Baseball: Panas' historic season falls short of Class A state title in loss to Columbia
BINGHAMTON - Saturday was unchartered territory for Panas.
By reaching the NYSPHSAA Class A final four and championship game, this year's Panthers had gone further than any other team in program history.
Unfortunately for Panas, though, it wasn't able to get the perfect ending it wanted for its historic season. The Panthers weren't able to overcome an early deficit and lost to Section 2 champion Columbia, 5-1, in Saturday's finale.
"It's an honor (to be here), but we wanted to finish the job," Panas senior Sam Stafura said. "I'm just speechless. It was a great run, thankful for all the memories and the people who were with us this whole time."
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In time, the Panthers' will be able to look back at what they had achieved this year proudly, but the heartbreak is felt throughout the program, from the players to the coaches.
"Just mostly upset for the guys, these guys worked their butts off all year," said Panas coach Anthony Fata. "I just wanted that for them. That's the biggest thing, just upset for the kids. I know how they wanted it bad, and to not get it — Sammy says it's baseball, but you just wanted the other way for them."
Columbia pounced on the Panthers to start, scoring a pair of runs in each of the first two innings of the game. Jacob Skarlis and John DelGrosso were behind the first two RBI in the first inning, and Steven Heller followed up with a two-run single in the second inning.
Panas scored its lone run of the game in the second inning, thanks to a RBI single by Derek Hawley. Even as the Panthers got the game under control on the mound after the first two innings, they weren't able to muster much offensive momentum to chip away at the deficit.
"We just weren't getting timely hitting," Stafura said. "We were getting runners on base, we just weren't producing. It's baseball, it happens."
The Panthers will say farewell to 11 seniors that raised the bar for the program and were integral to this year's success. A vast majority of them are committed to play at the next level.
"They mean everything to me, these guys," Fata said of his seniors. "They wrote a new script for this program. Now, everybody coming into this program, they better take a lot of notes, because these kids have paved the way."
What it means
This was Panas' first NYSPHSAA final four and championship game appearance in school history. The Panthers were one of three Section 1 baseball teams to reach the state finals.
Player of the game
Elias Conway, Columbia: He was tough on the mound and kept the Panthers fairly quiet in a quality six-inning start. Conway got the win on the mound, giving up one run on four hits and one walk, while striking out seven batters. He also drew three walks and scored a run.
By the numbers
Columbia (20-6) — Andrew Gabriel went 3-for-4 with a double. He also closed out the game, pitching the final inning with no hits or runs allowed, and two strikeouts. Steven Heller went 2-for-4 with two RBI. John DelGrosso went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI. Jacob Skarlis went 1-for-4 with a RBI. Naim Greenberg-Nielsen was 1-for-2 with a RBI.
Panas (25-4) — Derek Hawley went 1-for-3 with a RBI. Jackson DiLorenzo, Danny Witters and Randy Wiesner each had a hit. Tony Humphrey scored a run. Anthony Jaescke pitched a majority of the game, going four innings in relief, with two earned runs on seven hits allowed. Nick DiMaso pitched the first inning of the game, allowing two earned runs on three hits, while Jacob Malfant pitched the final inning of the game, giving up no runs and one hit.
They said it
"It was a wonderful journey, I'm thankful for every single moment, everyone around me, the community, coaches, everyone who helped us get to this point," Stafura said of this season. "But, it's just baseball. That's how it happens, you win some, you lose some. Just gotta keep your head up.
"This program means a lot. Growing up, the past five years I spent in this program. I'm just speechless. Every single practice, every single game, I enjoyed and cherished. I hope we set a tone for the future of Panas baseball, and I know it will be going in good ways, so I'm just happy that we did that."
Follow Eugene Rapay on Twitter at @erapay5 and on Instagram at @byeugenerapay.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Baseball: Columbia defeats Panas in Class A state finals, 5-1
