Herkimer College baseball, softball teams sweep through opening regional playoff series
LITTLE FALLS – “Exactly how we drew it up.”
The Herkimer College Generals followed their coach’s ideal plan for the weekend and made quick work of Onondaga Community College’s Lazers in Region III’s Division III baseball sub-regionals, winning twice Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park in nine-inning games shortened to five under the NJCAA postseason mercy rule.
“It’s great to have two horses like that,” coach Jason Rathbun said after right-hander Ryan Packard and lefty Greg Farone each allowed one hit in 11-0 and 10-0 shutouts. “That’s exactly what we needed.”
More: Herkimer College Generals aiming for another Region III baseball title
What little drama there was came in the second game. The Generals (34-5) led 2-0 through 4½ innings with rules calling for games ending after five with a 10-run margin and seven at eight runs. Herkimer batted around in the bottom of the fifth with Dakota Britt and Sal Carricato, the hitters who had started the inning, each driving in two runs on the final two pitches thrown by Onondaga pitchers.
“You get to the fifth inning and it’s 2-0 and you get a little nervous,” Rathbun said. “It was great to be able to go out and open it up.”
Herkimer had done something similar one week earlier against Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester, the nation’s No. 1-ranked team at the time; the Generals scored eight runs in the sixth inning of a scoreless game that day.
Saturday’s shutouts were the ninth and 10th of the season for Herkimer pitching. Packard struck out eight batters and walked one in the first game; Farone fanned 13 with three walks in the second.
Britt went four-for-four with a home run and a double in the first game. He started the second game’s fifth inning with a triple and added a two-run single with the bases loaded ahead of Carricato’s game-ending double.
Double-elimination Final Four play has the Generals back on their adopted home field in Little Falls starting Thursday. Erie Community College also swept its series against SUNY-Adirondack on Saturday while Niagara County Community College beat Hudson Valley Community College once and had its second game suspended – the Thunderwolves completed the game and the series with a 5-2 win Sunday – and Cayuga and Finger Lakes community colleges split Saturday with a deciding game Sunday.
Herkimer softball advances
Herkimer College’s softball also swept its sub-regional playoff series while neighboring Mohawk Valley Community College split two games Saturday and played a third Sunday to determine the Generals’ opponent for the District B final.
The eight-team Region III bracket is split into two districts with the winner of each advancing to the NJCAA’s Division III World Series in Syracuse. No. 1 overall Corning Community College (35-5), unbeaten within the region and ranked second in the country, will play Niagara County Community College in the District A championship series. Herkimer is seeded second overall as the top team in District B.
Herkimer beat Erie Community College 8-0 and 15-3 in a pair of shortened games Saturday.
Hudson Valley (20-11) defeated Mohawk Valley 5-2 in Saturday’s first game in Troy. The Hawks (13-11) came back with a 12-4 win in Game 2 to force a deciding game. Hudson Valley had swept Mohawk Valley in a Tuesday doubleheader in Utica.
Jon Rathbun is a sportswriter for the Times Telegram. Email Jon at sports@timestelegram.com.
This article originally appeared on Times Telegram: Herkimer College baseball, softball teams sweep through playoff series
