LMC-TV will air the state baseball championships beginning this weekend starting at 7 p.m. Friday (see schedule below) on Channel 77 (Cablevision) and Channel 34 (Verizon).

Friday, June 19
7pm – state semifinal: Mamaroneck v. Massapequa
Approx 10 p.m. – state championship: Mamaroneck v. Clarence
(Games will air back to back.  Check LMC-TV website: www.lmc-tv.org, for exact times beginning Thursday, June 18 at 5pm)

Saturday, June 20
12Noon – 6pm – State semifinal and final back to back.
6pm – 12Midnight – State semifinal and final back to back.

Sunday, June 20
12Noon – 6pm – State semifinal and final back to back.
6pm – 12Midnight – State semifinal and final back to back.

Monday, June 21
1pm – 7pm – State semifinal and final back to back.

LMC-TV, as part of its Community Sports Program, sent the sports program crew of Rob Moretti, Andrew Rio and Seth Rothman to Binghamton, NY to cover the state baseball championships.

Further upcoming games to be televised by LMC-TV include Rye Neck softball quarterfinals against Irvington and Mamaroneck baseball Section 1 championship against Arlington.

Mamaroneck’s two-time state championship baseball team will be honored with a parade on Friday afternoon.

The festivities will start at 4 p.m. at the intersection of Palmer Avenue and Larchmont Avenue, come down Larchmont Avenue, and will end with a reception in front of Village Hall.

The Tigers won their second straight Class AA state championship on Saturday when they beat Clarence 12-2 at NYSEG Stadium in Binghamton. That followed an emotional 4-3, 11-inning win over Massapequa in a semifinal.

The Tigers, coached by Mike Chiapparelli and featuring 17 seniors, became the first Westchester County program to repeat since Ardsley won four straight Class C titles from 1986-89.

Mamaroneck finished its season at 23-4-1.

“Last year was awesome. It was the first time and that was an unbelievable feeling,” senior Eric Windsor said Saturday. “I think this time was better. Senior year and we just ended on the best note we could possibly end on.”

I spoke to former Mount Vernon coach Joe Mazzella on Saturday and he informed me the All-Section dinner had been moved from Windows on the Hudson in Dobbs Ferry to the Westchester Manor on Saw Mill River Rd.

Apparently, Windows on the Hudson (formerly Rudy’s) had construction problems that forced the very, very late cancellation. Mazzella and the rest of the Section 1 baseball committee obviously found a new venue but were afraid they wouldn’t get the word out in time, so I told him I’d pass the news along.

The dinner will still start at 6 and it will still be held tonight, just in the new location.

The more I think about Saturday’s Class B championship the more I agree with Teddy “Ballgame” Huffman. Dobbs Ferry got beat by a better team. Pure and simple. Westhill deserved to win the first title in school history 8-1. Its bats were just monstrous.There’s a reason the team has won 28 in a row.

There was one guy in particular, the lefty cleanup hitter Mike Mascari, who just scared the stuffing out of you every time he came to the plate. The way he crouched his bulk over the plate and then exploded his swing reminded me of Big Papi Ortiz. He had a homer, but so did Mike DeCarr, also nasty, and Ryan Malley. Interestingly all three went to the same spot in right-center. Makes you wonder if there’s a jet stream there a la Yankee Stadium.

Sean LaFaye was put in the impossible position of slowing those guys down. Sure, he didn’t have his best stuff. He missed on a couple of pitches and Westhill fired them into the outfield. He was also feeling the effects of pitching 24 innings in 13 days. (By way of comparison, during the regular season he threw 45.1 innings in 60 days.) He was starting the championship on two days rest after closing the morning semifinal.

The point is not to make excuses. The point I’m making is that all those things I mentioned don’t matter. It didn’t matter if he was rested. It didn’t matter that Westhill had five lefties to face him. It didn’t matter if his command was a little better. It didn’t matter that Tim Gardner didn’t play. It didn’t matter that Sam Connett might have been unfairly ruled out in the seventh inning. Westhill was too good.

As disappointed as they were I think Dobbs realized that. Certainly Huffman did, and said as much, but he’s always a stright shooter. But I bet even the players had that idea in the back of their minds. They’d come as far as they could and ran into a better team and that’s that. Few of them hung their heads. A couple were even laughing. They were not devastated.

After all, they almost didn’t make it to the final. It took a fluky Baltimore chop by Gardner in the sixth inning to score the winning run in a 10-9 win. Maybe it’s just because I was standing next to third base, but I can’t recall ever seeing a ball bounce that high in high school baseball. It sailed clear over the third baseman and by the time it fell to the shortstop Gardner was safe at first. This was minutes after Beekmantown hit a three-run homer to straightaway center to tie a wacky game 9-9.

