Tillman twirls two hitter
Saratoga Catholic back in Section II Class B final
GLOVERSVILLE, N.Y. » Terel Tillman missed out on a no-hitter for Saratoga Catholic after giving up a leadoff hit in the seventh inning. Tillman still managed to shut out Johnstown 2-0 and give Saratoga Catholic a return trip to the Section II Class B final.
Saints coach Phonsey Lambert said the team needed Tillman at his best in what turned out to be a pitcher’s duel.
“We didn’t play our best game at all,” Lambert said. “That Johnstown team came to play today. Those kids had a great playoff run and they pushed us to the limit. We had poor at-bats, made poor decisions at the plate and we didn’t play tight baseball today, but we had a guy on the mound that was not going to lose. We did just enough to win and that’s a credit to our kids. They never gave up, they fought hard and a couple clutch hits put a couple runs on the board. I can’t say enough about Terel and the effort.”
Saratoga Catholic will play Albany Academy, who beat Voorheesville 5-0, in the final Wednesday at Joe Bruno Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Tillman looked in control for most of the seven innings.
“This game was huge for us,” Tillman said. “It was our biggest game of the year.”
Johnstown starter Ben Wager only allowed two runs, one unearned, in the fifth and sixth innings.
Connor Farrington led off the
fifth inning with a double to center field. Dante Marin attempted a bunt which was fielded by the pitcher and thrown over the head of the first baseman, allowing Farrington to come around and score the first run of the game.
Marin moved over to third, but was thrown out at home. Tillman made it to third after a single, but was unable to score after Cadhan McFadden struck out.
Kaden Learch came up in the sixth inning and gave the Saints another leadoff double. Jake Hart hit an RBI single to get him home and put the Saints up 2-0.
Two runs turned out to be more than enough for Tillman.
Tillman threw seven innings of two-hit ball. Jake Petrie broke up the no-hitter with a single in the seventh and the next batter, Wager, doubled to move the runners up the second and third with nobody out.
Tillman said heading into the seventh he knew he had the no hitter going and he had nerves going out to the mound.
“I was a tiny bit nervous,” Tillman said. “I had a bet with Sam Haraden about it and I’m glad we made it through and got the win.”
Tillman shut down the next three batters with one close call. The next batter, Mike Brown flew to center field on a ball that could have scored the runner from third. Farrington came up throwing and got the ball on a line to catcher Nick Wilson to hold the runner at third and keep the shutout alive. The next two batters, Alex Vanduesen and Charlie Brown struck out and grounded out to end the contest.
Tillman said he had a creative way to keep his mind on the game without stressing out too much.
“I was singing the song YMCA in my head because (assistant coach Dale Long) loves that song,” Tillman said. “I was trying to focus on that and not on the batters.”
Lambert said the Saints won because they are a strong unit.
“We are good team,” Lambert said. “I am not going to deny that. We are a good team and we are going to be very stingy on defense. I thought the defense was going to be there the whole time, but I just expected more out of our offense and that will come. We are going to work on this week, it will be a priority.”
Lambert said even though his team has been there before, they are excited to compete.
“We have been there many times in our history,” Lambert said. “We look to forward to getting back. It is going to be a tough game and we have our work cut out for us.”
This will be the Saints second straight year heading to the finals, but Tillman said they are hoping for a different outcome.
“Last year we were able to make it to (Bruno stadium),” Tillman said. “We couldn’t come out on top, but this year I think we will come out top for sure. I think our opponent will be fantastic and we just need to play clean baseball.”