CLASS C STATE BASEBALL
Frewsburg baseball overwhelmed in final
BINGHAMTON — In the end, Frewsburg just ran out of gas.
The Bears fell to hot-hitting Maple Hill in the Class C state baseball final, 19-2, on Saturday at Binghamton University’s Varsity Field.
“We lost the lead and hung our heads a little bit,” Frewsburg coach Jay Grann said. “That’s not the character of this team, but you know that’s what happened today. We didn’t play our best game, but that’s what happens sometimes.”
The Bears pushed two runs across in the top of the first. Thad Johnson led off with a double. Asa Johnson drove him in with a single to right and stole second base. Jake Sleasman singled to left for the second run; however, that was the last time the Bears would score.
Joe Dugan’s two-out double in the bottom of the first tied the game up, and Adrian Donnelly plated him with a single to give the the Wildcats the lead.
“I thought we came out and were gonna make a statement there, but a few mental errors cost us,” Grann said of the first inning. “It may have changed the complexion of the game.”
Section II (Albany area) champion Maple Hill added four more runs in the second inning. Nick Papas and Mike Doughtie both had RBI singles, and Dugan picked up two more RBIs with a double.
The Wildcats were in control from there. They tacked on four runs in the third, seven in the fifth and one in the sixth, while Nick Papas silenced the offense on the mound.
In the semifinal, the Bears relied on the strength of their arms in a 3-0 win over Seton Catholic of Section IV (Binghamton area).
Frewsburg’s starter, Asa Johnson, dominated the Saints for 5x innings as he struck out nine, allowed only two hits and walked two. Kyle Grey slammed the door shut in relief for the second game in a row.
The Bears jumped to an early lead for the third straight game. Dalton Scalf walked and moved to second on a wild pitch with one out in the first. Jake Sleasman plated Scalf with a double to right field to push the Bears in front.
“We made the plays when we needed to especially early,” Grann said. “We wanted to try to get on the board first, which we were able to, and we kind of turned it over to our pitching staff.”
The Bears will look to make another run next year with eight returning starters.
“That is one of the positives for us,” Grann said. “We get some experience at the state level and see different teams. We have almost everybody coming back, and we’re trying to make it back here again next year.”
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