Baseball: Kshatriya capitalizes on opportunity, leads Lake Park past York in sectional semifinals; Maine South ousts Bartlett

Shaylen Kshatriya best represents the meaning of being a baseball player at Lake Park.

As a junior last year, Kshatriya served as the team manager.

During Wednesday afternoon’s Class 4A sectional semifinal matchup against York, Kshatriya started at catcher, hitting out of the 5-hole in coach Dan Colucci’s lineup.

The senior enjoyed a memorable day, going 3 for 3 at the plate with a walk and 3 RBI while also throwing out a would-be base stealer at second during the Lancers’ 10-6, come-from-behind victory over the Dukes (16-20) at Bartlett.

“He didn’t even make the team last year,” said Colucci, whose team improved to 18-20. “He sat most of the season this year until he got the opportunity. I always say, ‘when the door opens, kick it in. He kicked it in.’”

With his team trailing 6-5 after 5 ½ innings, Kshatriya highlighted a 5-run bottom half of the frame with a 2-run opposite-field double to put the Lancers on top for good.

“I was looking for a low line drive up the middle,” said Kshatriya, who added an RBI single in the first inning. “I got a little jammed on it but got enough barrel.”

Colucci had nothing but praise for his starting catcher.

“It’s a phenomenal story — the guy who was our manager to not starting to being our feature guy,” said the coach. “I love that about baseball.”

Ninth-seeded York led throughout the first half of the game, scoring a pair of runs in the first before solo home runs from Charlie Martin and Evan Mendiola gave the Dukes a 5-2 advantage after 4 1/3 innings.

The 4th-seeded Lancers countered with a 3-run fifth that began with Gaetano Lazzara’s triple — a ball lost in the sun near the right-field corner.

After a hit-by-pitch — 1 of 6 by York pitchers, back-to-back RBI singles from Max Alvarado and Josh Kolton cut the deficit to 5-4.

Alvarado then came across with the tying run on a successful double steal, tying the game at 5-all.

Chris Winton, who went 2 for 3 with a walk, delivered an RBI single in the top of the sixth as the Dukes regained a 6-5 lead, setting the stage for another Lancers’ comeback that included Antonio Leto’s RBI double.

“It’s a testament to these guys,” said Colucci. “They preach a 2-strike approach, they preach getting hit by pitches. It’s all those little things — make pitchers work, grind out at-bats, next-guy up, and we did that those last couple innings.”

Nate Bergman threw 3 innings of 1-run ball with 3 strikeouts to record the victory for the Lancers, who advance to Saturday’s 11 a.m. sectional championship against No. 2 seed Maine South (23-15).

“That’s his game — throwing strikes,” Colucci said of the sidearm-throwing Bergman. “He’s all of 130 pounds but he’s going to go out and compete. He’s going to give us innings. We needed somebody who wasn’t named (Colton) Hardman to step up and get us to the next game.”

Mason Shorter, Martin, Mendiola, and Winton each had 2 hits for the Dukes, who reached the sectional semifinals for the fifth straight season.

“That is what we are trying to build,” said York coach River Pitlock. “We’ve got young ballplayers on this team that got to learn and see, plus we have a community that comes out. We have Little League guys out here watching. It becomes a town thing.”

Maine South 8, Bartlett 3: Junior Gavin Krischke went 2 for 2 with a home run, double, 2 walks, and 3 RBI to help lift Maine South to an 8-3 Class 4A sectional semifinal triumph over host Bartlett Wednesday afternoon.

Bartlett (25-11), the No. 3 seed, grabbed a 2-0 lead in the third on Brandon Pelz’ 2-run double before 2nd-seeded Maine South (23-15) took the lead for good with 4 runs in the bottom half of the frame.

The Central Suburban South champions added a run in the fourth, two more in the fifth, and an insurance tally in the sixth.

Nate Cera (3 for 3, RBI, run scored), Evan Adamczewski (2 for 4, triple, 2 RBI, run scored), Sean Sladky (2 walks, 2 runs scored), and Alex Vale (1 for 3, double, run scored) provided offensive support for the Hawks, who finished with 10 hits.

Senior starting pitcher Jack Gianikos earned the win, working 5 innings of 2-hit ball, allowing 3 runs (1 earned) with 2 walks and 5 strikeouts.

Sophomore reliever Henry Murphy worked a pair of hitless and scoreless innings, walking 2 while fanning 3.

Upstate Eight West champion Bartlett, playing without senior all-conference pitcher Vince Yario (broken hand suffered against Batavia last Saturday), scored its final run in the sixth on Nathan Langendorf’s sacrifice fly.

With the win, Maine South will aim for its second consecutive sectional title against Lake Park at 11 a.m. Saturday in Bartlett.