AUBURN - “Wow”
Glenn Gaston / Special to The Citizen
Members of the Auburn baseball team celebrate a home run hit by Bob Buckley during the Maroons' 6-4 Section III, Class AA semifinal win over Fayetteville-Manlius at Falcon Park Saturday.
Members of the Auburn baseball team celebrate a home run hit by Bob Buckley during the Maroons' 6-4 Section III, Class AA semifinal win over Fayetteville-Manlius at Falcon Park Saturday.
Auburn baseball coach TJ Gamba's assessment of his team's latest feat said it all. The Maroons have been wowing fans all season - winning one incredible game after another, earning the No. 1 seed in the playoffs and even defeating Baldwinsville in the quarterfinals Thursday.
The way Auburn buckled down and dug its heels into the ground to grind out a 6-4 Section III, Class AA semifinal win over fifth-seeded Fayetteville-Manlius at Falcon Park on Saturday was nothing short of incredible. The victory sent the Maroons into a sectional finals game for the first time in well over a decade.
Top-ranked Auburn will face off against No. 10 Utica Proctor at 7 p.m. at DeLutis Field in Rome Tuesday.
For the second time in a little over two weeks, Maroons' senior Bob Buckley earned a complete game win over the Hornets. Auburn clinched the No. 1 seed in an 8-6 come from behind win on May 21. It was just the second time all season that Buckley has lasted the entire game, after injuring his shoulder earlier in the season.
“I just felt more comfortable in this game,” he said. “I just went out there and tried to do what I did the last time to get them out.”
After giving up a run in the first inning, the Maroons responded in the bottom of the second when center fielder Matt Wild belted an RBI single to bring home Nick Ventura.
Auburn's lone error led the Hornets to pick up another score in the third inning when second baseman Matt Cowie hit a sacrifice ground out to score Buddy Leathley. F-M was in a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the frame, but Auburn refused to break down. Shortstop Tim Locastro made a timely throw and then a great catch to get the Maroons out of the inning with just the one run allowed.
Offensively, Auburn struggled to get a timely hit for most of the game, leaving nine runners stranded throughout the game. Buckley proved that baserunners can be overrated though, when he cracked a deep solo home run over the right field wall in the fifth to tie the game yet again.
“I hadn't been hitting too well, so I just spread it out and slapped it as hard as I could,” Buckley said.
While the shot provided all the momentum the offense needed, the Maroons' defense just needed an inning to catch up. Colin Schick roped an RBI single to score Cowie to give the Hornets their final lead of the game in the sixth.
Three batters and just one out into the bottom of the inning, F-M starting pitcher Scott Miller was pulled in favor of Bill Sinopoli. Miller suffered the loss though, allowing nine of Auburn's 11 hits and striking out just two.
Pinch runner Tyler Garafolo scored on an RBI single from pinch hitter Nick Rusinko to tie the score at three. Matt Wild then earned his third hit of the game - reaching base in all four of his at-bats - and Ed Charles loaded the bags on a four-pitch walk. That set the tone for first baseman Steve Komanecky, who had hit the ball twice before.
Komanecky got the hat trick on a clutch, two-run single that put the Maroons ahead for the first time all afternoon.
“I got all fired up,” he said. “That might have been the biggest hit of my whole baseball career. It felt amazing.”
Next up was Buckley, fresh off his monstrous home run in the fifth. His encore would end up getting delayed, however, when lightning was accompanied by a heavy downpour with the count 2-1. Before the players and coaches could react, handfuls of the 500-plus crowd swarmed the field to get it covered.
“That wasn't my call,” Gamba said. “The citizens of Auburn had spoken.”
After over 40 minutes had passed, play resumed and Buckley promptly smashed the ball to right field, only this time, Schick was able to make the catch, though Charles was able to score the insurance run.
With two outs in the seventh, Cowie knocked in Mike Rosenbaum for the final score, but the attempt at a comeback proved futile.
“I'm so proud of these kids,” Gamba said. “They were gritty and they stuck in there again today. We could have folded a couple of different times, but we didn't. We fought back to tie, we took some chances that worked out for us - it was just a great game to watch.”
Defensively, the Maroons refused to falter. Catcher Ryan LaRue threw out two Hornets runners at third base, with Anthony Siracusa making two grabs on the assists. Komanecky was just as clutch defensively, even going the extra mile in the seventh when he dove over the fence in front of the stands to try and make a catch. The ball was just out of reach, but the effort was commendable.
“My adrenaline was going and I thought I had room to get that one,” he said. “Sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do. It's sectionals - you have to go all out.”
While the win was an all-around team effort, coaches on both sides point to Buckley's effort on the mound as being key in the big win.
“The first couple of innings, we were tight,” Gamba said. “We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. But Buck's a warrior, he's a pitcher and he got a little dejected at a couple of points, but he's a great player.”
