Heads-up play helps Panthers end postseason drought

HOOSICK, N.Y. — Hoosick Falls Central School varsity head coach Mike Lilac lauded his team's "baseball IQ" during the early season, saying that the Panthers were well equipped for the "thinking man's game." Little did he know, that very quality would be the deciding factor in snapping HFCS's two-year postseason drought.

After squandering a nine-run lead against visiting Hoosic Valley on Thursday, the Panthers were seemingly on the verge of defeat in the sixth inning when Indian leadoff hitter Den Dessingue launched a sacrifice fly to deep center to plate Alex Kugler with the go-ahead run. But HFCS catcher Thomas Bass keenly called for an appeal at third base, and Kugler was called out for leaving early to erase the run and leave the game still tied at 12-12.

HFCS then scratched out a run in the bottom of the frame to prevail, 13-12, and earn its first sectional berth since 2005. Panther third baseman Corey Wysocki walked leading off the inning, took third on a passed ball and came around to score when Hoosic Valley catcher Matt Clickner's throw bounced into left field.

Even after the game, Bass was in disbelief regarding the critical gaffe by the visitors.

"(Dessingue) hit the ball so deep to center that I thought it was going to be an easy run," said Bass, who also scored two runs for the Panthers (7-5 overall, 5-4 Wasaren League). "I glanced over at third, and I couldn't believe how early (Kugler) took off."

The heads-up play bailed out HFCS pitcher Andrew Morin, who got the win in relief of starter Steve Hagadorn to improve to 5-0 on the season. Morin had entered the game with a 12-9 lead in the top of the fifth, but allowed a two-out rally by the Indians that saw them plate three runs on two hits, a walk and a hit-by-pitch.

"By the end of the week, our pitching tends to get a little thin," Lilac said. "Andrew came in and had just enough to win."

Hagadorn allowed three runs in the top of the first inning, but the Panthers rebounded with a dozen runs over the next two frames to take a commanding 12-3 lead. Wysocki drove in the first run with a one-out RBI double, and teammate Mike Magazu stepped in four batters later with the bases loaded. The senior first baseman launched a towering shot to center off Indian starter Steve Kocienski, a hit that fell less than 10 feet short of the center field fence as all three runners scored and Magazu cruised into third with a triple.

"Getting behind early like that was hard, but our bats battled back," Bass said.

The third inning turned into another fireworks show by HFCS. Wysocki walked to lead off the inning, and Kevin Gorman punched a single between third and short to finish Kocienski. Bass then greeted reliever Matt Campisi with a hard ground ball that ate up Indian second baseman Chad Hule, leaving the bases loaded with nobody out. Campisi walked in a run, then watched as three more runs came home on an error, a passed ball and a groundout to make it 12-3.

Hoosic Valley head coach Boyd Hunt gathered his team around him once the nightmare inning was over, and tried to instill some confidence in his players.

"Keep your heads up, and run everything out," Hunt said. "Let's start chipping away."

The Indians did just that, scoring six runs off five hits and an error in their next at-bat to cut the lead to 12-9. The Panthers seemed poised to escape the frame unscathed when Jim Sheeran struck a one-out bouncer toward short that looked destined for a double play, but the ball took a bad hop on Morin and HFCS couldn't even get a single out as two runs crossed the plate.

"There were a couple of plays that we should have made," Lilac said. "(Hagadorn) isn't going to strike out too many guys, so we've got to make the plays behind him."

Designated hitter Justin Blasi then struck the biggest blow of the frame, a line drive double into the gap in left/center to chase home two runs. "We're right back in it," said Hunt, as his players retook the field and held HFCS scoreless in the bottom of the fourth.

Hoosic Valley tied the game off Morin in the top of the fifth, but the Panthers showed the kind of patience in the bottom of the frame necessary to get the best of the somewhat erratic Campisi. But despite drawing four walks in the frame, the home team came up empty after Morin was gunned down trying to steal second.

The Indians loaded the bases with nobody out on two walks and an error in the top of the sixth, prompting Lilac to call for a mound meeting. Morin's teammates implored him to make Hoosic Valley put the ball in play, so that they could lend a hand in closing out the Indians.

"We told him to stay tough, throw strikes and let the defense play behind him," Bass said. "There were a lot of walks in this game, and they kept a lot of innings going."

Morin responded by pumping a pair of letter-high fastballs by Clickner and then ringing him up looking at a curveball for out No. 1. Dessingue then lifted his monstrous sac fly to center, and the timely appeal by Bass erased the potential go-ahead run and ended the inning.

"Thomas Bass won this game for us with his heads-up mind," Lilac said. "He brings so much to this team as it is, when he makes plays like that it's just huge."

The Panthers punched their ticket to the sectional playoffs after missing them the last two seasons. Lilac said that the drought was particularly painful, in that his Panthers had been to 15 consecutive postseasons prior.

"It's nice to get back," Lilac said. "We've earned it."

Lilac's crew will now gear up for a trip to Cooperstown, N.Y., where the Panthers will play a scrimmage today.