off by Foss and relayed home in time for Smith to tag Mulcahy and end the inning.
Oriskany plays on in states
At 20-0, Oriskany enters the state playoffs as one of New York’s last four undefeated baseball teams, and the Saturday, June 6 regional playoff pits the Skyhawks against another, Section X champion Heuvelton (20-0). The teams are scheduled to play at 2:30 p.m. at St. Lawrence University, following a Class C game between Section VII Ticonderoga and Section X Tupper Lake.
Two regional semifinals were played Tuesday, with Schenevus/Charlotte Valley defeating Gilboa-Conesville/Roxbury 6-4 in a rematch of Friday’s Section IV final, and Section V Fillmore beating Section VI Ellicottville 9-4.
All four regional finals will be played Saturday with Tuesday’s winners squaring off, Section II Duanesburg meeting Section VII Bolton, and Section XI Bridgehampton taking on Section IX Eldred.
The state semifinals and final will be played the following weekend in greater Binghamton. The semifinals are scheduled for June 12 at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. at Union-Endicott High School, with the championship game the following afternoon at Binghamton University.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Unbeaten Oriskany makes it four in a row in Section III baseball
Reporting by Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram / Times Telegram
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jon Rathbun, Herkimer Times Telegram | USA TODAY Network
