TWO PITCHING GEMS, BUT JUST ONE CROWN
Baldwinsville sophomore out-pitches Columbia pair for 1-0 AA regional win
TROY, N.Y. » Nothing has come easy for the Columbia High School boys baseball team this season. A 16-7 overall record, 11-5 in the Suburban Council, receiving the No. 7 seed in the Class AA sectional tournament, forced to win a play-in game against local rival LaSalle, then knock off the No. 2 seed in Bethlehem to advance to the local semifinal. It was a win over No. 3 Colonie that put the Blue Devils in the Section II final at Joe Bruno Stadium on Tuesday for a 3-1 win over No. 5 Ballston Spa before they could even touch a piece of hardware late in the season.
Then facing the Section III champion Baldwinsville and its No. 1 pitcher, Jason Savacool, was just par for the course for Columbia Saturday night.
“We knew we were going to get one of the best pitchers in the state coming in,” Columbia Coach Chris Dedrick said. “We had a really good scout on him.
“The thing he did today was got ahead of us, threw strikes and we had one walk. He was able to throw all his pitches in any count. He did a really good job of keeping us off balance and when he needed a strikeout, he was able to get it.”
Syracuse-area starter and soph-
sophomore Jason Savacool also got something the Blue Devils didn’t for its own pair of arms – a single run – the difference in the Class AA regional Saturday.
Savacool, a verbal commit to Maryland, reached over 100 strikeouts on the year, sitting down 11 Columbia batters to advance to the NYSPHSAAFinal Four next weekend at Union-Endicott High School, taking on Section V regional champion Victor 5 p.m. Friday.
“It was just fastball, slider for me today,” Jason Savacool said. “I didn’t have someofmyother pitches going, but my fastball; slider worked for me today and did the job.”
Savacool struck out 11 and walked just one batter and gave up four hits during the complete game win, bending at times, but never breaking, including once again getting help from his defense in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Columbia relief pitcher Danny Watson, who will attend Virginia Commonwealth in the fall, led off the Blue Devils rally with a single to left field and then reached second on a steal when the throw from catcher Nate Ray was dropped on the tag.
It didn’t take long for Savacool’s receiver to make amends.
A failed bunt attempt with Watson taking a big step down the base path left him venerable and when he attempted to leap back and over Bees shortstop Pat May who took the throw near the bag led to the tag and end of the scoring threat.
It would only be fitting for Savacool that he ended his outing the same way he started it – a strikeout looking to end the game.
“Last year he was a freshman and he was our No. 1 last year and he even got better over the summer, that’s why he’s a high recruit, he is right now a verbal to Maryland and there’s a reason for it,” Syracuse coach Dave Pena feather said.
Watson delivered the Section II title for the Blue Devils Tuesday night on the same mound, a 3-1 win over Ballston Spa and then turned the ball over to sophomore Carmen Erno for the start. The left-hander gave up the lone run on four hits, striking out four and walking four before Wats on came on in the sixth inning.
“We had a lot of confidence in Carmen, he’s been throwing really well,” Dedrick said. “We weren’t going to bring Danny back for a start on three days’ rest.
“He’s got too much at stake in his future (Virginia Commonwealth) to have something happen to him on aregional game. Wefelt very confident in Carman and it was great to have Danny, that we knew we could have for a couple of innings.”
Now it’s Jason Savacool’s chance to add to both the Baldwinsville and family history.
“We’ve got that one banner hanging in our gymnasium,” Pena feather said. “We were the first male team to win a state championship, to go with volleyball, girls soccer and girls lacrosse over the years, but then we won it in 2013 (with older brother Josh Savacool on the squad).
“When we practice in the gym, which is a lot because of the weather we have up this area, the kids see that and this year. We also had a five year reunion a couple of weeks ago and we actually put a sign up on our scoreboard, so they saw that and everyone said they would like to put another one up.”
Columbia was let to not only pack up their gear for the ride back to East Greenbush, but also for the last time this season.
“I thanked all the seniors for all the work they put with us since they were in seventh grade, modified kids,” Dedrick said. “They’ve worked really hard, done everything we’ve asked them to do, fundraise, winter clinics, the list goes on. Just a great team, team that had great leadership and it was tough today.”