Gardner later got hurt sliding into third. He appeared to be in a lot of pain. Two people had to help him off the field. During afternoon warmups he tried to jog but immediately felt the leg seize up and knew he couldn’t go. I felt bad that he wasn’t able to play the last game of his varsity career.

In the end Dobbs did not bring home its first championship trophy since 2003. There is still plenty to be proud of. Few expected the Eagles to be here. Kennedy, the defending state champion, was a prohibitive favorite in Class B. Dobbs had just recently moved up from Class C. Although their record, 24-3, was excellent, it was seen as a product of playing in Conference 4.

Turns out they were darn good. They beat Nanuet, a very good team. They shocked Kennedy. LaFaye and Avalos shut down Pine Plains and Southampton in the regionals. And they eked past Beekmantown to make a final game. Gardner played the hero, Coburn swung a mean stick, shortstop Chris Bucci made some awesome plays, and the two pitchers became household names.

Six starters—Bucci, LaFaye, Gardner, Greg Steinfeld, Coburn, Ryan Riefenhauser—graduate. Ten will go in all. Next year’s leaders will include Avalos, James Nieman, and David Muoser.

What a week it has been for Fordham Prep.

After losing to Stepinac last Sunday to fall into the losers bracket, the Rams tear through just about everyone over the last seven days. They beat St. Peter’s (Monday), Xaverian (Wednesday) and Farrell (Saturday) to survive, then sweep two from a rested and presumably ready Stepinac team today.

Credit Ryan Fedak, who was $$$ in relief in both games today. He carried a talented, deep but tired pitching staff.

Also credit Fordham’s leader, Jesus Jaile. I felt like I just kept writing his name today. He came up rather large in both ends of the doubleheader. So did the guys atop Fordham’s order, who always seemed to be on base ahead of Jaile.

For Fordham Prep, this is the first city championship since 1994 and the first during Steve Pettus’ years as head coach.

For Stepinac, this is a heartbreaker. I don’t need to talk to Pat Duffy today to know he is absolutely crushed. Never had the program advanced this far in 47 years. Never. With Mike Bradshaw and Eddie Byrne rested and Fordham ace Sal Lisanti taxed after a brilliant game yesterday, the Crusaders were poised to win. Their defense simply let them down.

I covered the Mets-Yankees debacle today, so I obviously missed out on the best baseball played in this city today. My colleague Justin Jones attended today’s game. I’ll have more from Justin later as we hear from the participants.

Hey folks. Stepinac and Fordham Prep meet today for the city championship at St. John’s at 1. If Fordham wins, they will play a winner-take-all game at 4.

I’ll have updates throughout the game. Check back later for more.

Top of the 1st — It’s Michael Bradshaw pitching for Stepinac. He will be opposed by George Perrotta for Fordham.

Mike Maschi led off with a walk, moved to second on an errant pickoff throw, to third on a wild pitch and home on a ground out by Jack Giannini. Fordham leads 1-0 in the top of the first.

Fordham takes a 2-0 lead now off Bradshaw. He walked Dom Dimele, the second batter of the game, earlier and Dimele moved to second on the wild pitch and to third on Giannini’s ground out. He scored on a smash to short that Steve Martinez couldn’t handle cleanly.

Stepinac committed a third error on a ground ball to second but escaped a first and third jam on a double play. Heading to the bottom of the first now.

Bottom of the 1st — Perrotta retired the side in order to end the inning. Still 2-0 Fordham.

Top of the 2nd — Bradshaw settles in as Fordham goes down 1-2-3. It’s 2-0 Fordham.

Bottom of the 2nd — Stepinac gets a runner on with one out but he is stranded. Still 2-0.

Top of the 3rd — Jesus Jaile RBI single drives in Dimele, who had singled himself. Fordham 3, Stepinac 0.

All sorts of trouble now for Stepinac. Bradshaw struck out T.J. Mangan but the ball was dropped. Catcher Eddie Martinez threw to first but didn’t get Mangan and a runner scores. Mangan then scored on an RBI single by Sal Annunziata, so it’s now 5-0 Fordham. Looks like they may play two today.

Top of the 4th — Maschi hit an RBI double and later scored on a sac fly by Dimele. Fordham is rolling, up 7-0.

Bottom of the 4th — Three straight singles finally have Stepinac on the board. Ed Martinez singled in Steve Martinez to make it 7-1.

