A spot in the state final four is on the line for five Section 1 teams on Saturday as each of them plays in a regional final against a Section 9 or Long Island team.
Winners of Saturday’s games move on to next weekend’s state final four in the Binghamton area.
Here’s Saturday’s schedule of games. Check back for all the details.
NYSPHSAA baseball regionals
Saturday, June 6
Class B regional final at Cantine Field, Saugerties: Chester 2, Putnam Valley 0
Class C regional final at Somers High School: Tuckahoe 2, Port Jefferson 0
Class AA regional final at Cantine Field, Saugerties: Cornwall 9, Rye 0
Class A regional final at Cantine Field, Saugerties: Marlboro 4, Byram Hills 3
Class AAA regional final at Cantine Field, Saugerties: Monroe-Woodbury 8, Mamaroneck 5
Brice twirls gem ‘For Declan’ to move Tuckahoe to state final four
SOMERS — Connor Brice wore two jersey numbers in Tuckahoe’s 2-0 win over Port Jefferson on Saturday.
Visible to the crowd was his classic white Tigers jersey with orange pinstripes and the No. 2 on the back. But underneath, Brice donned the No. 23 on a warm-up shirt.
The Villanova commit hurled seven scoreless innings with 14 strikeouts against Port Jefferson in a Class C baseball regional final at Somers High School. However, his excellence took a backseat.
On Tuesday night, just two days after the Tigers hoisted the Section 1 trophy, one of their seniors, Declan McColgan, was diagnosed with sarcoma. Thus, Tuckahoe’s win meant more than just an advancement to the state final four.
“Declan is a lifelong friend of mine and he always will be,” Brice said. “This game just meant more. It was more than just a game today. It was all about playing for somebody and something bigger than yourself.”
While Tuckahoe’s entire roster warmed up with McColgan’s number on their back and a yellow ribbon on their cap, it seemed to work wonders for Brice, who described his fellow senior as, “a friend since I can remember.”
“His number gave me superpowers,” Brice said
Brice had to pitch through traffic. He scattered two hits, five walks and a hit-by-pitch, but did not crack. Once staked to a lead, he got even better. A two-out, run-scoring single by catcher Jay Romeo in the third put the Tigers ahead, before a perfectly executed suicide squeeze in the sixth gave them an insurance run.
One would have been enough for Brice, who emptied the tank over 113 pitches and struck out the final eight hitters in succession to seal the game.
“My fastball was unhittable today, so I made sure to really utilize that,” Brice said. “They couldn’t really catch up to the fastball.”
Even with the circumstances affecting McColgan off the field, he still spent Saturday in the Tigers’ dugout, watching his squad move a game closer to their ultimate goal.
“It’s special to watch,” McColgan said. “I’ve known these guys for at least 10 years. I grew up with them, so they’re my brothers. I wouldn’t want it to be anybody else.”
Turning point
While Brice cruised for much of the game, he ran into trouble in the third. With one out and one on, he was helped by a pulchritudinous leaping grab by center fielder Tyler Pian, but loaded the bases with two away. However, Brice sidestepped trouble by getting a groundout.
His escape turned into momentum for the Tigers, who immediately dented the scoreboard in the bottom half after a two-out double from shortstop Rocco Briante and Romeo’s single.
Player of the game
Without a doubt, Brice carried Tuckahoe to victory. He struck out 14 over seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and no runs.
They said it
“We’re a family, at the end of the day,” coach James Puma said. “Sometimes it’s bigger than baseball.”
“I just wanted to get it done for the guys today,” Brice said. “They mean so much to me. They continuously motivate me throughout the game and in practice, so it just meant everything to get this one for them and move forward.”
George Caratzas is a sports intern for the Journal News/lohud.
Monroe-Woodbury builds momentum, eliminates Mamaroneck
SAUGERTIES – Mamaroneck came out in its Class AAA regional baseball final slugging on Saturday. The Tigers sent eight batters to the plate in the first inning and scored three runs on three hits.
