By HUNTER O. LYLE
ALLEGANY, NY – Entering the seventh inning, the finish line was on the horizon.
In their first taste of the Section VI postseason, the Portville baseball team sat just three outs away from advancing to the Class C quarterfinals and with a four-run buffer, it seemed inevitable. But inevitable does not mean unchangeable.
Finding the most production of the afternoon, Barker quickly turned the tide, whittling the deficit down to one and threatening another score with a man on third. However, after being suddenly thrown in the hot seat, the Panthers holdout survived, stranding the Bulldogs on base and sealing the 5-4 victory.
“I think we just got a little nervous there. I didn’t have any worries, I knew we were coming out of it,” said Portville head coach Joseph Pleakis, “but I think the boys just got a little tight, it being their first playoff game for a lot of them. We just had to have the theatrics, I guess.”
Flashback two hours prior and Portville was gearing up for another push towards the Section VI title game, a stage they reached just three years prior. Through a regular season campaign that yielded an 8-8 finish, the Panthers were hoping to strike while the iron was hot and capitalize on their gains and growth found in the back half of the season.
“To me, it’s easy to just look at the last half of the season. It’s where we played our best baseball,” said Pleakis. “I think the last few games, we’ve played a whole lot better as a team and have looked a lot more comfortable at the plate.”
Playing at their ‘home away from home’ – Portville’s first round matchup was moved to Allegany-Limestone due to inclement weather and field conditions – the Panthers’ defense found a foothold on the turf. Starting with a crisp double-play in the top frame, Portville swiftly and routinely dispatched the Bulldogs, putting them out in four in the second and three in the third.
However, their own bats were equally unable to find gaps or green space and as both teams combined for just two hits through the first two and a half innings, second base remained untouched. But as Portville returned to the top of the lineup in the third, they would finally break ground.
After collecting the first out with their first man up, the Panthers loaded the bases with three consecutive walks. Taking to the plate for his second appearance of the afternoon, Aidan DeFazio broke things open with a hard hit single past second base, scoring the inaugural pair of runs. With two outs, another single from Dylan Chudy and a wild pitch put two more baserunners on second and third, setting the stage for Ty Kosinski to drive in two more scores with a high-arching double to center field.
“We knew we just had to get up a second time and we’d roll it,” said Pleakis. “(The boys) were comfortable, they stuck to our game plan at the plate, didn’t get rattled or try to change anything. They just stuck with it the second time around and were on it.”
Despite closing out the inning thereafter, Portville returned to the batters’ box sooner rather than later, dispatching Barker in three once again. Keeping their foot on the gas, the Panthers added one more run to their lead with a passed ball steal of home from Jo Dieteman.
Although they held all the momentum, Portville would suffer their first hiccup in the top of the fifth. Having a man on second and one out, a Bulldog bunt found the Panthers out of position. With no one covering first, an overthrow to the bag went wild, allowing Barker to break the shutout and cut the lead down to four. However, Portville shut off the valve immediately after, leaving three Bulldogs stranded in the fifth and another in the sixth as they kept their cushion intact.
“We joke that (Allegany-Limestone) is like Portville West. We’re comfortable on turf, especially coming to (A-L,)” said Pleakis. “We’re more confident making plays on turf because you know the bounces and it’s one thing you don’t have to worry about. We’re pretty comfortable playing down here.”
Maintaining an unchanged advantage through the sixth, Portville reached the seventh with confidence in the dugout. All that separated them from the next branch of the bracket was three outs. Although the first came quickly – Portville earned out No. 1 on a tagout steal of second – they would have to wait for the next two.
After allowing a runner on base with an error in the infield, the Panthers saw a second join the baseline with a single before the pair rotated to second and third on a passed ball. As the momentum began to swap hands, the next three Bulldogs all brought runs in, scoring off back-to-back RBI-singles and a sac-fly that drew them to within just one.
Needing just one more out, a full-count walk gave Barker a man on first and third with their clean-up batter stepping to the plate. However, while finding contact, the ball bounced once and landed in the glove of Kosinski on the mound. With one crisp pass to first, the Panthers’ sealed the win and a trip to the next round.
Chudy ended with a team-high two hits for Portville, going 2-for-3 with one run scored while Kosinski ended 1-for-2 with two RBIs. DeFazio, who recorded three strikeouts during his five frames on the mound, also brought in two runs while rounding home plate once personally.
Making it to the Class C quarterfinals, the Panthers will next see a familiar face: Falconer. Having played them twice this season already, a win against the Golden Falcons has evaded Portville this far, something they will hope to change by sticking to what works.
“I think we’re going to keep plugging away with the same thing. We’ve played them in a couple tight games and we’re just going to focus on us,” said Pleakis, whose team will travel to play Falconer on Tuesday at 5 p.m. “If we show up and play a complete game, have good at-bats, we’re going to give ourselves a shot.”
AT ALLEGANY
Barker 000 010 3 R:4 H:5 E:0
Portville 004 100 X R:5 H:4 E:3
Barker: J. Prynn (8 SO, 5 BB) and G. PrynnPortville: DeFazio (3 SO, 4 BB), Kosinski (6) (0 SO, 2 BB) and Chudy
