Horseheads Stuns No. 4 Corning in Section 4 Semi Tuesday Night

Dan Cevette
New York Scouting Director

Corning HS has been nearly untouchable this year and really with not a lot of surprise. Their team is loaded with seniors, great coaching, they have a possible Top 10 rd Draft pick in Zach Sullivan, a D1 LHP in Nate Grant,  a strong Catcher and a solid supporting cast across the board. Horseheads on the other hand is young, very young. Horseheads starts a 9th grader at SS, their Ace on the mound is a 10th grader and the Raiders only have upperclassmen at a few positions. This year was a rebuilding year for the future, but don't tell that to the players in Blue and white, no this year was personal, it was a shot to show that powerhouse Horseheads was still in the mix. Tuesday night they proved that to not only Section 4, but to the entire State of NY.

It starts with Pitching and Defense. I was told a long time ago that Offense will win you games, but Pitching and Defense will win you Championships. Horseheads rolled out their 10th grade Ace Jake Burlingame against the strong lineup of Corning and he never blinked an eye. Burlingame can keep a team off balance with his 78-82 mph loose fastball and solid curveball, and he did just that allowing only four hits, while striking out five. Horseheads Defense came up big allowing no errors on the day while the pitcher kept throwing strikes and making Corning get themselves out. Jacob Dimon C, Horseheads threw a 2.0 dart on the second base bag to get the speedy Sullivan's stolen base attempt.

"We played our butts off on defense, Burlingame went right at Corning, and we played small ball to get guys in scoring position, said Horseheads Head Coach Jeff Limoncelli. "Tonight it was the definition of old fashioned baseball, we did what we had to in order to win". For Horseheads, Ryan Richer made it on base three times with two hits and a walk. Chris McKibben takes the loss for Corning after being removed from the game in the second inning after walking five batters. It was a tough night for Corning who had won their STAC West title a week earlier, but definitely a great season for the Hawks with nothing to hang their heads about. Sullivan hit a solo HR for Corning's only run, they lost 3-1.

This is why the game is played on a baseball diamond with players, coaches, and umpires..Not on paper.

Horseheads is headed to the Section 4 final Friday night at Maine Endwell to face either Elmira or Union Endicott.