Saturday, May 25, 2013: Penfield goes from 0-5 start to spot in Sec. 5 final

   Leading off today: A funny thing happened on the way to the Fairport vs. Pittsford final most people (myself included) had been anticipating since last March in the Section 5 boys Class A lacrosse tournament.

   Penfield, which began the season with five straight losses against a demanding schedule, outscored Fairport 3-0 in the fourth quarter of their semifinal to pull out a 10-8 victory Friday vs. the Red Raiders, ranked fifth by the New York State Sportswriters Association.

   “We said we are the team of adversity,” Penfield coach John Schembri told The Daily Messenger. “We had 12 kids miss two or more games due to injury. We have not played with our full team until today. Not everyone was healthy but at least they suited up.”

   The Patriots took their first lead of the game on a goal by junior midfielder Jake Sproule midway through the fourth quarter, and Carter Jordan tacked on the insurance goal with 5:25 remaining.

   Penfield will face 15th-ranked Webster Thomas in the finals Tuesday after the Titans knocked off No. 14 Pittsford 7-5. Jake Giudice scored four goals, including the clincher with 1:50 left.

   Yorktown ... of course: Yorktown captured its third straight Class B crown and the 36th boys sectional lacrosse championship in school history with a 17-3 romp against John Jay Cross River.

   Yorktown scored a 12-4 win over JJCR in the first week of the regular season.

   “We came out a little heated today,” Huskers midfielder Brian Prestreau, who scored four goals, told The Journal News. “We really wanted to show everyone in the section that first win against John Jay wasn’t a fluke and that we are the best team in the section.”

   Next up for the Huskers is a state pre-quarterfinal game Wednesday against Ballston Spa or Niskayuna.

   Weather misery: Not that the Western-most 10 counties haven't also been slammed with rain at times in the last 10 days, but most of New York east of Geneva has really been feeling the effects of precipitation once again in one of the more up-and-down springs we've seen in awhile.

   Consequently, a couple of sections are behind schedule -- especially in the most weather-sensitive of all the spring team sports: baseball. Rain late this week shut down most fields Wednesday through Friday, leaving diamonds unplayable on Saturday. With Sunday contests still a no-no in many areas and everyone understandably reluctant to give up their Memorial Day, there are lots of innings to squeeze in -- and, for some teams, not enough reliable hurlers to pitch them -- in order to get down to NYSPHSAA quarterfinals at the end of next week.

   In Section 1, quarterfinals were postponed on Saturday

Spring tournament schedules NYSPHSAA boys lacrosse NYSPHSAA girls lacrosse NYSPHSAA baseball: Coming shortly NYSPHSAA softball: Coming shortly

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for the third time this week. Co-section coordinator Phil DiRuocco told The Journal News the plan is now for quarterfinals Tuesday, semifinals Wednesday and finals to be announced.

   Understandably, many folks would like to see at least one day of rest before the finals. But if the forecast Tuesday night calls for rain late in the week, they may have no choice but to try for Thursday finals.

   Section 2 is slightly better off, especially if quarterfinals can be completed Saturday and Sunday, but coaches have to remain mindful that some of them could be staring at seven games between today and the end of the state tournament June 15. That's not a huge number of contests, but setting up pitching when your games come in bunches -- such as some Tuesday/Wednesday scheduling next week and doubleheaders on the last day of the state tournament -- leaves tough choices: Do I save the best arm for a final that we might not even reach?

   An example: Queensbury's Charlie Peltz will be fully rested for the Tuesday semifinals, which wouldn't have been the case without all this rain. But using him would all but take him out of the equation for the final a day later.

   Peltz, by the way, followed up his three straight no-hitters with a one-hitter on Thursday as Queensbury rode a 10-fun fourth inning to an 11-0 win over Amsterdam. Until Julian Gallup’s two-out, third-inning single, Peltz had not surrendered a hit for more than 25 innings.

   “I knew it was going to happen eventually,” Peltz told The Post-Star after finishing with 13 strikeouts. “It’s not that big of a deal to me.”

   Extra points: Archbishop Stepinac has hired Steve Herman as the boys basketball coach. The Fordham Prep assistant succeeds Tim Philp, who stepped down after 10 seasons. ... Chris Cuccolo, a state semifinalist at 99 pounds in the Division I wrestling tournament this year, will not return to Pine Bush for his senior year. Cuccolo, 101-18 in varsity action, is transferring to Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict's Prep, where his club coach will be working.