The Rye Baseball team defeated La Salle Institute on Sunday, June 8, winning the regional final 6-4. The win is another major step in the Garnet’s dream season, and puts Head Coach Michael Bruno and his group in elite company.
Rye fell behind 4-1 after the third inning, but instantly responded with four runs in the top of the fourth, and held the 5-4 lead until they added an insurance tally in the seventh. Luke Ontaneda shined with three hits, an RBI, and a run. Jamie Morris went 2-4 with two RBIs, and Lucas London reached base twice and scored a run.
Peter Davies earned another win on the hill, bringing his season record to a remarkable 8-1. He threw three shutout innings in relief of Jack Sheridan. Charlie Rupp earned the save (3) thanks to an incredible play by defensive replacement Diego Mosquera. Mosquera made a lunging catch on a line drive just minutes after entering the game at first base with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the seventh. It was a true game-saving play by a little-used defensive replacement.
Rye earned the right to play in the game Sunday thanks to their Section 1 championship last Sunday over Walter Panas. La Salle (Section 2) had beaten favored Jamesville-DeWitt (Section 3) in the regional semifinals, setting up the recent matchup (Rye earned a bye to this game).
After the game, fans lined Parsons Street outside Rye High School with signs and Garnets gear to welcome the team home. The team bus rolled in at about 8:00pm, accompanied by a police and fire escort. The team’s success has created a buzz around the community that extends beyond just players, coaches, and parents.
Rye improves to 23-4 and has only two more games on the schedule, at most. They next play Friday, June 13, at 1:00pm in the state semifinals. The Garnets are one win away from their first state finals appearance since 2014, and if they win, they will have one final contest on Saturday 6/14. The season ends next weekend no matter what. Statisticians will tell you the Garnets have a 25% chance to end the season on top of the Empire State, but with the way they are rolling (19 wins in the last 20 games), they have to feel their odds are better than just one-fourth.
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