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Ketcham shuts down Horseheads in Class AA baseball state tournament

andrew legare, elmira star-gazette
·2 min read

Horseheads' winning streak and its season came to an end Thursday night with a 7-1 loss to Roy C. Ketcham in a New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA baseball sub-regional at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls.

The Blue Raiders finished with a record of 18-5 that included a two-game series sweep of Elmira in the Section 4 championship series in which Horseheads scored 31 runs. Those victories gave Horseheads 15 consecutive victories following a tournament in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Horseheads was playing in the state tournament for the first time since advancing to the final four in 2018. There was no season in 2020 and no state tourney last year.

Along with the Section 4 title, the Blue Raiders' season also included the Southern Tier Athletic Conference tournament crown.

Horseheads head coach Jeff Limoncelli meets with players at the mound in a 7-1 loss to Ketcham in a Class AA regional semifinal baseball game June 2, 2022 at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls.
Horseheads head coach Jeff Limoncelli meets with players at the mound in a 7-1 loss to Ketcham in a Class AA regional semifinal baseball game June 2, 2022 at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls.

Turning point

Horseheads held a 1-0 lead behind Lucas Granger's first-inning RBI single. Blue Raiders starter Dylan Ribble pitched two hitless innings, walking two, before running into trouble in the third.

Back-to-back singles from Kevin Camacho and Sean Camacho to lead off the inning were followed by an error on a ground ball hit to first base by Owen Paino, scoring Kevin Camacho. A balk gave RCM a 2-1 lead and Aidan Marshall followed with a sacrifice fly. After Mason Holloway took over on the mound, Ryan Mealy's sacrifice fly made it 4-1.

Horseheads second baseman Dominick Russ tries to turn a double play in a 7-1 loss to Ketcham in a Class AA regional semifinal baseball game June 2, 2022 at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls.
Horseheads second baseman Dominick Russ tries to turn a double play in a 7-1 loss to Ketcham in a Class AA regional semifinal baseball game June 2, 2022 at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls.

Players of the game

Paino, a sophomore who has verbally committed to Ole Miss as an infielder, limited the Blue Raiders to one run on six hits over the first 5⅔ innings. He added a double at the plate.

Eighth-grader Tyler Durkin got the final four outs, including a game-ending double play on a strikeout and a throw-out of an attempted stealer of second base.

Ben Tullo had a two-run single for Ketcham in the fourth and Michael Schiavone tripled and scored in the fifth.

Jackson Cook had two hits and a stolen base for Horseheads. Alex Chrisman tossed a scoreless sixth for the Raiders.

Dylan Ribble pitches for Horseheads in a 7-1 loss to Ketcham in a Class AA regional semifinal baseball game June 2, 2022 at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls.
Dylan Ribble pitches for Horseheads in a 7-1 loss to Ketcham in a Class AA regional semifinal baseball game June 2, 2022 at Dutchess Stadium in Wappingers Falls.

Up next

Section 1 champion Ketcham (17-7) will face Section 9 champ Pine Bush (17-4) in the regional final at 6 p.m. Saturday at Dutchess Stadium. That will follow the 3 p.m. Class A regional final between Somers and Maine-Endwell.

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: Ketcham beats Horseheads in NYSPHSAA Class AA baseball sub-regional