By:Steve Siniski
Clarke (27-3) made it 3-for-3 in championship celebrations by knocking off not only the defending New York State Champions, Massena (Section X), in the semifinals (7-3) but also Section IV's Oneonta (10-3) to capture the first state title in school history.
As in their Long Island Championship victory, the Rams proved that no team can keep Clarke's bats in check for a full seven innings, especially in a pressure situation. Trailing 3-2 entering the bottom of the fifth inning against Massena, Clarke battled back to not only tie the game but take a 5-3 lead thanks to a two-run single by centerfielder Kyle Klimkowski and a sacrifice fly by Rob Creamer.
Matt Seck closed out the scoring with a two-run triple in the sixth to provide the final margin of victory and catapult the Rams into the final round.
Little was left to doubt in the one-game battle for the title, as the Rams jumped out to a 3-0 lead after one inning and plated three more in the second to go ahead 6-0. Senior Matt Baumann shut down Oneonta, allowing just four hits and notching his fifth victory of the year.
Baumann's performance followed yet another gutsy outing by senior Mike Bradham, who earned the Nassau Conference B-IV MVP award (9-2, 1.07 ERA). Against Massena, Bradham allowed two runs in the first, but settled down and cautiously worked his way out of two bases-loaded jams over the final six innings allowing just one more run the rest of the way. "They are two of the toughest mentally on the mound that I've ever seen," Clarke coach Tom Abruscato said of Baumann and Bradham, the Rams top two starters. "All of our guys are kind of like that."
Even after falling behind 2-0 just one-half of an inning in against Massena, Clarke's bats responded by forging a 2-2 tie when Rob Levine smacked his third home run of the year in the second inning. "He was no joke," Clarke coach Tom Abruscato said of Massena pitcher Ryan Toth, who had been previously unbeaten and also earned a nomination to the State Class B First Team in 2001. "He's one of the best [pitcher's] we've faced all year."
Like a boxer in a 15-round title fight, Clarke not only answered the bell but ended up delivering a knockout blow every time it looked like its postseason run could come to an end.
"In big situations, these guys didn't play like high-schools kids," Abruscato said of his team's refusal to wilt in pressure situations. "They didn't choke. It was only two games [for the New York State Championship], but these guys didn't go up there to just be there."
To be the best, you've got to beat the best.
It was something the Rams talked about during the postseason, and Clarke stepped up to the plate and sent everyone home on Long Island. In Nassau County, the Rams knocked off Island Trees, Wantagh and MacArthur, all perennial powers, before defeating Shoreham-Wading River, well-known as a powerhouse in Suffolk County, for the Long Island Championship. The Rams put an exclamation point on the year with the wins over Massena, the defending New York State champions and Oneonta.
"We said to the guys that it would be great to win but you want to go through the defending champions," Abruscato said.
