Joe Mags
Greater Watertown, Section 3

LIVERPOOL LEADS AA SCHOOLS

No. 1 Liverpool (16-4) will take on No. 8 Central Square on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m.

Anthony Sgroi is batting .426 with 29 hits and 21 runs for the Warriors, who have won eight or nine games since losing back-to-back to Baldwinsville.

The Bees (12-8) are the fourth seed set to take on No. 5 West Genesee (12-8), with the winner drawing the Warriors. Brian VanBevere and Marshall Winn bring a lot of offense to the table for the Wildcats, and how effective the Baldwinsville pitching staff is will make the difference.

Rounding out the AA first round is No. 3 Utica-Proctor hosting No. 6 Rome Free Academy, and No. 2 Cicero-North Syracuse hosting No. 7 Auburn. The North Stars (15-5) defeated Liverpool on the road in April, 5-3, but lost the next two contests.

 

VERNON-VERONA-SHERRILL DRAWS BYE IN CLASS A

The Red Devils (14-4) are the top seed in Class A, earning a bye and awaiting the winner of No. 8 Whitesboro and No. 9 New Hartford. The Spartans (10-9) lost a pair of close games to the Warriors (11-8), but they did split the regular season series against VVS.

No. 2 Jamesville-DeWitt (16-4) starts out against No. 15 Phoenix, and then plays the winner of No. 7 East Syracuse Minoa and No. 10 Camden. The Rams have a claim to be the No. 1 seed, having beaten VVS on the road, 6-3, and winning 14 straight games to close the year. An even worse draw for JD is a potential rematch against ESM, who beat them in Apri, 5-0, behind a shutout from junior Thomas Ghika.

Other first round matchups in Class A include No. 5 Homer vs. No. 12 Christian Brothers Academy, No. 3 Fulton vs. No. 14 Chittenango, and No. 6 Oswego against No. 11 Oneida.

SOLVAY, WESTHILL TOP SEEDS IN CLASS B

No. 1 Solvay (18-2) and No. 2 Westhill (17-2) advanced to round two with bye weeks in Class B. No. 3 Adirondack will also skip ahead to the second round to play the winner of No. 6 Holland Patent and No. 11 Cazenovia.

Other matchups include No. 8 Clinton against No. 9 Bishop Grimes, and No. 7 Skaneatles and No. 10 Canastota.


SOUTH JEFFERSON TAKES HIGHER SEED DESPITE LOSS TO GENERAL BROWN

General Brown (12-4) was named the No. 5 seed in Class B, and will host No. 12 Marcellus (7-13) in the first round, and South Jefferson (10-5) is the fourth seed and will host No. 13 Lowville (8-10) in its opener. Both games are scheduled for 4:30 p.m. starts on Tuesday.

The Lions defeated the Spartans, 4-3, in the “B” Division title on Friday behind Sean Shepard, who tripled home the game-tying run in the sixth, and scored the go-ahead run on a Joe Wargo bunt (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball-urbanowiczs-first-year-on-hill-leads-to-sackets-harbor-title-20160521/1). Shepard finished 2-for-3 overall with two RBIs and two runs scored for General Brown, which won its 11th straight game and enters the Section 3 playoffs with double-digit wins for the first time in at least 15 years.

Hunter Benjamin went 2-for-3 with a double and scored during a three-run fifth inning for South Jefferson. Bryce Berie, a junior, is arguably the best position player in the Frontier League, and will also be tasked with innings for the Spartans this postseason (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball-south-jefferson-rallies-in-fourth-to-beat-immaculate-heart-central-20160504).

Lowville has had an up-and-down season on the mound, but senior outfielder Ryan Wood leads a dangerous lineup filled with speed and wits on the base paths (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball-woods-ability-to-create-havoc-makes-lowville-go-20160331).

 

IHC NAMED NO. 3 SEED IN CLASS C

For the second straight season, Will Magovney tossed a gem in the Frontier League “A” Division championship game, securing another title for Immaculate Heart Central over Watertown in a 2-0 victory Thursday night at the Watertown Fairgrounds.

