The Pine Bush Bushmen are expected to end the regular season sitting at the top of the Section 9 Class AAA baseball tournament.

The Bushmen took two out of three games from the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks last week to clinch the Orange County Interscholastic Athletic Association Division I championship.

They split a doubleheader with the Goldbacks losing, 2-0, and then winning, 6-1, on May 7 at Delano-Hitch Stadium. The Bushmen then took the rubber match on Wednesday with a 7-4 win over the Goldbacks on Wednesday afternoon at Mataraza Field in Pine Bush.

The game was originally scheduled for the evening at Crawford Town Park, but Wednesday morning’s rain left that field unplayable.

The Bushmen’s two wins over the Goldbacks catapulted them to a 13-5 record and a 9-3 mark in the division, two games up on the second-place Goldbacks.

The Bushmen took the lead for good on Wednesday in the third inning when Brady Fandl homered to left field to break a 2-2 tie. Later in the inning, Alex Price chased home Rob Lawrence with a single to left field. Kaeden Fisher followed with an RBI double, scoring Price and giving the Bushmen a 5-2 lead.

That was all starting pitcher Matt Boffalo needed, as he went six innings, allowing four runs, two of which were earned. He allowed four hits and struck out five. Triston Santos threw a scoreless seventh inning to close out the game.
The Goldbacks wouldn’t go quietly, however, as J.J. McCoy delivered a two-run single in the top of the fourth inning to pull the Goldbacks to within a run.

An error by Newburgh catcher Joey Santo allowed Fandl to score in the fifth inning, and Shane Torpey scored on a wild pitch in the fifth inning.

The Bushmen and Goldbacks had a long afternoon and evening of baseball the day before at Delano-Hitch Stadium. The series was originally scheduled to end on Friday at Delano-Hitch Stadium, but Friday’s game was rescheduled as a doubleheader on May 7.

The Bushmen opened that day by wasting a gem by Oliver Auryansen, who threw a complete-game five-hitter, allowing only two runs. He was outdueled by the Goldbacks’ Chase Rounds, who shut out the Bushmen in a complete-game effort, and scattered four hits, while striking out six.

The Goldbacks got on the board in the first inning, when Chris Leggett doubled home J.J. McCoy to give Newburgh a 1-0 lead. They added another run in the bottom of the third when Nick Schmidt singled home Santo.

The Bushmen found their offense in the first inning of the second game, putting up four runs in the first as they evened the series.

Marc Cancelliere, Jr., singled home two runs to get the Bushmen on the board, and Price singled home two more as the Bushmen roughed up Newburgh’s Connor Hollenbeck. Despite the rough start, Hollenbeck went five innings before giving way to Luis Pagan.

Lucas Judson went almost six innings for the Bushmen to get the win.
Fandl tripled home a run in the second and they added a run in the sixth when Zach Graziano scored on an error.

The Bushmen will finish the regular season on Wednesday against the Valley Central Vikings, and the Section 9 seedings will be released on Thursday.