The #2 Rye Baseball team saw their 15-game win streak come to an end on Tuesday, May 27, as the Garnets fell 9-3 to #1 Walter Panas in the Class A semifinals. Rye is still alive thanks to the double elimination format, but faces an uphill battle in pursuit of a league title.
Rye took a 3-1 lead in the top of the fifth on RBIs from Jackson Pineault and Luke Ontaneda, but watched as the Panthers scored four times in both the fifth and sixth innings to storm ahead. Lucas London had the other RBI for the Garnets, scoring Vinny Sculti on a sacrifice fly. Freshman Clayton McCarthy pitched well for Rye for four innings, but found trouble in the fifth frame. The bullpen failed to suppress the Panthers’ offense, leading to the unindicative lopsided score.
Rye falls to 19-4, but most importantly, slip to three wins away from a sectional championship. They must defeat #3 Nanuet today at home (time TBD due to weather) to earn the right to play in the finals, where they will have to beat Panas twice consecutively. The good news is that Rye has already defeated both Nanuet and Panas this season, and have lost just this one game since April 16 (watch it back).