Magovney threw a two-hit complete game shutout without allowing a baserunner beyond second base. He kept the Cyclones off-balance by mixing speeds and locations with his fastball and curve ball, striking out five and walking two. http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/frontier-league-baseball-roundup-magovney-stars-in-ihcs-a-division-title-victory-20160520

On Sunday morning, IHC baseball team received the No. 3 seed in the Class C bracket when Section 3 released its playoff pairings Sunday morning (http://highschoolsports.syracuse.com/baseball/tournaments/), the highest among Frontier League teams. The Cavaliers (16-3) will host No. 14 Frankfort-Schuyler (5-11) in a first-round game at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Senior Jake Fusilli (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball-immaculate-heart-centrals-fusilli-in-final-act-of-stellar-show-20160512) and junior Vincenzo Alteri (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/baseball-bloodlines-alteri-following-in-familys-footsteps-for-ihc-20150501) form one of the best top-two hitting combinations in Section III. Magovney and senior Joshua Navarra, who struck out 12 in the “A” Division semifinal win over Indian River, will chew as many innings for head coach Mike Delaney in the sectional tournament as possible. Fusilli will also throw.

 

THOUSAND ISLANDS, BEAVER RIVER ROUND OUT CLASS C

In other Class C first-round games slated for Tuesday, fourth-seeded Thousand Islands (14-3) will host No. 13 Little Falls (8-12) and No. 9 Beaver River (11-5) will play at No. 8 Fabius-Pompey (10-4).

The Beavers defeated the Vikings on Saturday behind a dominant defensive performance and a four-hit gem from junior Ian Widrick (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball-widrick-beaver-river-defense-produces-c-division-championship-20160522). Senior Dylan Wiley pounded the strike zone through four innings for Thousand Islands, but Beaver River broke through on a string of hits in the fifth, redeeming a pair of losses to the Vikings in the regular season.

Fabius-Pompey finished third in the OHSL Patriot division behind Pulaski (14-2), the top seed in Class C, and Cato-Meridian (12-5), the fifth seed. Nate Latocha, a junior, is batting .364 with 13 runs and 10 stolen bases for the Falcons.


SAUQUOIT VALLEY DRAW BYE WEEK IN CLASS C

Along with Pulaski, Sauquoit Valley (17-2) will advance to round two behind a top-two seed. They await the winner of No. 7 Westmoreland and No. 10 Tully.

No. 6 Cooperstown vs. No. 11 Herkimer and No. 5 Cato-Meridian vs. No. 12 Notre Dame round out the first round.

 

SACKETS HARBOR, LAFARGEVILLE SET FOR CLASS D REMATCH

In Class D first-round games, No. 8 Sackets Harbor (10-4) will host No. 9 LaFargeville (10-5) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday in a rematch of Friday’s league “D” Division championship game. The Patriots — who reached the sectional final before losing to Oriskany last season (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball-oriskany-rains-on-sackets-harbor-in-sectional-final-20150602) — beat the Red Knights, 12-10, on Friday (http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/sports/high-school-baseball-urbanowiczs-first-year-on-hill-leads-to-sackets-harbor-title-20160521/1). The teams split their two regular-season matchups and shared the division’s regular-season title.

Lyme (5-7) received the No. 10 seed in Class D and will play at No. 7 Hamilton (10-7) at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday. The Indians will be reliant upon the bats and arms of freshman Zachary Goutremout and 5-foot-11 senior Caden Sanford.

Senior Colin McGaugh leads the Emerald Knights lineup, batting .350 with 21 hits and 16 runs, as well as on the hill. McGaugh has three starts with at least six innings and eight strikeouts.

The quarterfinals and semifinals for all classes are scheduled to be played on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. The Class B title game is slated for May 30 at Onondaga Community College, while the Class C and D finals will be played May 31 in the same location.

BROOKFIELD, ORISKANY TOPS IN CLASS D

No. 1 Brookfield (13-1) and No. 2 Oriskany (17-2) have free draws to the next round, and await the winners of Sackets Harbor/LaFargeville and Hamilton/Lyme, respectively.

No. 4 West Canada Valley will host No. 13 McGraw and play the winner of No. 5 Stockbridge Valley and No. 12 Blessed Virgin Mary.

Griffin Bauer (.515, 18 runs) and No. 3 New York Mills hosts No. 14 Remsen. The winner takes on the victor in No. 6 Madison at No. 11 DeRuyter.