Jackets ride big sixth to semifinal victory

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May 31, 2012

Jackets ride big sixth to semifinal victory

Wright, Moxley lead OHS to 6-1 defeat of Waverly; rematch with CV is next

By Dean Russin Sports Editor The Daily Star Thu May 31, 2012, 03:30 AM EDT

ONEONTA _ David Wright kept his head up Wednesday at Oneonta High.

"I put some bad swings on the ball my first two at-bats," OHS senior left fielder Wright said. "The third time, I hit it really hard back to the pitcher, so I just tried to keep that same approach. I got a pitch I liked and I hit it."

Lefty leadoff batter Wright yanked a 1-1 pitch down the first-base line, driving in two of the Yellowjackets' four runs in the sixth inning as OHS earned a 6-1 baseball victory over Waverly in a Section Four Class B semifinal.

"When you're hitting well, everybody wants to join the parade," said OHS coach Joe Hughes, whose top-seeded team produced three of its five hits in the sixth. "I think that happens to us sometimes. I wish it would happen a lot more, and I hope it happens tomorrow."

Oneonta (20-2) advanced to the Section Four Class B title game against defending sectional champion Chenango Valley at 4:30 p.m. today at Conlon Field in Binghamton. The second-seeded Warriors (12-5), who fell twice to OHS during the regular season, beat sixth-seeded Susquehanna Valley, 6-3, in a sectional semifinal at Union-Endicott on Wednesday night.

CV figures to start its top pitcher, Austin Lewis, as Mike Fillers threw a complete-game five-hitter Wednesday.

Hughes said he will start lefty Mike Calkins, the losing pitcher in last season's 10-2 sectional championship setback against CV. Calkins threw a no-hitter in his last outing, striking out 17 in a 3-1 Southern Tier Athletic Conference Tournament semifinal victory over Class AA Horseheads on May 19 at NYSEG Stadium in Binghamton.

"It's his turn and he's geared up and ready to go," Hughes said of Calkins, who walked twice, stole two bases and scored a run as Oneonta's designated hitter Wednesday. "Mark Giallanzo's well-rested, too, so we have two of our top three pitchers ready to go."

The other third of Oneonta's top three might have a few pitches left, too, as Ben Moxley threw 80 pitches in a four-hitter against Waverly.

"I never throw more than 85 pitches in a game," said Moxley, who faced an aggressive Waverly squad that put six first-pitch offerings into play. "Everybody swings at the first pitch, so I must have some movement on the ball or something."

Hard-throwing righthander Moxley (6-0) needed 15 pitches to get through the first two innings and escaped a first-and-second jam with none out in the third by retiring the Wolverines' 1-through-3 batters in order. He followed with a 1-2-3 fourth inning _ striking out clean-up batter Matt Lee and No. 6 hitter Zac Saxon _ before hitting Anthony Argenio with an 0-1 off-speed pitch to start the fifth.

Argenio moved to second on a groundout to first base by Ken Evans and took third when Moxley's low pickoff attempt skipped into center field off the glove of second baseman Conor Youngs. Although Moxley caught No. 9 batter Anthony Girolono, a lefty, looking at a called strike three with a full-count curve that broke over the outside corner, Cody Marchese jumped on a first-pitch fastball and sent it over left fielder Wright for an RBI double.

The unearned run pulled fourth-seeded Waverly to 2-1 and gave the Wolverines (14-6) all the momentum as starting pitcher Pat Bronson retired the side in order in the fifth.

No. 3 Waverly hitter Dylan Gutierrez then drove Moxley's first pitch of the sixth into right field for a single as Giallanzo pulled up to keep the ball in front of him. Giallanzo may have had a shot at catching the ball with an all-out dive, but a miss could have been costly as center fielder Chris Pindar had little chance to provide adequate back up on the tailing liner.

Lee followed with a sacrifice bunt that moved Gutierrez to second, giving Bronson a chance to help himself at the plate. Instead, Bronson indirectly helped Oneonta regain the edge.

Bronson lined an 0-1 pitch to left field, but Wright caught it and followed with a perfect throw to second to double off Gutierrez.

"He lost track of the play," Waverly coach Kyle McDuffie said of Gutierrez, who was halfway between second and third when Wright caught the ball. "We did that twice. We had a guy at second twice with less than two outs and we couldn't get him in."

Lefty Zach Pidgeon was hit by a pitch from Bronson to open the last of the sixth, and pinch-runner Jon Vega stole second then moved to third on a wild pitch before Calkins struck out swinging on a low, 3-2 pitch.

Vega scored on Ben Payton's chopper to third baseman Lee, who started to throw home but realized he had no shot and went to first. Payton beat the throw, though, setting up Youngs and Giallanzo for back-to-back singles from the Nos. 8 and 9 spots in Oneonta's batting order.

Wright then sent a hard grounder down the first-base line to score Payton and Youngs for a 5-1 lead, and Moxley capped the scoring with a sacrifice fly to right that plated Giallanzo.

"We fell apart in the last inning, but they hit the ball," said Mcduffie, whose team fell, 7-0, at Oneonta in the same round last season. "They put the bat on the ball. They were hitting some bombs here today. They were hitting the ball all over the field, and they went after my best pitching. They hit my best pitching today, so hats off to them."

OHS also scored its first run with a shot down the first-base line as Pidgeon doubled in Wright with two out in the first inning. Wright reached base on a fielding error by Lee, who dropped the ball while trying to cut off a slow grounder toward shortstop.

Giallanzo made it 2-0 in the fourth with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to left that scored Calkins, who walked with one out and stole second and third on off-speed pitches to Payton (hit by pitch) and Youngs (walk).

"Oneonta puts the bat on the ball and they hit the ball hard here," Mcduffie said. "On a smaller field, they could be really dangerous."

Oneonta 6, Waverly 1

SECTION FOUR B SEMIFINAL

4-Waverly ..... 000 010 0 _ 1 4 1

1-Oneonta ..... 100 104 x _ 6 5 2

Pat Bronson (L) and Anthony Girolino. Ben Moxley (W,6-0) and Zach Pidgeon. 2B _ Cody Marchese (W), Zach Pidgeon (O).

Dean Russin can be reached at drussin@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 215.