NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — Kingston High withstood adversity from start to finish Friday to win a 2-1 thriller over Pine Bush in the Section 9, Class AA baseball championship game at SUNY New Paltz.
Sophomore Pat Dorrian delivered the biggest hit of the season for the second-seeded Tigers (17-5). His two-run double in the top of the seventh inning provided just enough to hold off the No. 1 Bushmen (17-5).
Winning pitcher Sam Einhorn survived the wild and wacky bottom of the seventh to notch a three-hitter. With the bases loaded, Thomas Walraven scorched a line drive that took a direct route into the glove of center fielder Jerred Beniquez.
Kingston defended its sectional title and will play 4 p.m. Monday in a regional semifinal against Section 1 champ Arlington at Roy C. Ketcham High (Wappingers Falls). Last year, the Tigers advanced to the state semifinals for the first time in school history
It would have been a frustrating and heartbreaking defeat for Kingston had Pine Bush rallied to victory. Two Tigers reached base in the first only to be picked off by Bushman starter John Cain, a 6-feet-8 lefty.
Cain allowed eight hits before staff ace Chris Potts relieved with one out in the seventh. Kingston stranded runners at second in the second, third and fourth innings.
In the fifth, the Tigers had three singles and left the bases loaded. Cain escaped trouble again in the sixth on an inning-ending double play with runners at first and second.
Einhorn, meanwhile, did not allow a runner past first over the first six innings.
“What you saw today was us battling the same demons we had all year,” coach Mike Groppuso said. “This is a talented group of kids still learning the game. Continued...
“What you saw today was us battling the same demons we had all year,” coach Mike Groppuso said. “This is a talented group of kids still learning the game. Continued...
“Sam Einhorn pitched a tremendous game and showed a lot of heart.”
The Bushmen, who swept three straight from Kingston during the regular season, would not go quietly in their final at-bat. Brian Guzman’s bad-hop single leading off the bottom of the seventh bloodied the nose of shortstop Zack Short.
Until that point, Short had handled six chances flawlessly. He made an error on Keith Bjaelker’s grounder and one-out later made another on Michael Hughes, as Pine Bush loaded the bases with one out.
“It was Sam’s game to lose,” Groppuso said. “We didn’t give him much support defensively (four errors), especially in the last inning.”
Pinch-hitter Scott Flanick’s deep fly to right was caught by Zach Chilcott, and the Bushmen made a rare mental mistake with Guzman failing to tag up and score. It proved crucial with Sammy Fontanez cutting the deficit to 2-1 with an infield single that might have tied it.
Lead-off hitter Walraven grounded out to Short his first three at-bats before ripping the liner caught by Beniquez.
“I said ‘uh oh’ when he (Walraven) hit it,” Einhorn recalled. “He got all of it.
“It was a 3-1 count, and I just wanted to see if I could get him to put it in play.”
Jake Ryan, another Kingston sophomore, ignited the winning rally with a lead-off single. After Matt Fletcher sacrificed Ryan to second, Potts relieved Cain and walked Beniquez.
Dorrian’s double carried to fence in right to score Ryan and Beniquez.
“I’ve been slumping lately,” Dorrian said. “I was just looking to get a base hit.
“I wanted to put the ball in play and see if I could make them make a play in the field. I got a pitch I could drive and went with it.”
Groppuso expressed satisfaction with his team taking a step forward.
“We just had enough in the tank,” he said. “Every year is a new year.
“As a program, we reach out to the young kids that we’re not working just to get here. We’re working to win it.”
