Section V baseball playoffs: 4 games today will decide who makes it to states

Section V baseball champions have made their way through one single-elimination tournament, and now it's time to try and move into another.

Greece Athena, Honeoye Falls-Lima, Palmyra-Macedon, Penn Yan, Sodus, Batavia Notre Dame, Avoca/Prattsburgh and Northstar Christian Academy won classification finals, carrying block-like trophies back to their schools last weekend. Their postseasons continue.

Next, are playoff games on Tuesday that send the winners into the regional round of the state tournaments.

The Fairport Red Raiders, Section V's Class AA champion, are all set. They have a spot in the Far West Regionals or state quarterfinals, where they will play Lancaster, the Buffalo area Class AA champion, 11 a.m. Saturday at Grand Island High.

The remaining eight Section V champions must square off. These teams play in classifications which were split by Section V, reducing the size of the tournaments in a spring season with a tight window for completion. Reducing the size of the tournaments helps allow all teams in a classification to play in the postseason if they want, and results in more champions.

Here are the four matchups that determine the overall Section V class champions, who advance into the state tournaments.

Greece Athena Trojans vs. Honeoye Falls-Lima Cougars

When and where: 5 p.m. at Innovative Field, downtown Rochester.

How the Trojans (18-5) arrived here: By rolling to an 11-4 win over top-seed Churchville-Chili in the Section V Class A1 tournament final, in a No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup ... Trojans scored five runs before the first at-bats for the Saints ... Conor Osier pitched 6 2/3 innings, after losing the strike zone for an inning ... Defeated Honeoye Falls-Lima 3-0 on April 27, shutting out the Cougars with pitchers Jaden Madrid, Nate Hall and Ryan Grasley, who also had a RBI ... Derrick Allen was 1 for 2 and stole two bases ... That victory gave the Trojans their ninth win in 11 games.

How the Cougars (14-9) arrived here: By pulling away to a 11-2 win over No. 2 seed Pittsford Sutherland in the Section V Class A2 championship game ... The Cougars were a No. 5 seed ... Landon Hammond was 3 for 4 and scored three times ... Conor Finn, a sophomore at HF-L, had three runs batted in ... "Get that energy going and keep putting the foot on the pedal," Finn said ... Hammond said he has played with some of his teammates since they were six years old ... Cougars squeezed past Pittsford Mendon 5-4 in the semifinals.

Palmyra-Macedon Red Raiders vs. Penn Yan Academy Mustangs

When and where: 5 p.m. at Colburn Park, Newark.

How the Red Raiders (20-2) arrived here: A small miracle. Pal-Mac trailed by a run in the seventh and final inning of the Section V Class B1 final, and Hornell was one strike from winning ... Hornell got the final strike, but since the pitch hit the dirt and there was no runner at first base, the putout needed to be completed. All three baserunners, including the batter who swung and missed, ran the bases and crossed home plate while Hornell players celebrated, thinking the game was over ... Only two runners needed to score for Palmyra-Macedon to win 6-5 ... Palmyra-Macedon has won Section V championships each of the last three seasons.

How the Mustangs (11-11) arrived here: A dream finish in the Section V Class B2 Final. Penn Yan ran away to a 14-0 win over Bath Haverling ... Brady Bouchard stuck out 16 batters, walked 1 and allowed 2 hits while shutting out the Rams ... Liam Chapman, another junior at Penn Yan, hit for the cycle while getting five hits in five at-bats and driving in three runs. He also scored five times ... Riley Griffiths hit a triple, a double, scored twice and had a RBI ... The results gave the Mustangs their first Section V championship since 1983, 40 years.

Sodus Spartans vs. Batavia Notre Dame

When and where: 5 p.m. at Evans Field, Canandaigua

How the Spartans (19-2) arrived here: By completing a run as the No. 1 seed of the Section V Class C1 tournament ... Sodus lost during the 2022 finals ... Spartans are a Section V champion for the first time since 2002 ... Jacob Laird, Jed Bodine and Evan Laird have been the team's top hitters during the postseason ... This will be the first meeting of the season between Batavia Notre Dame and Sodus, co-champion of the Wayne County league.

How Batavia Notre Dame (20-1) arrived here: By returning to the tournament finals and getting the one win that eluded the team in 2022 ... Bryceton Berry and the Batavia Notre Dame defense shutout Bolivar-Richburg 3-0 in the Section V Class C2 final. Berry struck out 15 batters, allowed 5 hits in 7 innings ... Jaden Sherwood drove in a run, Chase Cummings had two hits ... Jay Antinore has had big games at the plate in recent weeks for the powerhouse team in the Genesee Region league.

Avoca/Prattsburgh vs. Northstar Christian Academy

When and where: 5 p.m. at Hornell High

How Avoca/Prattsburgh (19-2) arrived here: By completing a three-game run through the Section V Class D1 Tournament with a 9-5 win over Fillmore, in another No. 1 vs. No. 2 seed ... Haden Abbott was the top hitter and pitcher in the final ... The team is coached by Dennie Miles, whose teams have won 14 Section V titles and is a member of the New York State Baseball Hall of Fame.

How the NCA Knights (15-3) arrived here: By rolling through the Section V Class D2 bracket as a No. 1 seed ... The tournament final was no contest, 21-2 over No. 3 seed Finney ... AJ Mitchell has been a heavy hitter and a star on the mound ... Knights outscored their three opponents in the tournament 57-5 ... Runner-ups in 2022, sectional champions in 2021 ... Victories this season over Eastridge, Bishop Kearney/Rochester Prep/Archangel, and the School of the Arts.

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Section V baseball playoffs: 4 games to decide who makes it to states