By PAUL GOTHAM
PBR NEW YORK CONTRIBUTOR 

Tanner Cooper earned MVP honors for the second straight year, and the Canandaigua Braves claimed back-to-back Section Five Class A1 titles.

Cooper struck out 12, walked one and allowed one run on two hits as Canandaigua, ranked No. 3 NYS Class A, defeated Greece Arcadia, 5-1 at Dwyer Stadium Saturday afternoon.

Cooper allowed a one-out swinging bunt single in the first then retired the next nine and 14 of 15.

Mixing an upper 80s fastball with a sharp-cutting curveball, the 6-foot-3, 205 pound right-hander struck out the side in two separate innings and did not allow a ball out of the infield until the fourth.

Seth Vigneri highlighted a four-run third with a two-run double, and the Braves had all the runs they needed.

"That was a key inning," Werth stated. "You’re at the meat of the order. Big games you need three, four-hole hitters to come through. Big players at a big time coming through."

Jordie Johnstone and Connor Fisher reached on back-to-back infield singles to get the Braves third started. An error on Fisher's hit put runners on second and third. Vigneri got the Braves on the scoreboard with a two-bagger to left field.

"He left me a hanging curve," Vigneri explained. "I saw it out of his hand and drove it. I can remember it came out of his hand, and thinking I got to drive this ball."

Cooper and Michael Sculli followed with RBI singles for a 4-0 Canandaigua advantage.

Vigneri plated Johnstone from third with a single through the left side to make it 5-0 game in the sixth.

Cooper left with one out in the seventh after Greece Arcadi's Zach Southcott reached when a third strike went to the backstop.

After going more than two decades without a sectional title, Canandaigua claimed its second straight. Having beaten Spencerport 8-0 and Brighton 2-0 in their two previous sectional games this season, the Braves came within one out of completing a trifecta.

"The first time we were all a little shocked just because none of us had ever heard of someone bringing home a baseball block to Canandaigua," said Cooper who also won three games in last year's sectional run. "All of us I think were all in shock at first. This game we came in. We knew the feeling from last year. We knew how we had to handle ourselves. I think we played appropriately.

Joe Meath doubled home Southcott in the seventh for Arcadia's lone run.

The Braves (18-3) will play Class A2 champion Pittsford Sutherland in the regional qualifier on Tuesday. A 7 p.m. first pitch is scheduled at Dwyer Stadium. The teams split a pair of games during the season with Sutherland winning in 14 innings 5-3. The loss was the only setback Canandaigua has had to Section Five team this season. Canandaigua beat Sutherland 4-1.