Fox Lane baseball falls in state championship

Fox Lane catcher Logan Mammola watches Horseheads celebrate a walk-off victory in the New York State Class AA championship game over the Foxes. Jim MacLean photo

A heartbreaking end to historic season

By JIM MACLEAN

Sometimes it all comes down to a game of inches, a split second, and a storybook season flips from a happy ending to the agony of defeat.

Extra innings, a New York state championship on the line, the final plays of a historic championship season for the Fox Lane baseball team, a diving stop by shortstop John Czernyk and a throw to second hoping for the final out to force another inning, but the call was safe. The runner slid into the bag an inch and a half-second ahead of the throw, leaving the Foxes in agony as the winning run scored to give Horseheads a 6-5 walk-off victory to claim the state title.

The 2025 Fox Lane varsity baseball team had already reached new heights, accomplishing something no other team in the history of the program had managed to do. 

The Foxes were on a magical ride, winning a Section 1 championship, winning a state regional title, then becoming the first Fox Lane team to win a state semifinal and advance to the finals. One last step to make it a storybook season with a happy ending as the Foxes faced Horseheads from Section IV in the championship game Saturday, June 14, at SUNY Binghamton. The two teams battled into extra innings, but the magic ran out for the Foxes.

“To say this team is special is selling them short, they’re an amazing group,” Fox Lane coach Matt Hillis said of his team. “They bought in from day one, some of them as freshmen, many of them as sophomores, and it shows and that’s why they’re here and how they got here. It’s a historic season, they’re not going to realize that today, but maybe in a few hours or days, they’ll realize what they did and they’ll remember that forever.”

None of them felt that way walking off the field in Binghamton after coming so close to victory. The Foxes were stunned watching Horseheads celebrate, but they know what they accomplished and how hard they tried.

“Not a great feeling, but I’ll walk away and take a minute to reflect on what we’ve done,” senior captain Will Rudolph said after the loss. “This is such a great group to be a part of, I wouldn’t trade my teammates for anything in the world. This was an awesome season, the most fun I’ve ever had. The first team in Fox Lane history to do this and the school has had a ton of great teams in program history, so to be able to do this with this team is something really special.”

Jim MacLean Photos. Pictured top row, Fox Lane coach Matt Hillis and captains Danny Spolansky and John Czernyk accept their state finalist plaque from John Jay athletic director Christian McCarthy. P.J. Stonsby fields a pick off throw at first base. Second row, Fox Lane teammates welcome Logan Provost back to the dugout after he scored a run. Andrew Diaz rounds second on his way to scoring the first run of the game. Third row, Will Rudolph delivered on the mound and at the plate for the Foxes in the state final. Sean Singleton connects at the plate for Foxes. (Greg Kaplowitz Photo) Fourth row, Danny Spolansky fields a throw at second base for an out. Senior Brady Hopkins came on to pitch in relief for the Foxes.

“We’re such a close-knit group,” he continued. “Every single one of these guys contributed. We put in the work and we earned it. We gave it all today and all season long. Everybody competed as hard as we could today and it just didn’t go our way.”

After a three-hour rain delay, it certainly was a good start for Fox Lane as Andrew Diaz led off with a single on the first pitch of the game.

Will Rudolph then drilled a double in the gap with Diaz racing around the bases to score and make it 1-0; PJ Stonsby then drilled one down the line for an RBI single to score Rudolph and the Foxes were off to a quick 2-0 lead in the first inning.

Rudolph then took the mound for the Foxes in the bottom of the first, and Horseheads tried to answer right back with a lead off single on the first pitch. The Foxes were able to turn a double play to get out of the inning holding on to the 2-0 lead.

Horseheads was able to get on the board in the bottom of the third as Patrick Laney reached on a bunt single, stole second, and came around to score to make it 2-1.

Fox Lane answered right back in the top of the fourth. Rudolph led off with a single and stole second. Stonsby then delivered an RBI single to make it 3-1, and Cooper Furst came through with a two-out RBI single to give the Foxes a 4-1 lead.

Both teams were answering with big plays as Horseheads responded in the bottom of the fourth with two runs on an RBI single from Lyncoln Bennett and a sacrifice fly to cut the lead down to 4-3.

Now, it was Fox Lane’s turn with a two-out rally as Logan Mammola got a base hit and Rudolph came through once again at the plate drilling a double off the wall to score Mammola and make it 5-3.

“He was huge, and I’m not surprised, that’s who Will Rudolph is,” Hillis said. “He’s going on to play at Sacred Heart for a Division I career and you’ll see more special things out of Will.”

Horseheads was up to the challenge responding with three singles in the bottom of the fifth, including an RBI single from starting pitcher Cooper Ball, and a suicide squeeze bunt scored another run to even the score at 5-5.

The Foxes had a big opportunity in the top of the seventh as Diaz walked, Mammola was hit by a pitch, and Rudolph walked to load the bases, but the Foxes could not score. The Blue Raiders had two runners on in the bottom of the seventh with Brady Hopkins on in relief for the Foxes, but Czernyk came up with a nice play at shortstop to end the inning and force the game into extra innings.

Micah Hays started the winning rally for Horseheads in the bottom of the eighth with a double, and a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases. That set the stage for the final play as Kegan Monahan got the infield hit and the winning run scored.

To get to the championship game, Fox Lane pulled out a 3-0 victory over West Genesee in the semifinals behind another pitching gem from sophomore Jackson Carroll. He went the distance on the mound for the complete-game shutout as the Foxes advanced to the finals. 

The Foxes took the lead with a two-out rally in the third inning as Diaz singled, Mammola walked and Rudolph drove in Diaz with an RBI single.

They did it again in the fourth inning as Sean Singleton singled, and with two outs Czernyk singled and Danny Spolansky delivered with an RBI single.

Fox Lane added one more run in the fifth inning as Mammola led off with a single, and Provost drove him home with an RBI single.

That was all the run support Carroll needed as he completed the shutout and the Foxes advanced to the championship game. One more night in the hotel, one more chance to play another game together for a roster with 11 seniors, nine of them committed to play in college, led by senior captains Czernyk, Rudolph, Spolansky and Stonsby. One more chance to stamp their names in the book as one of the greatest teams to ever wear a Fox Lane jersey in the storied history of the program, no matter what the ending.

“This experience is off the charts, all the dinners together, practices, the bus rides, the town escorts, to experience playing in a facility like this, all these things brought us even closer together,” admitted Hillis. “It’s not going to be easy to swallow for these kids, but they are such a great group and I’d rather have this ending with this group than any other, it’s been a great ride.”