“He's a kid that you go to battle with if you need to win a game,” added Maroons assistant coach Tom Napoli said. “If you've got him on the mound, you're pretty confident that you're going to win the game.”
Like a true team player though, Buckley himself summed up the win best.
“This team has a lot of heart,” he said. “We don't ever quit.”
Maroons 6
Hornets 4
The way Auburn buckled down and dug its heels into the ground to grind out a 6-4 Section III, Class AA semifinal win over fifth-seeded Fayetteville-Manlius at Falcon Park on Saturday was nothing short of incredible. The victory sent the Maroons into a sectional finals game for the first time in well over a decade.
Top-ranked Auburn will face off against No. 10 Utica Proctor at 7 p.m. at DeLutis Field in Rome Tuesday.
For the second time in a little over two weeks, Maroons' senior Bob Buckley earned a complete game win over the Hornets. Auburn clinched the No. 1 seed in an 8-6 come from behind win on May 21. It was just the second time all season that Buckley has lasted the entire game, after injuring his shoulder earlier in the season.
“I just felt more comfortable in this game,” he said. “I just went out there and tried to do what I did the last time to get them out.”
After giving up a run in the first inning, the Maroons responded in the bottom of the second when center fielder Matt Wild belted an RBI single to bring home Nick Ventura.
Auburn's lone error led the Hornets to pick up another score in the third inning when second baseman Matt Cowie hit a sacrifice ground out to score Buddy Leathley. F-M was in a bases-loaded, one-out situation in the frame, but Auburn refused to break down. Shortstop Tim Locastro made a timely throw and then a great catch to get the Maroons out of the inning with just the one run allowed.
Offensively, Auburn struggled to get a timely hit for most of the game, leaving nine runners stranded throughout the game. Buckley proved that baserunners can be overrated though, when he cracked a deep solo home run over the right field wall in the fifth to tie the game yet again.
“I hadn't been hitting too well, so I just spread it out and slapped it as hard as I could,” Buckley said.
While the shot provided all the momentum the offense needed, the Maroons' defense just needed an inning to catch up. Colin Schick roped an RBI single to score Cowie to give the Hornets their final lead of the game in the sixth.
Three batters and just one out into the bottom of the inning, F-M starting pitcher Scott Miller was pulled in favor of Bill Sinopoli. Miller suffered the loss though, allowing nine of Auburn's 11 hits and striking out just two.
Pinch runner Tyler Garafolo scored on an RBI single from pinch hitter Nick Rusinko to tie the score at three. Matt Wild then earned his third hit of the game - reaching base in all four of his at-bats - and Ed Charles loaded the bags on a four-pitch walk. That set the tone for first baseman Steve Komanecky, who had hit the ball twice before.
Komanecky got the hat trick on a clutch, two-run single that put the Maroons ahead for the first time all afternoon.
“I got all fired up,” he said. “That might have been the biggest hit of my whole baseball career. It felt amazing.”
Next up was Buckley, fresh off his monstrous home run in the fifth. His encore would end up getting delayed, however, when lightning was accompanied by a heavy downpour with the count 2-1. Before the players and coaches could react, handfuls of the 500-plus crowd swarmed the field to get it covered.
“That wasn't my call,” Gamba said. “The citizens of Auburn had spoken.”
After over 40 minutes had passed, play resumed and Buckley promptly smashed the ball to right field, only this time, Schick was able to make the catch, though Charles was able to score the insurance run.
With two outs in the seventh, Cowie knocked in Mike Rosenbaum for the final score, but the attempt at a comeback proved futile.
“I'm so proud of these kids,” Gamba said. “They were gritty and they stuck in there again today. We could have folded a couple of different times, but we didn't. We fought back to tie, we took some chances that worked out for us - it was just a great game to watch.”
Defensively, the Maroons refused to falter. Catcher Ryan LaRue threw out two Hornets runners at third base, with Anthony Siracusa making two grabs on the assists. Komanecky was just as clutch defensively, even going the extra mile in the seventh when he dove over the fence in front of the stands to try and make a catch. The ball was just out of reach, but the effort was commendable.
“My adrenaline was going and I thought I had room to get that one,” he said. “Sometimes, you just have to do what you have to do. It's sectionals - you have to go all out.”
While the win was an all-around team effort, coaches on both sides point to Buckley's effort on the mound as being key in the big win.
“The first couple of innings, we were tight,” Gamba said. “We put a lot of pressure on ourselves. But Buck's a warrior, he's a pitcher and he got a little dejected at a couple of points, but he's a great player.”
“He's a kid that you go to battle with if you need to win a game,” added Maroons assistant coach Tom Napoli said. “If you've got him on the mound, you're pretty confident that you're going to win the game.”
Like a true team player though, Buckley himself summed up the win best.
“This team has a lot of heart,” he said. “We don't ever quit.”
Maroons 6
Hornets 4
The Citizens' Say
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