But Monroe-Woodbury ace Braeden Burke got stronger as the game went on, striking out 12 as the Crusaders topped Mamaroneck, 8-5, at Cantine Field to advance to the state final four for the first time since 1990.
Burke threw 126 pitches over seven innings, walking none and hitting a batter.
“He’s good. We knew he was good. That’s the guy we had to deal with,” Mamaroneck coach Mike Chiapparelli said. “We came out and got three off him and I was like, ‘this is pretty good.’
Mamaroneck senior Will Plunkett, who had a first-inning RBI double and drove in three runs, agreed that Burke got stronger as the game wore on.
“He threw two pitches for a strike. That’s a really good high school pitcher,” Plunkett said. “He had good velo tonight and his slider looked like a frisbee tonight and we didn’t have an answer for it.”
What it means
Monroe-Woodbury advances to the state semifinals where it will play Long Island champion Massapequa at 7 p.m on June 12 at Union-Endicott High School.
Mamaroneck’s season ends at 17-9.
Turning point
The fourth inning. With one out and one on, Mamaroneck replaced pitcher Noah Bauer (one strikeout, three walks, one hit batsmen) with Wilson Conte. Monroe-Woodbury plated two runs on an error by second baseman Luke Reagins, then Liam Hayes hit a ground rule double and then scored on a wild pitch.
Just like that, a Mamaroneck 4-3 lead turned into a 7-4 deficit.
Player of the game
It’s hard to imagine the player of the game going to a starting pitcher in an 8-5 game. That said, the Wagner-bound Burke struck out six straight batters in the fifth and sixth. He had 10 of his 12 Ks between the third and sixth innings.
“He has been an absolute bulldog all year,” Monroe-Woodbury coach Chris Vero said.
He said Burke’s early troubles stemmed from him being just a little off his location.
He said Mamaroneck was “barreling up” on Burke’s pitches early. After the first inning, he told him to “trust his offense.”
“I figured it out,” Burke said of understanding Mamaroneck’s “tendencies” at the plate.
Of winning Section 9 and now going to the state semifinals, Burke said, “It’s unreal. I haven’t processed it yet. “
They said it
The Binghamton-bound Plunkett wrapped an outstanding career at Mamaroneck on the field in Saugerties.
“It was the most talented team I’ve been on, I think the closest group I’ve ever been on,” Plunkett said. ” We had 21 seniors and the first section title in the last 10 or whatever years, it’s been special and it couldn’t have gone to a better group of guys.”
“Really good kids,” Chiapparelli said. “Hard working, playing together, played great defense.”
Phil Strum is local sports editor for The Journal News/lohud.
Byram Hills ‘squeezed’ out of playoffs by walk-off Marlboro bunt
SAUGERTIES — There might not be a more exciting play in baseball than the suicide squeeze.
And, depending on one’s perspective, there might not be a more heartbreaking one.
That was Byram Hills’ view Saturday night at Cantine Field, where the Bobcats fought back in the sixth inning from a 3-1 deficit to tie the score against Section 9 champion Marlboro only to see the Dukes pull out a walk-off 4-3 win in their state Class A regional final in the bottom of the seventh on a squeeze.
What it means
Byram Hills finished its season 20-6.
“We’ve got a lot of heart. We always have had the belief we’ll win until the last out. That kept us afloat all year,” Byram Hills coach Dennis Covert said.
Marlboro will play in the state Class A semifinals Saturday at 7 p.m. at Binghamton University against the still-to-be-determined Long Island champion.
Turning point
After the Bobcats came back in the sixth inning on a Zach Cohen double to left, a Logan Verma RBI double to left-center and a run-scoring, errant pick-off attempt by Dukes’ starter and eventual winner Liam Correa, Correa set Byram Hills down in order in the top of the seventh. That set the stage for the walk-off.
