Upstart Panas Knocks Off Mahopac Behind Jempty Gem
Panthers Sweeps Brewster, Set to Battle Lakeland for League Bragging Rights
When Valhalla (4-11) beats state-ranked (No.1) Class B Briarcliff (15-1) by a 4-1 count, it’s official: There’s no predicting Section 1 baseball this season. In what has probably been the most brutally challenging season weather-wise in decades, Class AA John Jay EF and Class B Briarcliff remain the favorites in their respective conferences. Class A is wide open, with as many as 12-14 teams in the mix, and Class C appears to be a two-horse race between Tuckahoe and defending NYS champion North Salem, though HALDANE (9-6) is making a late bid for contention.
Yes, Class AA MAHOPAC (11-6) is having a pretty decent season, but Coach Chris Miller’s Indians have dropped four in a row and scored just three runs in losses to WALTER PANAS, JOHN JAY EF (twice) and HORACE GREELEY (10-6), who one-hit the Indians in Saturday’s 5-0 setback. Panas junior Jake Jempty fired a two-hit shutout, whiffing five Indians along the way and getting two RBI from Brian Dinnen in a 4-0 win over Mahopac. Tim Feliz added an RBI, two hits and two runs for the Panthers, who bested Mahopac P Anthony Simeone (4 runs, none earned). The Indians (currently seeded 9th), who have to hit better down the stretch to get a home playoff game, also blew a 2-0 seventh-inning lead in a 3-2 loss to John Jay EF, the top-ranked team in Class AA…
And suddenly, Class A PANAS is 8-5 (but seeded 13th) with wins in three of the last four, including a sweep of 2016 Class A runner-up BREWSTER (2-13), which is, quite possibly, the greatest enigma of the 2017 Section 1 season. However, for all the good things Panas did this week, the Panthers ended on a low note in a 5-1 loss to reigning Class A champion John Jay (6-8), which hasn’t been the same this season…
LAKELAND (10-5 and seeded 8th in Class A as of now) split a pair with SOMERS (5-10, currently seeded No.21), getting even with the Tuskers behind ace Matt Mikulski, who fanned six over six innings for his fourth win of the year in a 14-3 win. Joey Vetrano (2B, 3 runs), Pat Morelli (run), Kevin Croce (2B, 2 runs) and Matt Schenck (2B, 2 runs) each poked home a pair of run for the winners. Mikulski, the Fordham-bound lefty, figures to be fresh for a start against Panas this week in a home-and-home set with the Panthers this Wednesday and Friday (7 p.m. starts). The Hornets will also face Carmel on Thursday…
CARMEL (5-11) saw Matt Vitro and Sean McCarthy smoke back-to-back homers in a 6-3 loss to surging FOX LANE (11-3), which looks like a legit Class AA contender. Still stands to reason that the 15th-seeded Class AA Rams are better than their sub-par record would indicate, so Lakeland cannot snooze on Carmel, who also lost an 8-7 extra-inning affair against Arlington. Man, the Rams have suffered some tough, close losses…
YORKTOWN (5-11, currently seeded No.16 in Class AA) split with PORT CHESTER (7-7-1), defeating the Rams 9-2 last Thursday behind P Jon Kintish, who worked 6-1/3 for the win. Joe Veca went deep and drove home RBI while Tyler Dyslin and Matt Pupczyk each knocked in two.
HEN HUD (11-4), after a ridiculous 9-0 start, has cooled off some, but still sits within the top four in Class A. In a 10-6 win over Class B PUTNAM VALLEY (7-5, currently seeded in the top 10), Jack Kelly (2-3, 3 runs, 2B, RBI), Jack Attinelly (2-2, 2 runs, RBI), Dan Weimer (2-4, 2 2Bs, 4 RBI) and Jordan Grullon (1-3, run, home run, 3 RBI) all busted out the whipping sticks to support winning hurler Attinelly and closer Kelly. Here’s the rub: Hen Hud had seven ghastly errors and cannot continue to play defense like that if the Sailors are going to contend with the Ryes, the Beacons and Pearl Rivers of Class A come playoffs. In a 14-10 loss to Nanuet, the Sailors fell behind 7-0 in the first and never recovered despite Mike Crowley (3-5, 2 runs, 2 2Bs) Kelly (2-5, 2B, RBI), Nick Cunningham (2-3, run, 2 RBI), Joe Grullon (1-3, HR, 3 RBI), Trevor Dowling (2-4, 2b, 3B, RBI) and Jordan Grullon (1-4, 2B, 2 RBI) …
Put Valley has won four of the last six, including the big win over Keio, and the bats have finally awoken in a 11-3 win over Valhalla, in which Andrew Salerno homered and knocked in two. Mike Gaitan was 2 for 3 with two RBI and a run. Sophomore John Millicker went five innings with six K’s to get the win. Matt Budano (3 for 4) and Chris Crawford (3 for 3, 2 runs) each drove home three runs in an 8-4 win over Hastings. P Austin Brown (8 whiffs, 9 hits, 4 runs) worked in and out of trouble and went the route for the win.
After losing 4-2 to Hen Hud, CROTON (9-8) got back on the straight and narrow last week with a pair of wins over Valhalla and now sit in the No.3-4 range in Class B, well behind front-running Briarcliff, which looks like a sure bet to secure the top seed and enter the playoffs as the clear-cut favorites. Croton’s 8-2 loss to Pawling was a head scratcher.
OSSINING’s Mike Laitman pitched very well in a 2-1 loss to Greeley, allowing no earned runs, striking out five and scattering eight hits. The Pride’s (3-11-1) Paul Cozzolino got the only hit, a home run over the left field fence.
Ray has 33 years experience covering and photographing local sports in Westchester and Putnam counties, including everything from Little League/Travel Baseball to varsity high school prep sports and collegiate coverage. He has been a sports editor at Examiner Media since its inception in 2007.
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