Baseball Advances to WNYAC Final Four

The Alfred State College baseball team scored two runs in the bottom of the 8th en route to a 3-2 victory over Niagara CCC in a WNYAC first round match-up played on the turf at Bolivar Richburg High School.  The Pioneers advance to the final four to be played Saturday at Dwyer Stadium in Batavia.

The blue & gold trailed 2-1 heading into the bottom of the 8th.  Steve Smith (Hornell) walked and moved to scoring position after a sacrifice bunt by Jake Dale (Keshequa).  Kyle Barkley (Penn Yan) tied the game when he connected on a RBI triple down the right field line.  He came around to score the winning run one batter later when Brian Ervay's (Elmira Southside) blooper fell just out of the reach of the second basemen.

Mark Ciccotti (Horseheads) held the Blazers without a run in the 9th to seal the victory.  Ciccotti allowed just four hits and no earned runs in his nine innings of work.  He walked two and struck out 11.

Dale finished 3 for 3 on the day to pace the Pioneers nine-hit attack.  Brian Zimmermann (Frontier) collected two hits in four at bats.

Niagara took a 1-0 lead with a run in the 3rd, ASC tied it with an unearned run in the 4th, and the Blazers took a 2-1 lead with a run in the 6th.

The Pioneers now head to Dwyer Stadium for the WNYAC final four.  They will take on the #1 seeded Tribunes from Monroe CC at Noon in the semifinals.  The winner of the match-up will play in the finals at 6 p.m.