One of the most improbable rallies in imagination saw the Tompkins Cortland Community College baseball team score eight runs with two outs in the seventh inning to take national power Niagara County Community College to extra innings Sunday. The upset bid fell short in the eighth inning, with #6-ranked Niagara pulling out a 13-12 win over the Panthers. The scheduled second game of the doubleheader was rained out, leaving Niagara with a record of 26-5 overall and 12-3 in the West Division. Tompkins Cortland is now 3-14 overall and 3-12 in the West.
Game One: Niagara 13, Tompkins Cortland 12 (8 innings)
Things started slowly for the home team. Niagara sent all nine hitters to the plate in the first, scoring three times and leaving the bases loaded. The Panthers chipped away with a run in the bottom of the inning after Frank Marra (Millstone Township, N.J./Allentown H.S.) led off with a double and eventually came around to score on a groundout by Kannon VanDuzer (Sayre, Penn./Sayre Area H.S.). Any momentum gained with that run quickly evaporated as Niagara put up four runs in the second inning and two more in the third. In fact, the Thunderwolves would score in each of the first six innings, threatening to end the game due to run rule. Trailing 11-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth, the Panthers had their first improbably rally to keep the game going.
Jeremy McGrath (Henderson Harbor/Belleville Henderson H.S.) started things with a single and stole second. With two outs, Gabriel Gilbert (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Montessori H.S.) came through with a single to score McGrath and keep the game from being stopped early. Ledy Alvarez (Guayaquil, Ecuador/Colegio Americano) delivered another single and VanDuzer followed with a double to score two more, bringing the score to 11-4 at the end of five innings.
Niagara put a single run on the board in the sixth to make it 12-4, and when neither team scored in their next at bat, the Panthers came to the bottom of the seventh trailing by eight. Marra started things well with a double, but the next two batters were retired with Marra only advancing to third. Down to their last out, and at times down to their last strike, the Panthers began to climb back. VanDuzer singled to score Marra, Mitch Shipman (Dryden/Dryden H.S.) doubled and Dan Mrowinski (Syracuse/Solvay H.S.) and Bradley Addicott (Trumansburg/Charles O. Dickerson H.S.) each drew walks, bringing the score to 12-6. McGrath made it 12-8 with a two-run single, and when Jacob Bogacz (Morrisville/Morrisville-Eaton H.S.) and Marra each drew walks, the Panthers brought the tying run to the plate. The Panthers kept the pressure on with a crazy play. Gilbert hit a groundball that the third baseman fielded, but after trying to tag Bogacz going past him, threw to first too late to get Gilbert. But Bogacz slipped rounding third, and when Niagara made a play to try to pick him off, he committed to try to score. The throw to the plate beat him, but the Niagara catcher was unable to hold onto the ball, allowing Bogacz to score and Marra to advance to third base. A wild pitch allowed Marra to tie the game, the eighth run with two outs in the inning. The rally ended on an infield pop-up, sending the game to extra innings.
In the eighth Niagara used a two-out walk with the bases loaded to recapture the lead, and when the Panthers were retired in order in the bottom of the inning, the Thunderwolves finally had secured the win.
VanDuzer finished 2-for-5 with four RBI. Marra was 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles and three runs scored. McGrath went 2-for4 with two RBI and two runs scored, and Alvarez finished 2-for-5.
Shane Smith (Groton/Groton H.S.) pitched a fantastic game, coming on in the second inning and keeping the Panthers within striking distance while throwing into the eighth inning. He was charged with the loss after a runner that was on base when he was taken out came around to score, but he ended up allowing just three earned runs over 6.1 innings to the high-powered Niagara offense.
Game Two: Postponed
With a steady drizzle falling for the last few innings of the first game and no end expected, game two was called off. It will be made up on May 4.
Looking ahead
The Panthers head to Sanborn on Thursday for a doubleheader with Niagara.