AUBURN 鈥 Dillon Langtry never had a doubt 鈥 he was going to get his second win in less than 24 hours or he was going to go down trying.
鈥淚 kept telling (Moravia baseball coach Rich Valentino), 鈥業鈥檓 going complete, Coach,鈥欌 Langtry said. 鈥淗e kept asking me if I want to keep going and I鈥檓 like, 鈥極f course. I鈥檓 your man.鈥欌
The Blue Devils鈥 junior threw a masterful complete game on Friday night to lead his team back to the Cayuga County Tournament championship game by beating Union Springs 4-2 in the first round at Falcon Park. Moravia is slated to play Port Byron at 3 p.m. for the title, and bragging rights, while Union Springs will face Weedsport at noon.
鈥淚t鈥檚 great, our guys deserve it,鈥 Langtry said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been out practicing hard and playing together 鈥 it鈥檚 good for the guys.鈥
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Langtry鈥檚 good fortune began on Thursday night when he dominated Marathon at the plate and on the mound to get the win in the eighth inning. One day later, he finished seven frames, striking out nine and scattering four hits.
鈥淢y arm feels good, it鈥檚 held up well,鈥 he said. 鈥淐oach has been taking care of me, making me ice, so I鈥檓 fine.鈥
Also taking care of Langtrywere the players behind him, as well as his catcher, TJ Powers. The Blue Devils made one inconsequential error against a much better than their 3-9 record Union Springs team.
鈥(Our defense) played awesome today,鈥 Langtry said. 鈥淲e just played together, everyone stayed back and it was comfortable and it showed.鈥
With the Wolves teetering dangerously close to closing in on the Blue Devils鈥 lead in the fifth, Powers caught Austin Doody trying to steal, ending Union Springs鈥 rally.
鈥淓very win鈥檚 a big win,鈥 Valentino said. 鈥淏ut Union Springs is tough. We knew from the beginning of the year that they were going to be the team to beat. They鈥檝e got two great pitchers in (Jim) Burns and (Justin) Lyndaker, and we鈥檙e glad we鈥檝e seen them both. The real game is Wednesday, though, the league game. But we love coming in and getting to play for the championship. We haven鈥檛 been there in two years, so we鈥檙e happy to be back to the ship.鈥
Winning the county tournament has been a source of pride for the Blue Devils, especially since the school won it five straight years until Port Byron claimed the title last season.
鈥淚t鈥檚 huge for us,鈥 Valentino said. 鈥淭hese kids have been taking some ribbing from other guys on the teams that won it five years in a row. It鈥檚 one of our goals every year to win this championship.鈥
The team is one step closer, as Moravia scored all the runs it would need in the fourth inning, courtesy of one of three Wolves errors and a two-run single from Dylan Turner. But the score could have finished much more lopsided, had it not been for a couple of heads-up Wolves plays. With the bases loaded, four runs already on the scoreboard and no outs, Union Springs didn鈥檛 panic. Lyndaker, the starting pitcher, got Nick Dwyer to ground into a 1-2-3 double play and then made a play to get Greg Pasho out at first to end the damage. Jared Bretherton finished the game well, allowing just two hits, but no baserunners past first base the rest of the way.
鈥淭here were a couple of mistakes in (the fourth) inning,鈥 Union Springs鈥 coach Mike Jorgensen said. 鈥淏ut it could have been a lot worse. It was bases loaded and they already had four runs. I went out to Justin and said, 鈥楬ey, lets just get an out here and we鈥檒l try and get a double play.鈥 We actually did it in reverse. We had the double play and then we got the big out.鈥
The Wolves had a few opportunities to tie the score over the final two innings, putting runners in scoring position three times, but couldn鈥檛 get the big hit.
鈥淎ll of our games have been like this it seems,鈥 Jorgensen said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always coming in one hit short or a couple runs short. We need a win 鈥 we鈥檙e playing hard and we鈥檙e playing better baseball than we have all season. We only have a week left, we鈥檝e got to get some wins. I think we can be a good baseball team, (Moravia) is heading our division and we battle and play against them all the time.鈥
Since the two teams will finish the season having played each other three times, the game on Friday counted as a non-league game, but it was the second time Union Springs has lost to Moravia this year. What category the loss fell in mattered little to Jorgensen, even if the two teams will meet again Wednesday.
鈥淲e owe them one, they got the first two,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e don鈥檛 care if it鈥檚 league or non-league. We have to start winning games.鈥
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