Tupper Lake’s Luke Robillard hits a triple during Thursday’s NYSPHSAA Class C subregional playoff game against Chatham at St. Lawrence University’s Tom Fay Field. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
CANTON — After another dominating season, the Tupper Lake baseball team finally met its match Thursday against the reigning back-to-back state champions, the Chatham Panthers.
After giving up a big lead early, the Lumberjacks ultimately suffered an 18-10 loss after the Panthers scored six runs in the seventh inning at St. Lawrence University’s Tom Fay Field in the NYSPHSAA Class C subregional round.
“When you play a team that has won two straight state championships and is probably well on their way to winning three, that’s just the way it goes,” Lumberjacks head coach Dan Brown said.
Chatham jumped out to a 12-4 lead by the fifth inning, and while it seemed like they were well on their way to earning a 10-run mercy-rule victory, the Lumberjacks rallied with five consecutive runs to bring the game within three.
However, the Panthers scored six runs in the seventh inning to halt a Tupper Lake comeback while advancing to the Class C regional finals. The Panthers will take on the Section VII champion, Ticonderoga Sentinels, at noon today at Shuttleworth Park in Amsterdam.
Tupper Lake’s Wyatt Godin, left, dives for home plate while Chatham’s catcher Logan Smalley attempts to tag him during Thursday’s NYSPHSAA Class C subregional playoff game at St. Lawrence University’s Tom Fay Field. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
“I don’t know if there are many teams out there that would fight like that down eight runs at one point,” Brown said.
It was the first time this season that the Section 2 champion Panthers had allowed double-digit runs in a single seven-inning game. The Hudson Blue Hawks scored 10 runs on Chatham in an 11-10 loss on April 25, but that game required extra innings.
“We (just) didn’t come out the way we wanted, but I’m proud of each and every one of (my teammates) because we fought until the end and we never gave up,” Tupper Lake senior catcher Griffin Shaheen said.
The Panthers took a 5-0 lead in the first inning with six of the team’s first nine batters recording a hit. The Lumberjacks got on the board in the bottom half of the inning when Wyatt Godin drove in Shaheen.
Chatham’s starting pitcher Tate Van Alstyne made life difficult for Tupper Lake’s hitters as he dominated on the mound, tossing nine strikeouts in five innings, including three straight in the second.
Tupper Lake’s Karter Kenniston pitches during Thursday’s NYSPHSAA Class C subregional playoff game against Chatham at St. Lawrence University’s Tom Fay Field. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
The Panthers tacked on five more runs in the next two innings before the Lumberjacks scored and finally found some life offensively when Karter Kenniston scored on a wild pitch and Luke Robillard hit a two-run single.
“I think the first time through seeing a pitcher like that, you don’t see a guy like that often and once you finally see him — and you have good hitters — our entire lineup came alive,” Brown said. “We’ve just got to see it and we’ve got to hit it and that’s what happened here.”
Chatham extended its lead to 12-4 with two more runs on an RBI double from Cooper Steltz and an RBI single from Van Alstyne.
While trailing by eight, Tupper Lake scored two runs in the sixth on RBI singles from Godin and Robillard. After holding Chatham to its two straight scoreless innings, the team added three more runs on a two-run single from Grant Benze and an RBI from Shaheen to make the score 12-9.
However, the Panthers returned to their usual self and added six runs in the top of the seventh, making the score 18-9.
Tupper Lake’s Grant Bencze tags Chatham’s Logan Smalley out during the NYSPHSAA Class C subregional round on Thursday at St. Lawrence University’s Tom Fay Field. (Enterprise photo — Parker O’Brien)
The Lumberjacks opened the bottom half of that inning by scoring one run, with just one out. After four straight batters reached base, the team seemed right in the driver’s seat ready to pull off the upset.
With runners in scoring position, Grant Bencze hit a short, which in most cases would be a hit, but Chatham’s center fielder L.J. Morse made a diving grab for one out and quickly threw out a Lumberjacks runner, who had already left second base because they expected the ball to drop. The double-play subsequently ended Tupper Lake’s season.
“He made (one of the best) plays that I’ve ever seen in a long time,” Brown said. “In those situations, it’s easy to say we shouldn’t have been going, but you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do, and at the moment that felt right.”
Van Alstyne dominated from both sides of the plate, recording a game-high four hits, including a home run, a double and two singles, in the Panthers’ 19-hit performance. Morse, Steltz, Logan Smalley and Jacob Taylor had three hits each.
Godin led the Lumberjacks with three hits, while Robillard, Shaheen and Ryder Willett had two hits each. Bencze, Kenniston and Logan Flagg each had one hit.
Kenniston started on the mound for Tupper Lake and had three strikeouts, before being relieved by Bencze in the fifth. Bencze had one punchout.
Despite falling short of a state playoff run, the Lumberjacks had one of its best seasons in recent years, posting a 15-3 record overall and earning its second sectional title in three seasons. Shaheen, who was one of six seniors who played their final game on Thursday, said this team is a family.
“We’ve all been playing for like five years together so we have a bond like no other,” he said. “There are no other people that I’d rather play baseball with.”
Next season, the Lumberjacks will have seven players return from its current squad.
