ENDICOTT – It’s not a good bet for the defense to put a .550 hitter at the plate with the bases loaded. Chances are, he’ll come through with an RBI-producing hit better than half the time.

Cooperstown did just that, and Oxford senior Steve Locke made the Redskins pay Tuesday afternoon hitting a game-winning, two-run single with one out in the bottom of the seventh to send the Blackhawks to the Class C state semifinals.

“I was glad and not so glad to get a second chance,” Locke said. “I wouldn’t have had a second chance if I didn’t give up the two runs (in the top of the seventh). But I was happy to get another chance to redeem myself.”

Oxford plays at 10 a.m. this Saturday against an undetermined opponent at Sylvester Field in Endicott, and is two wins from the school’s first state baseball championship.

“When they took the lead, none of our guys hung their heads, and that’s just our senior leadership here,” said Oxford coach Chris Palmer.