WINDSOR – Head coach of Norwich varsity baseball Rich Turnbull said earlier this season that Windsor’s Tim Buchek is one of the top players in the STAC Conference. Tuesday night, Turnbull’s statement was proved true by the play of the Black Knight in Windsor’s 9-1 win over the visiting Purple Tornado.
Buchek started on the mound for the home team and allowed just two Norwich hits while issuing 14 strike outs in his full six innings of work.
At the plate, he helped his own cause by going 3-for-3 with two of those hits being home runs.
Buchek’s first one came in the second inning, sending a shot over the fence with the bases loaded for a grand slam. His second was a two-run homer that came in the fifth when Windsor already had a 6-0 lead.
Norwich’s Tanner Franklin was the lone batter to have a hit in the game, recording both Tornado hits in the ball game. Franklin hit for a single in the fourth and another in the sixth.
The Purple’s one run came in their final trip to the plate. Eli Rodriguez was on third when the ball got past the Windsor catcher. With Rodriguez’s speed, he crossed home plate in time.
Justin Bates and Franklin shared time on the hill for Norwich. Bates started and lasted four and two-thirds innings before Franklin came on in relief to finish the game. Bates struck out six with five hits surrendered while Franklin allowed zero hits in his time on the rubber.
The Purple Tornado now wait for the Section IV Class B brackets to determine their seed, location, opponent and time of their next game. The Norwich squad will take the time to rest after playing six game in five days.
Windsor 9, Norwich 1
Norwich 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 1 2 2
Windsor 1 5 0 0 3 0 x - 9 5 2
Justin Bates (L), Tanner Franklin (5) and JT Vinal. Tim Buchek (W) and Noah Colwell.
HR: (W) Buchek (2).
Canastota 7, Sherburne-Earlville 6 (Eight Innings)
CANASTOTA – Needing an extra inning to determine the winner of the game, Canastota had the final say. In the eighth, the home Raiders shut down the Marauders in the top half of the inning and scored on a walk-off to win the game.
Canastota had a 4-2 lead heading into the fifth inning––until S-E had their largest production offensively, scoring four runs in the inning to take the 6-4 advantage.
With both teams scoreless in the sixth, Sherburne-Earlville saw the win in their near future and just needed to get out of the bottom half of the seventh inning.
The Raiders used what was supposed to be their final at-bats to score two runs, tying the game at 6-6 and forcing extra baseball.
“Tough loss to Canastota,” said Jay Tackabury, head coach of the Marauders. “We had the lead in the seventh inning and couldn’t hang onto it. I have to credit Canastota’s hitters. They were tough outs, and took good at-bats against us.”
Tackabury went on to say that S-E’s Gabe Irwin pitched well enough to get the victory, but the team simply didn’t have enough hold on.
Irwin was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. His teammate Dawson Lagoe had two hits while Cody Beckwith and Noah Posson each had one hit in the loss.
Sherburne-Earlville will hit the diamond again after a few days of rest. On Monday, they will be looking to rebound against Adirondack on the road. Game is scheduled for a 4:30 p.m. start time.
Note: Yesterday’s headline stating the Marauders lost their second straight game was incorrect. Sherburne-Earlville defeated Herkimer last Friday. With the loss Thursday afternoon, the team has now lost two in a row. 
Canastota 7, Sherburne-Earlville 6 (Eight Innings)
S-E 1 0 1 0 4 0 0 0 – 6 8 1
Can 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 1 – 7 8 2