McGraw Baseball team posing after winning Section III Class D Finals. (Timothy Bennett/Cortland Voice)
The McGraw Eagles pulled off an improbable upset, defeating the #1 seed Lyme Indians 4-3 Sunday night and winning the Section III Class D title.
The Eagles started things off at the top of the first inning, with senior Brandon May walking to first base and then stealing second and third. He was then able to make it to home plate for the first run of the game to make it 1-0. May also came in clutch from the mound, throwing a total of 14 strikeouts throughout the game while opposing Lyme pitcher Zach Goutremount notched 13 strikeouts.
Lyme then came in at the bottom of the first and answered right by scoring two straight runs to take a 2-1 lead, putting the pressure on McGraw
At the top of the third, McGraw was able to tie up the game at 2-2 off a run from senior Chris Pickert.
Both teams went scoreless in the fourth inning. At the bottom of the 5th inning, Lyme took the lead once again by stealing home plate, taking a 3-2 lead.
Two innings turned out to be just enough for the Eagles. Sophomore Michael Levitski was first up in the sixth inning, hitting and running in for a single. He then ran all the way to third after senior Logan Eaton was able to hit and run for a single as well.
Levitski was then able to steal home plate, tying up the game 3-3, after a bad pitch from Lyme.
In the top of the seventh with two outs, senior Jaycob White made it to first base off a single. May followed by earning a walk to first base. Senior Tyler Card came in clutch with a single RBI to give the Eagles a 4-3 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.
May's stellar pitching sealed the win for McGraw, who will be playing their Central Regional game against South Kortright at Onondaga Community College Saturday, June 8, at 3 p.m.
