Thursday, October 1, 2026
Plainedge’s quest for a New York State baseball championship and perfect season on the diamond fell just short Saturday morning.
The Red Devils were defeated by Averill Park (Section II) in the Class A title game, 5-0, at Binghamton University’s Mirabito Stadium. Fred Bornn fired a two-hit shutout and the Golden Knights pushed across single runs in the top of the fourth and fifth, and added three insurance runs in the seventh.
Plainedge, which finished 28-1 and captured its first Nassau County and Long Island championships since 2012, managed just three singles against Bornn, who struck out four and retired the side in order three times.
“It didn’t end the way we wanted, but the whole experience was incredible,” Plainedge coach Colin Fratrik said. “We lost to a really good team and a really good D1 pitcher. We didn’t beat ourselves. They were the better team today and we’re going out with our heads held high.”
The Red Devils’ biggest threat came in the second when they had runners on second and third with two outs before Bornn got an inning-ending groundout to shortstop.
It’s Averill Park’s second state title in four years.
“All of our three hits were infield singles,” Fratrik said. “We had a few loud outs and some hard-hit balls in the infield, their third baseman and shortstop made all the plays.”
Senior Taylor Nitsch kept the Red Devils in striking distance going the first six innings. He finished the season 12-1 with a 0.90 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 134 strikeouts in 70 1/3 innings.
“I can’t say enough about Taylor’s performance all year,” Fratrik said.
In Friday night’s semifinal, junior Jaxson Torres struck out nine in a three-hit shutout and went 2-for-4 in the cleanup spot to lead Plainedge to a 7-0 win over Section IX champ Marlboro Central. The game started nearly two hours later than the scheduled 7 p.m. first pitch due to rain delays earlier in the day.
“Jaxson’s fastball was in the low 90s and he was in command all game,” Fratrik said.
“To have two unbelievable talents in Taylor and Jaxson to give the ball to in two of our three games every week was generational,” he added. “I don’t think we’ve seen a tandem like them on Long Island for quite some time.”
AJ Calapai went 2-for-2 with three RBIs, giving him 30 on the year, Nitsch and Mike Calapai both went 2-for-4, and Bobby Wescott (.395 avg, team-leading 35 RBIs) cracked an RBI triple to lead the offense in the semis.
Torres went 11-0 with a save in the L.I. Class A title game victory over Kings Park. He allowed only 17 hits in 67 innings, struck out 122 and had a 1.03 ERA and 0.56 WHIP. He also batted .443 with 5 homers and 28 RBIs.
“It’s a special group kids who’ve been friends since elementary school,” Fratrik said. “The community was behind us all the way and the school gave us a great sendoff on Thursday. It’s a season none of us will ever forget.”