Rich Reilly scores on an error. Greg Digiacinto adds an RBI groundout, making it 7-3 Fordham. Jackson Markey is on third with two out.

Top of the 5th — Bradshaw escapes a two-on jam, still 7-3 Fordham.

Bottom of the 5th — A Steve Martinez sac fly makes it 7-4 and a single by Reilly drives Perrotta from the mound. Ryan Fedak is on for Fordham, which is now in its first bit of trouble today. With Fedak going, that means Ken O’Brien will almost certainly start the next game — if there is one.

Top of the 6th — Fedak escapes the fifth, and Bradshaw was lifted after a single. Randy Rodriguez is on for Stepinac.

A pair of sac flies make it 9-4 Fordham. The Rams added some insurance and should be OK here. Anthony Gallo is pitching for Stepinac.

Bottom of the 7th — Last licks for Stepinac, trailing 9-4. Fordham is three outs away from making things a whole lot more interesting.

Well, Fedak strikes out Steve Martinez to end the game. Fordham wins 9-4.

I imagine game 2 will begin in about a half hour or so.

GAME 2: Ken O’Brien (Fordham) vs. Eddie Byrne (Stepinac)

Bottom of the 1st — Rich Reilly and Eddie Martinez each have an RBI single to make it 2-0 Stepinac. Donato Signore and Anthony Muccio.

Top of the 3rd — Jesus Jaile RBI single scored Dan Turner, but Muccio throws Dimele out at home to end the inning. Stepinac 2, Fordham 1.

Bottom of the 4th — Jaile catches Greg Digiacinto stealing after Digiacinto reaches on an error, then O’Brien gets Michael Annunziata on a pop up to end the inning. Still 2-1 Stepinac.

Top of the 5th — Two errors, a single by Jaile and a wild pitch lead to two Fordham runs. Wow. The Prep takes a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the inning. What a run this week for the Rams.

Bottom of the 5th — Donato Signore, who committed one of the errors in the top half of the inning, hit a double and moved to third on Muccio’s single. After O’Brien struck out Steve Martinez, Rich Reilly hit into a fielders choice, but it scores Signore to tie it 3-3.

Top of the 6th — After a double play records two outs, Byrne hits Turner to end his outing after 5.2 innings. On came Signore, who gets the third out when Eddie Martinez cuts down Turner trying to steal. Still 3-3.

Bottom of the 6th — Singles by Digiacinto and Pete Tacinelli put a pair of runners on for Stepinac. A fielders choice makes it first and third, but Signore strikes out to strand the go-ahead run at third. Still 3-3. Sounds like a great game.

Top of the 7th — After an intentional walk to Jaile sets up a bases-loaded situation, Perrotta hits a grounder to third. Muccio throws home for the force, and Eddie Martinez spins and throws to Reilly at first. Reilly dropped the ball, allowing Dimele to score the go-ahead run. The ball rolled away on the play and Jaile came all the way in to score from second. What a turn of events. Fordham now leads 5-3.

Stepinac has really had a tough day defensively.

Bottom of the 7th — The seniors, Muccio and Eddie Martinez, both singled in the inning, but the side was retired with the tying run at first when Markey flies out. Fordham, with a 5-3 win, is your CHSAA city champs!

What a postseason it has been for Sal Lisanti, the Fordham Prep ace who pitched another brilliant game in last night’s 1-0 win over Monsignor Farrell.

The Rams will now face Stepinac at 1 today at St. John’s. The teams will meet for the championship at 4 if Fordham can hand Stepinac its first loss in the tournament. If not, the Crusaders will win their first title in 47 years.

Here’s our recap of Fordham’s win:

Sal Lisanti pitched a two-hitter and Jesus Jaile drove in the game’s only run as Fordham Prep edged Monsignor Farrell 1-0 in the losers bracket final of the CHSAA City Tournament yesterday at St. John’s University.

The fifth-seeded Rams will face No. 2 seed Stepinac for the city championship today, beginning at 1 p.m., at St. John’s.

Stepinac, coming out of the winners bracket, needs one win to clinch the title of the double-elimination tournament. Fordham Prep needs to win at 1 p.m. to force a winner-take-all game, which would be at 4.

The Rams’ win over Farrell was their third straight in the tournament, since a 5-3 early-round loss to Stepinac. Fordham Prep and Stepinac split their regular-season series, each winning at home in extra innings.

The win over fourth-seeded Farrell was yet another hard-earned victory in this tournament for the Rams, who have stayed alive by beating the Lions, St. Peter’s, and defending champion Xavierian.

