Chatham rallies back to win state championship

Overcomes giving up four runs in first inning to Chester

Chatham rallied from a four-run deficit to claim its first ever state championship with a 6-4 victory over Section IX champion Chester on Saturday in the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class C baseball final at Mirabito Stadium in Binghamton.

Mike Pierro’s RBI triple scored Tyler Miller from second with the go-ahead and eventual game-winning run in the seventh inning for the Panthers. Pierro came around to score later in the frame to give Chatham an insurance run and close the scoring at 6-4.

“Anytime you can end your season with a win, it’s a great season,” Chatham coach Scott Steltz said.

The Panthers got off to slow start, with Chester scoring four runs in the first to take a commanding early lead. But Chatham responded quickly, scoring four runs of its own in the second to even the game at 4-4.

“Responding to that adversity on that stage was big,” Steltz added. “This team has been really working hard since the first practice. The wins over Canajoharie (Section 2 Class C championship) and Galway (Section 2 Class CC/C Championship) were huge. We trailed Galway 5-0 in that game. We knew we were going to do something.”

Girls’ lacrosse: Victor claimed its first state title with a 14-5 win over Queensbury in the Class B final. The Blue Devils raced out to a 10-1 lead before the Spartans added two goals, from Kady Duffy and Kaitlyn Barton, to send the teams into the halftime break with the score 10-3 in favor of the Section V champions. The Blue Devils controlled the game from there, outscoring Queensbury 4-2 in the second-half to clinch the win. Devin Livingston scored three goals and had an assist and Eva Pronti had two goals and six assists to lead Victor. Brigid Duffy had a goal and an assist for Queensbury, which were playing in its first-ever state championship game. Softball: Section III’s Oriskany scored seven runs in the fourth to rally past Argyle, 8-3, in the Class D state semifinal round. Maddy Eldred cracked a solo home run in the second and the Scots added two runs in the third, highlighted by an RBI groundout off the bat of Lilly Kingsley, to jump ahead 3-0 before the seven run outburst sank any Argyle title hopes.