PURCHASE – Everyone was on edge from the first pitch to the final out, with every ooh and ahh, cheer and groan to match the various momentum swings of Thursday night’s Class A state regional semifinals between Section 1’s Nanuet and Section 4’s Maine-Endwell.
Maine-Endwell made its grand entrance after a three-hour bus ride to SUNY Purchase, quickly taking a two-run lead to start.
Nanuet dug its heels, though, behind standout ace Aidan Kempf and a large crowd that made the trip over the Hudson River to support the Golden Knights. The Golden Knights’ resolve and a Maine-Endwell miscue led to the game-tying runs, and from there, it was a back-and-forth battle.
In the end of an extra-inning thriller, the Spartans defeated Golden Knights, 4-2, after nine innings.
Austyn Nyschot delivered the go-ahead RBI single in the ninth inning, after Jack Hennessey led off with a triple.
“(Hennessey and I) kind of gave each other a look and said, ‘Let’s end this thing,’” Nyschot said of his go-ahead single. “Just stay patient at the plate, find a way to get a runner on base, which Jack did a great job. Then, just had to get the run in.
“This means a lot, because last year, we got eliminated even before the sectional championship, so this is huge for us. Huge bounce-back year after last year, which was not good at all. This has given us a lot of confidence, we see we have a chance to win this year.”
Kempf threw another postseason gem on the mound for Nanuet, before hitting the pitch count limit shortly after the Spartans took the lead in the top of the ninth.
Maine-Endwell eventually loaded the bases and scored an insurance run on a RBI bunt single by Michael Jamba.
Nanuet was able to minimize the damage, when first baseman Andrew Hastings made a crucial snag and stepped on the base to turn an inning-ending double play to get the Golden Knights out of the bases-loaded jam.
“We got ambushed, but we fought back and clawed back, and that shows their character,” Nanuet coach Carlos Fidalgo said. “We played hard and tough to the end. We were prepared for every situation, including this one coming down to the last out. We battled as best we can and tip your cap to Maine-Endwell, they played really well and the pitcher was outstanding. He shut us down at the end.”
Nanuet got its leadoff runner aboard after an error to start the ninth inning, but just as the Spartans had done whenever the Golden Knights appeared to be building momentum, they executed key plays defensively to halt their opponent.
Maine-Endwell’s Santino Michitti threw out the runner attempting to steal second, then the next two batters went down in order to seal the victory.
Defense also came in clutch for the Spartans in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Nanuet had a runner on second. Maine-Endwell executed solid bunt defense and tagged the runner out at third on a fielder’s choice.
Michitti threw out another runner attempting to steal second for the final out to push the game into extras.
“We worked on defense a bunch this year, and it’s really starting to pay off,” Maine-Endwell pitcher Liam Hadfield said. “Honestly, defense has saved our butts a lot recently, and I think it’s because we really drill it in practice.”
What it means
Maine-Endwell will play Section 9’s Marlboro in the Class A state regional finals on Saturday at Union-Endicott High School. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Nanuet made its first appearance in state regional play since 1995, after defeating Panas in the Section 1 Class A finals.
Players of the game
Liam Hadfield, Maine-Endwell, and Aidan Kempf, Nanuet: A tip of the hat to both pitchers in this thrilling duel. Hadfield was an ironman that pitched all nine innings and was efficient on the mound. He didn’t have any earned runs, and gave up just two hits and one walk. He tallied five strikeouts and kept the Golden Knights off-balanced.
As for Kempf, it was another standout performance for the Pace-committed senior. Kempf went 8⅓ innings, before hitting the pitch count limit. He gave up just one earned run on three hits, with 16 strikeouts and three walks. He also went 2-for-4 with a triple at the plate.
By the numbers
Section 4’s Maine-Endwell (19-5): Santino Michitti went 1-for-3 with a triple, RBI, and a run. Michitti was also solid behind the plate and threw out three runners attempting to steal. Austyn Nyschot had the go-ahead RBI single in the top of the ninth, and he also scored a run. Jack Hennessey had a triple and two runs. Michael Jamba had a RBI bunt single. Maine-Endwell committed four errors.
Section 1’s Nanuet (17-6-1): Mike Cesario and Ryan Trombley each scored a run. An errant throw to third base, after Cesario successfully stole it, gave him and Trombley more than enough time to come around and score the game-tying runs after the ball rolled all the way to the fence in the bottom of the fifth inning. Nanuet committed two errors.
They said it
“(Kempf) doesn’t walk anybody. I’ve watched this guy throw and we’ve studied him a little bit. He doesn’t walk guys, he pounds the zone, and he’s good. When that game got tight like it did late in the game, we had to try and get him out of there. When we did, that is when the game changed.” -Maine-Endwell coach Matt Raleigh
“The first thing I did was thank their families and friends that have supported them all year long. I’ll keep my comments to my team private and we’ll speak on the bus, but I’m super proud of them. They’ve done a tremendous job for Nanuet baseball. Totally flipped around the season from last year, and we have a lot of great baseball ahead of us.” -Nanuet coach Carlos Fidalgo
“Especially this team, this year, it’s been a brotherhood the whole season. We didn’t really have the momentum. We were tied up 2-2, and they had that two-run inning (in the fifth).To come up on top, grind that last inning and score two in the ninth was huge.” -Maine-Endwell senior Austyn Nyschot
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
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