Fordham Prep (15-8) rallied with two outs in the third inning yesterday. Jack Giannini walked, stole second and scored on Jaile’s single to left.

That was one of four hits on the day for the Rams, along with singles by T.J. Mangan, Ken O’Brien and Dan Turner.

Lisanti, meanwhile, yielded just two infield singles – one in the first inning, the other in the fifth. The Bryant-bound senior right-hander struck out seven, walked none, and allowed only three balls to the outfield while pitching a complete game in a brisk 1 hour, 15 minutes.

Lisanti’s infielders – Sal Annunziata (first base), Mike Maschi (second), Giannini (short) and George Perrotta (third) – provided plenty of support

Hopefully most of you were able to follow the updates I was sending to Josh for the blog and know the basics of what happened to Dobbs Ferry. An exciting 10-9 semifinal win followed by an anticlimactic 8-1 finals loss to an excellent Westhill team.

I just got back home to Astoria at 1:30 a.m. and have to be up early tomorrow for the Subway Series game. So it’s bedtime for me. I’ll be back tomorrow evening with a post-mortem on Dobbs’s surprising finals run and a season wrap up.

Stay tuned.

Well, here we go folks. Section 1 tries to make it 2 for 2.

Class AA state championship —
Mamaroneck 12, Clarence 2

Class B state championship —
Westhill 8, Dobbs Ferry 1

Sean Hagan told me he spoke to Matt McGovern earlier this week and McGovern told him not to worry about Saturday.

“You go four innings and I’ll take care of the rest,” McGovern told Hagan. “I’m never going to pitch another day in my life. I’ll pitch forever.”

I’m paraphrasing here, but that’ll give you an idea of where McGovern stood on pitching today. Little did he or Mamaroneck know it would need him to pitch in relief of Andrew Benkwitt in this marathon of a state semifinal, but it did and he did. He has never been better.

McGovern threw seven innings of three-hit relief. He was perfect through the first 4.1 innings of that stretch, and only once did a runner advance past first base against him.

Catcher Mike Rosenfeld told me afterward that McGovern began to tire in his second inning of relief. Imagine how he felt in the seventh?

As much as a few brilliant defensive plays and the clutchest of clutch singles by Rosenfeld delivered the Tigers to the final later today, it was McGovern who was the hero. Rosenfeld told me Mamaroneck simply had to win it for him.

“I really wanted to be put in this spot,” said Rosenfeld, who was intentionally walked along with McGovern to load the bases for Hagan in the ninth. “I had to capitalize. I wanted to win this game so bad for Matt. He was leaving his heart out on the field. You have to win it for a warrior like that.”

Rosenfeld hit a sinking liner to left field on a 1-0 fastball. Gabe Klein, who hit a leadoff single in the 11th after going 0 for 5, scored the winning run. Mamaroneck piled on Klein at home and then met Rosenfeld at first to continue the celebration.

No, their pitching situation is not great, but the Tigers will go into the state final on some jolt of adrenaline.

“Absolutely,” Rosenfeld said. “Matt said he was out of steam in the second inning he was pitching. He’ll go out and throw the next seven innings if we want him to in the championship game. We’re all just running on adrenaline. It’s ridiculous.”

I talked to Mike Chiapparelli after the game as well. He said he’s not sure whether or not Hagan will start the final. Hagan is fine, he said, “but I want to watch these teams play first. He has a long career ahead of him and I don’t want anything to happen to him to jeopardize that.”

Sounds like Chiapparelli will wait and see. I bet Hagan will pitch at some point, but I think the determination is whether or not he starts. They would probably go with Eric Windsor if Hagan doesn’t start. I also spoke to Andrew Benkwitt, who didn’t throw many pitches and seemed eager to pitch in relief this afternoon.

I also asked Chiapparelli about the various chances his club wasted late. Mamaroneck had 18 runners reach base without scoring. It had a runner caught stealing in the eighth and a runner caught at third on a failed squeeze in the 10th. They also sac bunted twice only to strand runners in scoring position.

“I tried to play everything by the book,” he said, “but I decided to stop at the end and just let them hit.”

I also asked him about sending Taylor Mondshein for the inside-the-park home run in the ninth after his one-out triple. Chiapparelli said the sole reason he held Mondshein is because eh thought he would’ve been thrown out. I was wrong when I said it was because Mamaroneck had the meat of its order up.

Anyway, we’ll have two or three more hours before the final. It’s time to go grab a bite to eat. Log on later to find out A) who is starting and B) when the game will start. Until then, just know that you missed probably the best high school baseball game I’ve ever seen. Every single Mamaroneck parent said that exact thing. Just incredible.