The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Sherrill, Adrean clash in playoff tilt
UTICA, N.Y. » It was a day of highs and lows for Sherrill Post 230 at Murnane Field on Friday.
Less than four hours after celebrating a come-frombehind walk-off win against New Hartford, Sherrill was knocked out of the American Legion District 5 playoffs in a 5-2 loss to Adrean.
“We hit the ball everywhere, but it was right at them. We hit the ball on the screws, but it was right at them. Our pitching today, youcan’t ask for anymore than that. Blake comes in and we’re down 1-0 heading into the seventh. Their pitcher did his job, and like I’ve said before, they are a good fielding team,” Sherrill Post 230 coach Barry VanDreason said.
Connor Gray took the win for Adrean, holding the Sherrill lineup to five hits and a pair of earned runs in six innings of work on the mound.
Gray’s counterpart Blake VanDreason was equally as strong, yielding six hits and two runs while striking out five in the loss.
Alex Kipp led Sherrill at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI. VanDreason added a triple and a run scored.
Adrean almost got on the board in the top of the first when Pat Fitzgerald led off with a walk and worked his way to third, but VanDreason stranded him there, closing the inning with a strikeout and a grounder to second base.
Both pitchers continued to navigate their way through their respective lineups until Adrean broke the three-inning stalemate in the top of the fourth. Anthony Alsante took first base on a hit-by-pitch, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Gray, moved to third
on a Jordan LaSalle infield single, and scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 Adrean lead.
Jorden Barlow led off the bottom of the fifth with a double for Sherrill Post, but Gray retired the next three Sherrill batters in order to escape unscathed.
Adrean appeared poised to add another run to its total in the top of the sixth when Zack Brush led off with a double. Brush tried to stretch the double to a triple but was thrown out at third after shortstop Tyler Rotach relayed a throw from center fielder Jacob Horodnick to Zach Nell at third for the first out of the inning. VanDreason shook off the leadoff double, and Sherrill got out of the inning.
Up 1-0, Adrean grew its lead in the top of the seventh. Derek Pritchard got things started with a double to lead off the frame to chase VanDreason for Nell. Nell walked Matt Davis before Nick Briggs moved the runners over with a sacri- fice bunt. Then, Fitzgerald followed with a single to send Pritchard home for a 2-0 lead. Davis and Briggs scored moments later on wild pitches for a 4-0 lead before Eli Neth scored on an error to cap the Adrean outburst for a 5-0 lead.
Down to its final three outs, Sherrill opened the bottom half of the seventh with a VanDreason triple. Kipp followed with a double to plate VanDreason and end Gray’s night on the mound. Relief pitcher Dean Langman entered for Gray and quieted any thoughts of a second Sherrill comeback, striking out two of the final four Sherrill batters he faced to close the contest.
“I’m proud of this group. They didn’t stop fighting. They even put up two runs in the last inning,” VanDreason said. “They could have walked out of here and just given up, but they didn’t.”