Coming into the Class B baseball playoffs at the top seed, there was certainly some pressure on Rye Neck to continue its winning ways and make a deep postseason run. On Wednesday afternoon, despite some stiff opposition from Pleasantville, the Panthers managed to shrug off those expectations and keep the season alive.
Getting off to a quick start on May 22, the Panthers rode the combination of timely hitting and gutsy pitching to down Pleasantville 3-2, forging a path to Saturday’s Class B finals and taking one step closer to a Class B title.
Rye Neck struck for two runs in the bottom of the first inning, giving senior starter Eli Goldman a little bit of breathing room as he’d go on to toss a complete game gem that saw him strike out nine batters while allowing just two earned runs on the afternoon. Head coach George Travis said that early outburst was an important one, helping Goldman settle into what was undoubtedly his biggest start of the year.
“Pleasantville was threatening in that first inning but we got those outs and we backed [Eli] up,” said Travis. “He was executing his pitches, hitting his spots, and I think that after George Katsaros went seven innings on Monday, Eli took that as a challenge and came into the game knowing he wanted to throw a complete game as well.”
Goldman said that Rye Neck’s familiarity with their semifinal round opponent—the two teams had squared off twice this season with Rye Neck getting the best of both meetings—gave he and his teammates a blueprint for success against the pesky No. 4 seed.
““We knew they were a good team, they made it this far as well,” said Goldman. “But we knew if we dialed in and played our best ball, we’d be fine.”
Offensively, the Panthers were led by a two-hit day from leadoff hitter Evan Janowitz, while sophomore third baseman Dave Ryan picked up an RBI.
The win will send the Panthers to the Class B finals, where they will take on No. 3 seed Croton-Harmon, which upset No. 2 Albertus Magnus with a 5-1 win on Wednesday afternoon.
“Croton has a very good team; they knocked us out of the playoffs last year, they beat us 3-2 in the first game of the season,” said Travis. “There’s a little bit of history between us, and I know the boys want to be on the right side of this one.”
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