Syracuse Christian Brothers Academy scored three runs in the top of the seventh to rally for a 9-7 victory over Elmira in a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AAA baseball subregional Tuesday, June 2 at Horseheads High School.
CBA’s Colton Steinfest hit a bad-hop single into right field to tie the score 7-7. Christian Brothers Academy scored the tiebreaking runs on a two-out throwing error.
Elmira’s Aiden Ranck doubled to lead off the bottom of the inning, but he stayed at second as CBA reliever Owen Harris induced two pop-outs and a fly ball to end the game.
The Section 4 champion Express finished with a 15-6 record and saw its 13-game winning streak come to a close.
“We expected a battle. We expected to win,” Elmira head coach Justin Fuchs said. “We prepared. Our boys were ready. That team just went through a really tough series up in Syracuse. They were ready, too.
“It was super disappointing to lose like that. … It’s a disappointed group of kids. These guys have worked so hard for so long. We wish we were playing another game. Shoutout to these guys for their hard work and also to CBA. We left the door open a crack and they slid in.”
CBA (17-7) will face Section 6’s Niagara Falls in the regional final at 10 a.m. Saturday, June 6 at Frontier High School. CBA lost to Liverpool, two games to one, in the Section 3 championship series that ended Sunday.
Tuesday’s contest was back-and-forth, with CBA taking the lead with four runs in the top of the third inning and Elmira responding with six runs in the bottom of the inning.
The Express broke a 6-6 tie with Jackson Cavalier’s RBI double in the sixth.
Express starter Aedan Palmer pitched the first 6 2/3 innings. He allowed 8 hits, 4 walks, and struck out 11. Elmira committed four errors and only three of CBA’s runs were earned.
“Aedan threw a great game,” Fuchs said. “He did exactly what we expect him to do. He let them put the ball in play. I think they hit one or two balls hard maybe the whole game. My god they must have had five or six infield hits.
“He threw a great game. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. He put us in a chance to win and he did his job.”
Cavalier went 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs. Palmer was 2-for-4 with an RBI, and Noah Cain had a hit and 2 RBIs. Quinn Hanrahan added a hit, 2 runs, and 2 walks at the top of Elmira’s lineup.
Jimmy Kennedy, Rocco Grotto, and Steinfest had 2 hits each for CBA. Grotto scored 3 runs and Steinfest drove in 2.
Harris went the final 4 1/3 innings and limited the Express to 1 run on 5 hits. He struck out 5 and walked 2.
“A few times we had runners on and we couldn’t get the big hit to break the game open when we had a couple of opportunities,” said Fuchs, who praised the pitching of Harris.
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Syracuse CBA denies Elmira trip to NYSPHSAA baseball regional final
Reporting by Andrew Legare, Elmira Star-Gazette / Elmira Star-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
