Vincent Mercogliano
Greater Westchester Area

Class AA

In what many considered the game of the day, defending state champ Mamaroneck traveled to play second-seeded North Rockland and came away with a convincing 6-1 win. Junior right-hander Truman Devitt continues to impress for the third-seeded Tigers. He tossed a three-hitter with no walks and six strikeouts on 96 pitches, keeping a dangerous Red Raiders’ lineup at bay. Devitt is now 8-0 this season.

Offensively, Mamaroneck coach Mike Chiapparelli made some drastic changes, moving his star third baseman Peter Matt (UPenn recruit) into the leadoff spot and shuffling things around behind him. Matt responded by going 3 for 3 with a walk, a run scored and an RBI, while junior second baseman Mark Adamo went 2 for 4 with a run scored and two RBI, including a two-run double in the second inning to get the scoring started.

In the other semifinal, top-seeded Ketcham held off rival John Jay-EF in a 4-3 win. The 13th-seeded Patriots were one of the surprises of the tournament, but the Indians always seem to find ways to win. Junior right-hander Ryan Murphy, who has appeared in all three playoff games thus far, threw 6 1/3 innings for the win. Senior Nick Shepheard provided the big blow with a home run in the fifth inning.

Ketcham (22-1) will play Mamaroneck (21-2) at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday in a rematch of last year’s Section 1 title game. The pitching matchup is expected to be senior right-hander Greg Blum for the Indians vs. senior right-hander Bill Flatow for the Tigers, the winning pitcher from last year’s state title game.

Class A

The best story to come out of the Section 1 tournament so far has been 17th-seeded Brewster, which will play for a title after pulling off yet another upset with an 8-0 win at No. 4 Tappan Zee in the semis.

Senior right-hander Devin O’Connor struck out eight in a complete game effort and added an RBI double. The Bears finished the regular season under .500, but have now beaten the No. 1, 4 and 8 seeds in the Class A tournament.

They’ll play second-seeded John Jay for the title, which beat third-seeded Harrison with a 6-4 win in the semis. Senior right-hander Chase Borowitz (Le Moyne recruit) struck out five over six innings for the win while senior Justin Drpich (Binghamton recruit) continued to do-it-all. He homered and then struck out two in the final inning for the save.

John Jay (18-5) will play Brewster (13-11) for the title at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. Sophomore right-hander Ryan Bryggman is expected to get the ball for the Indians and will be opposed by junior right-hander Nathan Beal for the Bears.

Class B

In a rematch of last year’s title game, third-seeded Keio got some revenge against No. 10 Albertus Magnus with a 4-1 win on Wednesday. Senior right-hander Shutaro Wakayama outdueled Falcons’ ace James Reilly (James Madison recruit), throwing a five-hitter with no walks and five strikeouts on 68 pitches. He also went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBI.

In the other semifinal, top-seeded Briarcliff handled No. 5 Croton-Harmon with a 4-0 win. Senior right-hander Joe Canonaco struck out seven over five innings for the win and Noah Campo homered. Jack Ryan pitched the final two innings and also had an RBI. The Bears have outscored opponents 21-1 so far in the playoffs.

Briarcliff (17-6) will play Keio (16-6) for the title at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Senior right-hander Cam Johnson will start for the Bears and be opposed by senior left-hander Masayoshi Shimojima for the Unicorns.

Class C

All season in Section 1, defending champion Tuckahoe has been heading toward a showdown with North Salem, which dropped down from Class B to C this year.

Both teams took care of business in the semis. Top-seeded Tuckahoe beat No. 4 Haldane with an 8-4 win, backed by a home run and four RBI from senior Josh Sanz. Second-seeded North Salem beat No. 3 Solomon Schechter 9-0 behind a two-hitter with 11 strikeouts for junior right-hander JB Healy.

Tuckahoe (19-2) and North Salem (15-6) saved their respective aces for the title game. Senior right-hander Austin Pope (Fairfield recruit) is expected to start for Tuckahoe and senior right-hander Danny Capra for North Salem.