Bushmen rally past Goshen

By Mike Zummo
Posted 4/12/23

It only took the Pine Bush baseball team one game to take a walk on the dramatic side.

The defending Section 9 Class AA champion and 2022 New York State Public High School Athletic Association …

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Bushmen rally past Goshen

Posted

It only took the Pine Bush baseball team one game to take a walk on the dramatic side.

The defending Section 9 Class AA champion and 2022 New York State Public High School Athletic Association Class AA semifinalists found themselves trailing the Goshen Gladiators by one run going into the bottom of the seventh.

With the bases loaded and nobody out, Pine Bush senior Connor Stacklum delivered a base hit down the left-field line that scored two runs and gave the Bushmen a walkoff 12-11 win over the Gladiators on April 4 at Mataraza Field in Pine Bush.

“Just full-on excitement,” Stacklum said. “I knew it was a big spot and I just had to produce. I had to get something in the air and it ended up dropping. He jammed me, but I ended up dropping so I’m happy.”

The Bushmen weren’t happy before that inning. They trailed, 11-9, after three innings, and then Matt Boffalo scored on a wild pitch in the fourth inning to pull the Bushmen to within a run, where it stayed until Boffalo led off the seventh inning with a single and took second on a passed ball.

Nick Croce followed with a bunt to third base that went for a hit, putting the winning run on base. He stole second, and the Gladiators opted to walk Mike De Sena.

That brought up Stacklum, who already had two RBIs in the game. He walked to drive in a run in the first inning and then drove in Croce with a booming triple in the third.

“He was big for us last year, also,” Pine Bush coach Matt Boffalo said. “He’s a good hitter, and I wouldn’t want anybody else up.”

Up until that point, Goshen reliever Jon Tetzlaff had kept the Bushmen scoreless since taking the mound in the fifth.

Stacklum ended that by dropping his base hit just inside the left-field line and out of the reach of Goshen’s Tyler Kropp to end the game. As soon as it hit the ground, and he touched first base, Stacklum jumped into the arms of Pine Bush first base coach Mike Mancuso in celebration.

“It felt so good,” Stacklum said. “It’s a good way to start 1-0 on the season. We’ll just keep rolling from here. Defending champs from last year and hopefully we can do that again. That’s the plan, but just have to keep winning game by game, play by play.”

It was a rough day for the starting pitchers for both teams, as starting pitcher Michael Weed was tagged for 10 of Goshen’s 11 runs. He gave way to sophomore and recent JV call-up Oliver Auryansen, who allowed a runner to score in the third inning, but then threw four scoreless innings to give the Bushmen a shot.

“His location and off-speed were decent,” coach Boffalo said. “He was able to hit his spots. He competed out there, and that’s what we wanted to see.”

The Bushmen finished the week with a 9-3 win over the Newburgh Free Academy Goldbacks on Thursday and a 6-0 win over the FDR Presidents on Saturday.

“We don’t have an identity yet,” coach Boffalo said. “The identity is that they weren’t going to give up, so that was good.”