Cortland Standard .net

By TANEY BEAUMONT
Staff Writer
WATERTOWN — Ben Albright was at a loss, about a win.
The Cortland High baseball coach had just seen his team, one pitch away from the end of its season, claw back for what ended up an 11-7 eight-inning win over host Watertown in the Section 3 Class A quarterfinals.
The second-seeded Cyclones scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh to tie the game at 7-7 and had the bases loaded with no outs against Purple Tigers junior reliever Curtis Wilk, who stuck out sophomore shortstop Peter Victoria, Watertown’s leadoff man for the first out of the inning.
Wilk then ran the count to 3-2 against senior leftfielder Josh Frechette and, with the game on the line, blew one by him for the second out before getting junior catcher Nick Lavin to line out to center to end the threat.
“I can’t explain how we got out of that situation,” Albright said, his seventh-seeded team now 10-7. “Curtis needed to throw strikes and was able to bear down and do it. And for us to come out and answer back the way we did says a lot about this team.”
Wilk, who came on in relief of junior starter Jake Woods in the seventh with no outs and the bases loaded, walked in two runs and gave up a game-tying single to centerfielder-relief pitcher Kenny Schimpf that left the bases loaded before prolonging the game, and the season, for CHS.
“I was thinking that I’ve been a reliever the whole season and that’s what I’m here for,” Wilk said when asked what was going through his mind as the bottom of the seventh unfolded. “I didn’t want this to be the last game for the seniors. I went with my two-seam fastball all the time. It was definitely easier after the first out.”
ENERGIZED BY THEIR narrow escape, the Purple Tigers teed off on Schimpf in the top of the eighth to the tune of four runs, sending 10 men to the plate against the stunned hosts. Senior rightfielder Nikolai Tubbs led off with a bloop single to center and sophomore second baseman Alex Babcock walked before a passed ball moved each runner up a base. One out later Wilk worked a walk to load the bases before Woods lashed a two-run single to right to make it 9-7.
Senior centerfielder Justin Prentice then reached on an infield error to again load the bases before senior shortstop Sage Brown singled to center to plate two more runs. Senior third baseman Andrew Babcock then walked to reload the bases before Schimpf got a strikeout and a flyout to end the long inning.
Wilk made short work of Watertown in the bottom of the inning to earn his first win of the season to go with three saves. He allowed a two-out single by sophomore designated hitter Nolan Bellinger before freshman third baseman Caleb Kolb topped a weak pop fly that Wilk snagged to end the game and start a raucous celebration by the Purple Tigers and a loud CHS contingent, including a busload of spirited Cortland Crazies.
“We needed this win after the tragedy,” Wilk said, referring to an accident last Friday that claimed the lives of Cortland seniors Alexis Porter and Andrea Czimmer, “especially after the funeral today. We’re dedicating the season to them and to Amie Leland (who passed away on May 8), so this meant a lot.
“With the Crazies here, it was like the basketball games against Jamesville-DeWitt. They pumped me up, I loved it. They’re hurting as much as we are. We all needed this.”
“That ball took so long to come in,” Woods said of what turned out to be the game-winning hit. “I always want to be in that spot and to have the pressure on. I like it. They were down after not being able to win the game in the seventh; that was in their minds when we came up in the eighth. Any team would feel the same way. The momentum of the game totally changed.
“I think Watertown’s hitters had seen me enough of me by the seventh that they were catching on. It was the right time to make the switch. Curt was awesome. The memories of the (three) girls helped us.”
“WE DIDN’T GIVE UP and hit the snot out of the ball,” said Brown, who went 4-for-5 with a double, four RBIs and a run scored. “We had the momentum going into the eighth after pulling the momentum back. Curt was awesome. It’s been a tough week for a lot of people, and winning this game really helps.”
“Watertown wouldn’t go away,” Albright said. “They had a lot of fight in them. We told the guys that they had to keep the pedal down and keep scoring.
“This was a great game for these kids to be a part of. They got of of Cortland for a little while — the community is in disarray — and all the support for us here shows how close-knit we all are. That supplied us with energy, and was huge.”
“It was a great game, back and forth,” said Cyclones coach Matt Covey after his team had concluded its season at 13-6. “With bases loaded and no outs, we just had to put the ball in play. Their reliever battled and threw strikes when he needed to. We had been struggling with our bats a little before this game but did well tonight (each team had 13 hits).”
The Cyclones had a first-round bye in the tournament while Cortland shaded No. 10 New Hartford 4-3. Covey noted that “This year, not playing in the first round didn’t make a difference. We don’t have an ace; our three starters are about the same. In other years it would help because we could save our ace for the first game.”
The Purple Tigers never trailed in the game after scoring three runs in the first. Prentice was hit by a pitch to lead things off, stole second and came home on a single to right by Brown, who stole second before Andrew Babcock singled to center to put men on first and third. Babcock also second to set the table for sophomore catcher James Lane’s two-run single to center.
THE HOSTS GOT TWO runs back in the bottom of the first on RBI singles by senior first baseman Chris Bristow and sophomore designated hitter Nolan Bellinger, who went 4-for-5 on the night with two RBIs and a run scored.
Woods led off the CHS second with a bunt single and later scored on a double to left-center by Brown. The visitors went up 6-2 with a pair of runs in the fifth. Andrew Babcock doubled off the base of the fence to lead off the inning and Lane then reached on an error. After a double steal put men on second and third, Babcock scored on a sacrifice fly to left by Tubbs. Alex Babcock then walked before Lane went to third on a wild pitch. As Babcock stole second, Lane was caught off third and extinguished in a rundown as Babcock continued on to third. He scored seconds later as senior designated hitter Aidan Stehm single to left.
The hosts answered with two runs in the bottom of the fifth on an RBI infield single by Kolb and a sacrifice fly to center by junior middle reliever Andrew Netto, Prentice with a diving grab that prevented at least one more run.
Cortland scored what proved to be a most important insurance run in the top of the seventh. Woods walked with one out and went to second on a single to center by Prentice before Brown reached on an error to lad the bases. Andrew Babcock’s sacrifice fly to center then scored Woods before Schimpf escaped further damage by getting an inning-ending groundout, setting the stage for the exciting finish.
Wood went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and three runs scored for the winners while Andrew Babcock was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs. Freda (three runs) and Bristow (RBI, run) both went 3-for-5 for Watertown.
Cortland will face third-seeded Vernon-Verona-Sherrill in the Class A sectional semifinals Saturday at Onondaga CC, the first pitch slated for 1 p.m. The other A semi, also at Onondaga CC starting at 10 a.m. Saturday, pits top-seeded Syracuse CBA against No. 5 Camden.