After relief pitcher Josh Goldman got the first out, Meyer Baker launched a triple into the left-center gap, just beating the relay throw to third.
That brought up Dukes’ DH Cole Belcastro. With the infield and outfield in, Baker broke for home as Belcastro laid down a bunt about 20 feet in front of home plate. Goldman raced in and flipped the ball to catcher Nate Khaldarov. But in a cloud of dust, the speedy Baker just beat the throw, sending the Dukes into a frenzy.
Player of the game
The southpaw Correa may have had the error that allowed Byram Hills to score the tying run, but he did little else wrong. The game MVP went seven innings (staying in despite a 59-minute weather/thunder delay before the top of the fourth). He allowed just four hits and two earned runs, walking three and striking out seven.
Correa was aided by a phenomenal running catch of a Niko Severino shot in foul territory off the rightfield line in the top of the fifth.
But he also helped his own cause. He was 2-for-4, scored and drove in two runs with a second-inning triple. Jax Fernandez had the other Marlboro RBI, also in the second inning.
They said it
Belcastro had had walk-off hits before, but had never executed a walk-off squeeze.
Still, Belcastro, who said he spends a lot of time practicing bunting, said, “I had a lot of confidence.”
Of going to the Final 4, he added, “It feels great. I wouldn’t want to do it with any other team.”
Bobcat coach Dennis Covert, whose team cut the Marlboro lead to 3-1 in the third with Spencer Feldman, who smashed a long double, scoring on a Ben Kent infield out, wasn’t surprised by his team’s comeback.
“We’re built on pitching and a lot of heart,” Covert said.
Kent started and went three innings, allowing five hits, three walks, striking out three and allowing three earned runs.
Goldman, a senior, took the loss but drew praise from Covert 3.1 innings of two-hit relief.
“He kept us in the game,” Covert said. “I couldn’t be more proud of him. I couldn’t have asked for more from him.”
Nancy Haggerty covers baseball for The Journal News/lohud.
Rye runs out of big hits in regional loss to Cornwall
SAUGERTIES – Rye’s baseball team got some big hits throughout the season, en route to their second straight Section 1 title.
On June 6 at Cantine Field, the Garnets had plenty of baserunners, but could not come up with the big hit.
Cornwall defeated Rye 9-0 in a state Class AA regional final. In fact, Cornwall pitchers Charles Rourke and Sage Caesar combined for a no-hitter. Caesar struck out six in three innings of relief.
“We didn’t get a hit. It’s tough to win a game without that,” said Rye senior Lucas London, who walked and reached on a fielder’s choice at the plate and also threw 2 1/3 innings out of the bullpen. “Simple as that, honestly. We didn’t play our best baseball and (Cornwall) hit the ball really well today, so they were the better team.”
Rye coach Mike Bruno said after being fortunate in getting huge hits in key spots all season, the Garnets (19-7) just couldn’t get the knock on Saturday.
“Cornwall was a great team and they made pitches when they had to,” Bruno said. “We just couldn’t get that hit to get us going.”
What it means
Cornwall, 24-0, advances to the state final four and will meet the Long Island champion at 7 p.m. on June 12 at Mirabito Stadium in Binghamton.
Turning point
Cornwall designated hitter and No. 8 hitter Hunter Salisbury had a swinging bunt with two runners on and no outs in the second inning that moved Dan Twomey and Caesar to second and third, respectively. Ultimately, the Dragons scored three runs in the frame as Matt Finn had an RBI single and scored on an error, and Aaden Hershberger had an RBI sacrifice fly. In a tight game, Salisbury’s plate discipline aided the Dragons.
Player of the game
The sophomore Caesar was 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored, in addition to three innings of hitless relief.
“”I was mainly focused on (putting) runs on the board,” Caesar said.
He said pitching coach Eric Holzapple had called a good game. Of being initially wild but then settling down, he said, “I was feeling a little shaky at the beginning. … I was a little too anxious.” He credited a mound visit by head coach Mike Anderson with settling him down. He said Anderson told him to pound the zone.
