Advertisement

Another offensive outburst leads Horseheads to sweep in Section 4 Class AA baseball finals

andrew legare, elmira star-gazette
·4 min read

Horseheads continued to put up crooked numbers Wednesday, extending its winning streak to 15 while adding a third championship to what has become a special baseball season.

The top-seeded Blue Raiders followed an 18-run outburst in Monday's Game 1 of their best-of-three Section 4 Class AA championship series against Elmira with a 13-7 victory in the clinching game at Ernie Davis Academy.

Horseheads scored five runs over the final three innings after the Express matched the Raiders' four-run fourth to close within 8-7.

The Raiders earned their first Section 4 title since the 2018 team advanced to the state final four. This title comes on the heels of a championship in the Southern Tier Athletic Conference tournament and a win over Corning in a tiebreaker to decide the STAC West champion. For good measure, Horseheads also won the JV STAC title.

"It is pretty awesome," said senior outfielder Riley Loomis. "It’s what we’ve worked for for all the years we’ve been playing baseball. It’s what we dreamed about as kids and it’s pretty cool to see it come true. Now we’ve got to keep working and move on to the next step."

Horseheads' Matt Procopio celebrates his RBI double as the Blue Raiders completed a two-game sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 Class AA baseball championship series with a 13-7 win May 25, 2022 at Ernie Davis Academy.
Horseheads' Matt Procopio celebrates his RBI double as the Blue Raiders completed a two-game sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 Class AA baseball championship series with a 13-7 win May 25, 2022 at Ernie Davis Academy.

Talking title

Horseheads has won seven Section 4 championships since 2010 under head coach Jeff Limoncelli, who guided the Blue Raiders to a state title in his second season in 1999.

He was especially happy for the seniors who celebrated their first sectional title. Horseheads lost to Corning in the previous two sectional tourneys, falling in a semifinal in 2019 and the title game last year.

"We’ve had a tough road, with Elmira very competitive and these combined programs are very tough to beat," Limoncelli said. "It’s a challenge, but I’m glad these kids got it done their senior year. It feels good to be back on top and have the championship where it belongs."

Horseheads' Dominick Russ is tagged out at second by Elmira's Trevor Morrell as the Blue Raiders completed a two-game sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 Class AA baseball championship series with a 13-7 win May 25, 2022 at Ernie Davis Academy.
Horseheads' Dominick Russ is tagged out at second by Elmira's Trevor Morrell as the Blue Raiders completed a two-game sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 Class AA baseball championship series with a 13-7 win May 25, 2022 at Ernie Davis Academy.

Game 2 standouts

Lucas Granger went 3-for-3 with two homers and five RBIs on Wednesday. Both home runs went to left field and the second, a two-run shot that provided the game's final runs in the seventh inning, cleared the batting cages behind the fence.

Granger's other homer was also a two-run blast and put the Raiders up 7-3 in the fourth.

"He was feeling it tonight," Loomis said.

Horseheads' Matt Procopio was 2-for-3 with a double, four runs and two RBIs. Gavin Wert also had two hits and two RBIs.

Brady Morrell had two hits and drove in two runs for Elmira (9-11), which scored four runs in the seventh to rally for a 5-4 semifinal win over two-time defending sectional champ Corning last week.

Freshman quieted Elmira bats

Typically reliable starters Bryce Mashanic of Elmira and Alex Chrisman didn't have their best stuff on the mound.

However, Horseheads freshman Mason Holloway was sharp in continuing an impressive season. He allowed one hit and an unearned run in pitching the final 3⅓ innings. He struck out six.

"He did a great job," Limoncelli said.

Horseheads' Jackson Cook rounds third base as the Blue Raiders completed a two-game sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 Class AA baseball championship series with a 13-7 win May 25, 2022 at Ernie Davis Academy.
Horseheads' Jackson Cook rounds third base as the Blue Raiders completed a two-game sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 Class AA baseball championship series with a 13-7 win May 25, 2022 at Ernie Davis Academy.

An offensive powerhouse

While pitching has been solid and defense has been much better than it showed Wednesday in committing five errors, the strength of this Horseheads team is undoubtedly its offensive firepower.

In Game 1 of the series, the Raiders scored 15 runs in the fourth inning. Cook and Chrisman starred in that one, each collecting two hits and five RBIs.

"We grind out at-bats, we swing the bats pretty well," Limoncelli said. "To be consistent with that is pretty impressive."

Double-digit scoring games have been the norm since Horseheads returned from its triple to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The Raiders lost three games down there but benefited from facing quality opponents.

"We've been rolling," Loomis said. "We've been working hard every day and hopefully will stay hot until we finish the deal."

Loomis said this is an especially close team.

"It seems like once we get someone on base it keeps going and going," he said. "We kind of feed off each other and bounce off each other. It definitely showed in these two games."

Elmira's Trevor Morrell just beats the throw to first base as Horseheads' Dylan Ribble waits on the ball as the Blue Raiders completed a two-game sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 Class AA baseball championship series with a 13-7 win May 25, 2022 at Ernie Davis Academy.
Elmira's Trevor Morrell just beats the throw to first base as Horseheads' Dylan Ribble waits on the ball as the Blue Raiders completed a two-game sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 Class AA baseball championship series with a 13-7 win May 25, 2022 at Ernie Davis Academy.

Up Next

Horseheads (18-4) will play the Section 1 champion in a regional semifinal June 2 at a to-be-determined Section 1 site. The winner faces the Section 9 champion for the right to play in the state final four at Binghamton University on June 10 and 11.

Follow Andrew Legare on Twitter: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at alegare@gannett.com. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Horseheads closed a sweep of Elmira in Section 4 AA baseball finals