The playoff hopes of the Tompkins Cortland Community College baseball team are alive and well. On Sunday, the Panthers completed a weekend sweep of four games from SUNY Broome Community College, taking both ends of the home doubleheader by scores of 4-2. The wins move the Panthers to 20-14 overall and 13-10 in the West Division. With just two games left, the Panthers are now in position to control their own destiny – a pair of wins over Onondaga Community College on Tuesday would put the Panthers in position to return to the Region III playoffs for the first time since 2010.
Game 1: Tompkins Cortland 4, Broome 2
Austin Rourke (Jacksonville, Fla./Terry Parker H.S.) started on the mound and worked five strong innings, allowing just two runs (one earned). The offense gave him the lead in the bottom of the third, thanks to a two-out rally. With two down, Chris Micucci (Auburn/Auburn H.S.), Alex Babcock (Cortland/Cortland H.S.), Charlie Hammel (Rochester/Rush-Henrietta H.S.), and Garret Hunter (Virginia Beach, Va./Cox H.S.) strung together consecutive hits, scoring three runs and putting the Panthers in the lead. A single run in the bottom of the fifth made the score 4-2 heading to the sixth. After allowing the leadoff batter to reach, Rourke was removed in favor of Christian Ballard (Alpine, Texas/Blanchard (Okla.) H.S.). Ballard faced three batters, recording two outs before turning the ball over to closer Evan Plante (Albany/Christian Brothers Academy). With runners on first and second, Plante shut the Hornets down with a strikeout to end the inning, and then a perfect seventh that included two more strikeouts to earn the save.
Hammel went 2-for-3 to lead an offense that produced four runs on just five hits, four of which came during the third inning rally.
Game 2: Tompkins Cortland 4, Broome 2
For the first time in the four weekend games with Broome, the Panthers scored first. With Justin Barber (Brookfield/Brookfield H.S.) dealing on the mound, the Panthers scored three runs in the bottom of the second inning as Daniel Santiago (Newburgh/Newburgh Academy), Micucci, and Babcock each collected an RBI.
The 3-0 score held into the fifth when Broome finally got to Barber, taking advantage of a pair of Tompkins Cortland errors to score two unearned runs and bring the score to 3-2. Jake Prignon (Cortland/Cortland H.S.) worked a perfect top of the sixth inning in relief, and Babcock picked up another RBI with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth, making the score 4-2. Plante came on in the seventh, retiring the Hornets in order to secure his second save of the day and third of the weekend.
Micucci had a big game at the plate, going a perfect 4-for-4 and stealing two bases. Jacob Mosher (Pulaski/Pulaski H.S.) was perfect in a different way – drawing a base on balls in each of his three plate appearances.
Barber earned the win to improve to 3-2 on the year. Plante's save was his eighth of the year, a new Panthers season record.
The regular season finale comes Tuesday when the Panthers host Onondaga Community College at 2 p.m.