Huskies Walk Home For Section Championship

Just after the pitch that would decide the section championship left the right hand of Byram Hills pitcher Andrew Slosberg, Harrison catcher Alex Beckett knew the game was over.

"Ball," he yelled as the 3-0 bases loaded fastball missed high and inside.

He was right, and the Huskies could start their celebration.

Beckett's bases loaded walk in the bottom of the tenth inning gave Harrison a 3 - 2 win in a thrilling Section I championship game Thursday afternoon at Dutchess Stadium. It was the first run since the third inning in what became a back-and-forth thriller between the division rivals.

"I saw him say 'ball four', and it was probably the best walk of my career, it felt so good," Becket said.

To get to the 10th, Harrison again leaned on ace pitcher Max Bruckner, who was brought into the game in the seventh inning with the potential go-ahead run on second base. Sensing the game hanging in the balance, Harrison head coach Marco DuRuocco and assistant coach Jay Ciraco handed Bruckner the ball for the third time in six days and asked him to deliver a win.

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"At that point, we said, 'you know what? We have to go with our best and we have to be able to shut them down'," said DuRuocco. "It's the section final game, you've got to go all out."

The move paid off. Bruckner shined in 3 2/3 innings of work, striking out six and stranding a runner on second base in three separate innings.

"He's a battler, he's a fighter on the mound, he's a competitor on the baseball field and that's the bottom line," said DuRuocco. "That's him, he competes."

Each team had their share of chances to break the tie late. In the sixth inning Byram Hills had runners on first and third with no one out. Harrison went to the bullpen and pitcher Luke Sassano induced a weak ground ball to third base. Harrison third basemen Jack McCarthy slapped the tag at third base and threw to first, completing a double play that killed the rally and preserved the tie.

"I felt that was a big momentum changer," said Byram Hills head coach Scott Saunders. "Obviously it catapulted Harrison in a big spot and they were able to bring Bruckner in rather than coming from behind."

Harrison had its opportunities as well, bringing the potential winning run to second base in the seventh and eight innings before winning the game in the 10th.

"I felt like we were low at some points then they were low, it was the mood swings that kept going back-and-forth, it was whoever was going to capitalize," said Becket. "I didn't want to go down like that."

But someone had to, and for Byram Hills the loss was a tough one for an underdog team that rode a late-season hot streak all the way to the finals.

"I can't be frustrated with them, they gave me everything they had," said Saunders. "They took me on a ride, they took the community on a ride, they took their teammates on the best ride of their lives, I love them."

Scoring was a little easier to come by earlier in the game as it took a few innings for each started to settle in. After Harrison took a 1-0 lead in the first inning, Byram Hills got to Harrison starter Michael Forgione in the top of the second with an RBI double from Alex Varnhagen and RBI single by Byram Hills starter Jack Hatheway. But in one of several shining defensive plays, Harrison's Shang-Li Polera fired a perfect strike from center field to make an out at the plate to keep the score 2-1.

Harrison tied the game in the top of the third inning with a Bruckner sacrifice fly. Both starters put of zeros after that, with Forgione pitching into the sixth inning and Hatheway going six full. 

The win avenges a Harrison loss in the championship game two years ago, and is DuRoucco's first as head coach of the Huskies.

"This is a dream," DuRuocco said. "People dream about winning the lottery, I dream about our team winning the section title, that's how special it is."