This was his first involvement in a high school no-hitter but he pitched one in Cooperstown in a U-12 game.
They said it
London, a graduating senior who will attend Michigan and not play baseball, said playing with this group of Garnets means everything to him.
“We all just love each other,” London said, when asked what he thinks of when he thinks of Rye baseball. “Being with our extended-type family. Being with them every day.”
“To see them go out like this, it was tough,” Bruno said. “They still have a lot to have their heads high for.”
Phil Strum is local sports editor for The Journal News/lohud.
Putnam Valley season ends in 2-0 regional loss to Chester
SAUGERTIES — A game that had a little bit of everything – very good pitching, an unlikely rightfield-to-second-base-to-shortstop double play, a run taken off the board for a failure to tag up, a game-ending out at home with the bases full and an incredibly beautiful, throw-back ballpark – lacked one thing Saturday: Runs for Putnam Valley.
The Tigers’ 2026 campaign came to an end at Cantine Field, where Chester pitcher Nick Sharp limited Putnam Valley to three hits during a 2-0 state regional Class B regional championship game.
What it means
With the loss, the Section 1 champion Tigers finished their season 18-8.
Chester,17-5, will advance to Friday’s state Class B semifinal where it will play Section 11 Center Moriches at 1 p.m. at Binghamton University.
Turning point
Chester’s Nick Sharp worked almost seamlessly through six innings (aided by a Tigers run being taken off the scoreboard in the fourth inning when it was ruled Putnam Valley hadn’t tagged up at third on a one-out fly ball).
But he ran into problems in the top of the seventh when he hit Nicky Benedetto. One strikeout later, Braeden McCarty reached on an error. Sharp then recorded his second strikeout of the inning before walking Ryan Dinizo to load the bases with two out.
But his sudden wildness ended up benefitting him. With the tying run at second and potential winning run at first, Sharp threw a ball in the dirt. It squirted about 10 feet away from catcher James Musco. But Musco flew to the ball, Sharp flew to home plate and took his throw and Benedetto was tagged out at home to end the game.
“We practice plays like that,” said Sharp, who’ll play for Manhattanville. University next year.
He and his team got all the offense it needed, scoring its runs in the first and third inning. Logan Bach had both the first inning RBI on a ground out and the RBI in the third on a soft lined single to left.
Putnam Valley starter Eli Pierce, who took the loss, got stronger as the game progressed. He went five innings, scattering seven hits – three in the first inning.
He was helped out by an outstanding double play turned in the second, when Evan Peterson made a fine running catch in foul territory in right field near the 330-foot mark off a James Musco drive with one down and two on. Peterson then fired to second baseman Reece Horan, who fired to shortstop Lou Peduto at secondto double off Dylan Lally, who’d reached on an error.
Player of the game
Sharp, who struck out six and said he had a lot of success mixing his fastball and slider, took top game honors.
They said it
Of the game’s last frame, Sharp said, “When stuff starts to get wild, we stay together. We don’t turn on each other.”
“They made fewer mistakes and they pitched better,” Putnam Valley coach Joe Natalie said of Chester.
He chalked up Benedetto’s decison to try to score to a “reflex” and “knee-jerk reaction.”
He didn’t send Benedetto but said he thought the ball would have carried farther from the catcher, but that it had “spun” and stopped.
“That’s probably one of the better hitting teams I’ve seen,” Natalie added, saying, “That team hit one through nine.”
Nancy Haggerty covers baseball for The Journal News/lohud.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Tuckahoe advances to state final four, Section 1 scoreboard
Reporting by Nancy Haggerty, Phil Strum and George Caratzas, Rockland/Westchester Journal News / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Nancy Haggerty, Phil Strum and George Caratzas, Rockland/Westchester Journal News | USA TODAY Network
