Warriors on 7-game winning streak going for program’s first state title
During the frigid days in early April, the Averill Park baseball team could not have been hotter in opening the season with a 6-0 record. Not only did the Warriors defeat Suburban Council foes, they also knocked off some of the top contenders outside the league for the Section II Class A title.
The team then dealt with a rocky stretch during which it dropped three of four games and four in a six-game span.
The season at that point could have gone in a few different directions. Thankfully for the Warriors, it proved to be the turning point.
“The middle of the season patch where we lost three of four games in a short time was huge. We learned a lot about ourselves,” Averill Park coach George Brooks said. “I think we found out what we needed to fine tune because we got off to a great start where everyone was feeling great.”
“As much as we wanted to go 20-0, it was just about impossible with so many great teams in the league,” Averill Park senior catcher Stephan Koval said. “To have that humbling moment was almost perfect. Even after the next loss, coach came back and said, ‘We made mistakes and showed that we can beat them. Let’s talk about why we didn’t.’ ”
“Honestly, I think that stretch was good for us. It taught us that we could come back and we have proven we have learned from wins and losses, and we’re a better team because of it,” Averill Park senior pitcher/first baseman Aidan Mccue said.
Averill Park rebounded to produce 11 wins over its last 13 contests, including seven straight featuring five playoff wins. The Warriors (19-6) seek
the program’s first state championship beginning Friday when they meet Section IV champion Maine-endwell
(12-5) in the Class A semifinals at Unionendicott High School. Game time is 1 p.m.
The only other time Averill Park claimed a sectional championship was in 2014. That same year and again in 2015, Brooks guided Hoosic Valley to back-to-back Class C state titles on squads led by current Los Angeles Dodgers farmhand John Rooney.
Brooks has led his unheralded team from his alma mater two wins shy of a state championship.
“That’s our goal. We’ve worked countless years to accomplish that,” Mccue said. “I think if we can play well, it is in our favor. It is awesome to spend this much time with the team this year. Obviously being my senior year, it has been a blast.”
“It is a group of guys that, and let’s be honest, we have guys that are very, very good, but we didn’t come into this season with these huge ‘name’ guys,” Brooks said. “We really have to rely on all nine guys doing their job, the guys in the dugout doing their job and the pitching doing what they do. We have guys out there to specifically play defense. We really have to be sound throughout the course of the game. It is super exciting to be in this position.”
“One of main motivators was Media Night (at Shaker). We saw a lot of other teams doing a lot of interviews. We had one small one,” Koval said. “We thought, ‘Let’s go and make sure next year’s Media Night is way better.’ We don’t want to be cocky about it. We wanted to earn what we get. We want to earn recognition and we want to be respected. I think we have earned it.”
During the playoffs, the Warriors have outscored their opposition 33-9 with two shutouts. The closest wins came with a 5-4 victory over Mohonasen in the Section II final and a riveting 3-2 triumph over Cortland over nine innings in the subregional. In that win, senior left fielder Michael Wormuth made a spectacular diving catch to keep the Warriors alive.
“We have continued to prove we can fight back from those situations,”
Mccue said. “Wormuth made probably the greatest catch I have ever seen. He came out of absolutely nowhere to save the game for our team.”
“That was the craziest game I have ever been a part of. It was absolutely unreal,” Brooks said. “In the bottom of the seventh, we could have lost. In the bottom of the eighth, we could have lost. They were threatening again in the ninth. We were basically hanging on for dear life. The whole game was tight. We took the lead, they got it back. It was an incredible game and the catch that Michael Wormuth made was just incredible: a season-saving catch. If he misses that ball, our season is over.”
Brooks says he and the team have been blessed to have a great group of senior leaders on and off the field, players such as
Koval, Mccue, Wormuth and third baseman Alex Yash. The Warriors’ mettle figures to get tested once again Friday by a Maine-endwell squad featuring six members of the 2016 Little League World Series champions — led by star pitcher Michael Mancini, who also guided the school’s football team at quarterback to a state title in December.
“I am absolutely loving this,” Koval said. “The fact that it is my senior year and to have a team like this and be this far feels nothing short of amazing. Going out and spending the night with the team that I absolutely love and end my senior year this way — to add one more title — would just be a dream.”