On a day meant for baseball, the Mount Markham varsity baseball team kept their season going by taking out the top team in Section Three and in the state.
The Mustangs rallied in the top of the sixth at Murnane Field in Utica to knock out Class B No. 1 Bishop Ludden 3-2.
The Mustangs moved on to the Class B title game played Tuesday night vs. Pulaski.
The winner of that game moves on to the state regional Saturday at noon at Onondaga Community College vs. the Section Four Class C winner.
On the line is a spot in the state’s semifinal at Binghamton University as one of four teams playing for the state title.
Mt. Markham, the No. 4 seed at Murnane, showed from the start they could play with one of the best teams in the state. BL came in with 20 wins (and one loss) during a season many teams couldn’t get in 20 games total.
Wyatt Young, the team’s only senior, stole second after walking, but he was stranded. It set the tone as neither team got a runner past second until the fifth inning.
Young threw a complete game for the Mustangs, getting two of his seven strikeouts in the bottom of the first.
He also gave up two singles, but as he did all game, he battled back from a deficit to keep the Knights off the board.
The Mustangs went down 1- 2-3 to start the second. Good fielding by Nate Pcola and Logan Plows turned hits into outs in the glove to strand one Knight who walked.
Again the Mustangs went three up, three down, with Jamison Young’s hit deep to the outfield being robbed with a terrific catch on the run.
A two-out walk by the Knights put him at second with a steal.
Pitcher Young came back from a 3-0 count to get the strikeout.
The Mustangs again couldn’t reach base with three balls sent to the outfield that were caught.
In the bottom of the fourth the Mustangs did the same with the first out.
Young again worked back from behind in the count twice to strike out batters 2 and 3.
The top of the fifth saw the Mustangs again kept off base with two catches and a tag at first.
A one-single sent the BL runner to third in the bottom of the fifth, putting the base in play for the first time all game.
A single through the gap put runners on the corners.
The next Knights batter bombed a triple to the Murnane Field fence and brought in both base runners for a 2-0 lead.
Third baseman Caden Walker scooped the next hit, checked and held the runner at third and made the through to Jake Donley for the tag at first.
Young struck out the sixth batter to send the Mustangs up in the sixth.
After two strikeouts, Jamison Young started the rally with a single up the middle; he stole second.
Wyatt Young smashed a triple to the fence, scoring his brother to cut the lead to 2-1.
Pcola hit a single hard to handle, putting him on first and W. Young at home to tie the game.
Owen Jones singled to advance Pcola; both runners pulled of the double steal to stand at third and second.
That was good enough for the single by Logan Plows to score Pcola in what turned out to be the game-winning run.
The Knights didn’t reach base in the bottom of the inning as Young got another strikeout and two catches sent the Mustangs to their last at bat.
Two strikeouts and a catch off the new BL pitcher made it a 1-2-3 inning with the Knights getting one more chance.
Payback was a 1-2-3 BL inning with a tag made by Donley at first and two catches to give Mount Markham their 15th win and move them to the title game.
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