The Colonie Babe Ruth 15-year-old All-Stars’ season ended Monday with a 13-2 loss to host North Syracuse in the semifinals of the 13-15 Mid-Atlantic Regional baseball tournament.
North Syracuse scored three times in the top of the first inning to grab the early advantage. Colonie responded with a pair of runs in the bottom of the first and had a chance for more after loading the bases, but North Syracuse got out of the jam without further damage.
North Syracuse never looked back. The host team scored three total runs in the second and third innings, two runs in the top of the fifth and five runs in the top of the sixth to seal the victory and a spot in Tuesday’s final against Nottingham, N.J.
Colonie overcame a lot to reach that point. The All-Stars posted a 3-1 record in pool play, despite playing three of those four games in a two-day stretch.
Colonie opened the tournament last Thursday with a 6-3 victory over Maryland state champion St. Mary’s. Colonie scored three runs in the first inning and tacked on single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings to pull out the victory.
Then came last Friday where, due to the luck of the draw, Colonie had to play twice. The morning part went fine as Colonie thrashed Delaware state champion Piedmont 17-7, but Syracuse’s Valley squad defeated the All-Stars 17-5 in the nightcap.
Colonie got Saturday off, which helped it rest up for Pennsylvania state champion Mifflin in Sunday’s final game of pool play. The All-Stars needed a win, or they would wind up in a three-way tie for second place in its pool and be eliminated on a tiebreaker.
Colonie manager Jeal Sutherland brought back his pitching ace, Chris Kalica, on three days’ rest. Kalica held up his end of the bargain, allowing one run in seven innings, but the All-Stars still trailed 1-0 entering the top of the sixth inning.
Mike Chemielewski pulled Colonie even in the top of the sixth with a two-out RBI single. Then, Kalica escaped a bases-loaded, one-out jam in the bottom half of the sixth inning with a pair of timely strikeouts.
That gave Colonie the momentum it needed for the seventh inning. Jeff Gerard belted an RBI double to break the 1-1 tie, and Jake Mullen’s squeeze bunt brought home two more runs thanks to a throwing error on the play to help the All-Stars build a 5-1 lead.
Kalica handled the rest, retiring the side in order in the bottom of the seventh inning for the victory and first place in Colonie’s pool.
The team included Zack Bleau, Mike Chemielewski, Ken Curione, Brendan Durkee, Jeff Gerard, Dylan Hardy, Chris Kalica, Jake Mullen, Chris Rogan, Joe Schupp, Matt Snyder and Matt Wadsworth.“