Lake Placid’s Van Morelli pitches in the Section 7, Class D semifinal game against Crown Point on Saturday in Lake Placid. (Corporate photo — Parker O’Brien)
LAKE PLACID — After the Lake Placid baseball team gave up an early lead to the Crown Point Panthers Saturday morning, the team put down its pregame smiles and got to work.
The host Blue Bombers scored nine straight points in the second inning and never looked back, defeating the Panthers 14-4 in the Game 7 Class D semifinal game.
“If we gave up one or two runs in the first few innings, we felt confident in our bats.” Lake Placid baseball coach Brian Brandes said. “I’m confident we can match (Crown Point’s energy) one day.”
Lake Placid returns to the Section VII, Class D championship game for the second year in a row. This time, the team is focused on defending the crown.
“The work isn’t done yet.” Blue Bombers pitcher Van Morelli said, quoting the late Kobe Bryant.
Lake Placid’s Owen Thomsen swings during the Section 7, Class D semifinal game against Crown Point on Saturday in Lake Placid. (Corporate photo — Parker O’Brien)
Lake Placid will play the Bolton Eagles on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. at Chip Cummings Field (neutral field) at SUNY Plattsburgh. The Eagles defeated Johnsburg/Minerva 6-5 in the other semifinal game.
In Saturday’s winning game, the top-seeded Blue Bombers had nine hits and all nine starting pitchers reached base at least once. Morelli, Jon Kite and Will Landriault each had two hits. Jarrett Mihir, Hyler Isham and Owen Thomsen each had one hit.
“Fortunately, we were able to hit from 1 to 9 most of the time.” Brandes said. “We have confidence in No. 1 through No. 9 and some of our pinch hitters.”
Crown Point’s Evan Carey had three of the team’s seven hits. Reese Partuck, Jarrett Russell, Alec Stone and Joe Tompkins each had one hit.
Carey put the Panthers ahead with an RBI double in the first inning, and despite the Blue Bombers putting runners in scoring position, the team finished the inning scoreless.
“Our goal is to win every inning, but we lost in the first inning. That doesn’t usually happen.” Morelli said. “Then we went back to the dugout and scored the next inning.”
After Morelli shut out three batters in a row, the Blue Bomber hitters regained their breath. The team scored two runs in the second inning to take the lead, and Morelli pitched another 1-2-3 inning to take the lead in the third.
“We were able to turn it around in the third inning.” Morelli said.
After Lake Placid’s Kite was walked on four consecutive pitches, the team had five consecutive hits and extended the lead to 9-1. The highlight of the inning was a two-run double by catcher Owen Thomsen with the bases loaded.
“We’ve taken advantage of errors and timely hits, and that’s what got us to where we are today.” Morelli said.
Morelli allowed five hits in six innings, didn’t give up a walk, and had 10 strikeouts. Kite came on as a reliever in the 7th inning and got two outs.
Crown Point’s Kayden Hurlburt took the mound as the starter and had three strikeouts, but was relieved by Reece Pertak in the third inning. He struck out six batters.
In the fourth inning, the Panthers scored one run with an RBI single by Tompkins and two runs with a double by Pertak, but they were unable to turn the game around.
The Blue Bombers scored one run in the fourth inning and two runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Lake Placid is 13-2 overall this season, with the two losses coming against Class B and Class C opponents.
The team has achieved an unprecedented record of 31 wins and 2 losses in league play over the past three seasons. This record includes the current 25 consecutive wins. The Blue Bombers last lost to a Mountain and Valley Athletic Conference opponent on May 13, 2022.
Brandes, who earned his 98th career victory as a coach on Saturday, described his team, which includes both Keene and Lake Placid players, as a family and credited their success to the team’s hard work. said.
“That’s what this team is about.” He said. “Earlier in the year we did a split practice and they didn’t want that. They wanted everyone to be together and that’s a tribute to them.”
