Foxes win regional title, head to state Final 4

Fox Lane coach Matt Hillis and captain P.J. Stonsby celebrate with their State Regional Championship plaque. Jim MacLean Photo

By JIM MACLEAN

Fox Lane players pose with their regional trophy after defeating Garden City at Hofstra to move on to the state final four.

There was no letdown.

The Fox Lane varsity baseball team had talked all year long about its goal to win a Section 1 title, and the Foxes celebrated when that goal was achieved Sunday, June 1.

And then they got back to work. For the 11 seniors on the roster and the rest of their teammates, this was a chance to play more baseball together. Fox Lane moved on to the New York State Class AA tournament, and on Saturday, June 7, at Hofstra University the Foxes held on for a 4-3 victory over Garden City to win the regional title.

Now, Fox Lane moves on to the final four, a road trip to Binghamton and a chance to win a New York state title. Fox Lane has not been to the final four since 2003, the second year for coach Matt Hillis at the helm. The current Foxes know that was a long time ago, and this is an opportunity to write their own history, hoping for a happy ending to a magical season.

Clockwise from top left, Sean Singleton celebrates after scoring a run in the regional title game. Fox Lane’s Will Rudolph and catcher Logan Mammola celebrate after the final out. Logan Mammola reaches for a throw at the plate. Starting pitcher Jackson Carroll delivers to the plate. Shortstop John Czernyk is fired up after recording an out at second base. Danny Spolansky fires to first base trying to turn a double play. Jim MacLean photos

“Fox Lane baseball is our home, this means so much to us,” admitted senior shortstop John Czernyk, who drove in the go-ahead run. “Going to Binghamton hasn’t happened for Fox Lane in 20 years, I wasn’t even born yet. Coach talks about it every day, we get to keep playing baseball together. We’ve got bigger goals and we’re not done yet.”

At Hofstra, it was Czernyk and the seniors setting the tone delivering the big plays all game long, another battle to the final out, with the score knotted up at 2-2 heading into the seventh inning. In the top of the inning, Sean Singleton led off for the Foxes and reached on an infield single. Singleton then stole second, and Cooper Furst laid down a perfect bunt for a single with Singleton moving to third.

Czernyk then drove in Singleton for the go-ahead run. Senior Danny Spolansky then showed why coach Hillis calls him “the best number nine hitter in the state” as Spolansky delivered with an RBI single up the middle to score Furst with what proved to be the winning run.

“I was upset I didn’t get the bunt down, and with two strikes I just had to put the ball in play, hit it hard and find a hole,” Spolansky said of his game winning hit. “When our backs are against the wall we’re at our best, everyone believes in each other, the energy is great and this is so much fun to be a part of. We were focused on winning the section all year, that was our main goal, and now this is great. Coach talks about how this is our second season and we’re in the middle of it. We’re only two wins away, we have to stay focused. Hopefully, we can raise another trophy in Binghamton.”

Fox Lane was able to close out the 4-3 victory to improve to 20-6 overall and move on to the final four. Most of the senior veterans have been starting since they were sophomores, and they reached their goal of winning the first Section 1 title since 2006 for the Fox Lane baseball program. Now, each step is a chance to reach another goal.

“They’re very focused, this group comes to grind day in and day out, they work so hard and I couldn’t be more proud of these boys,” Hillis said of his team. “My second year we were in the state final four and now we’re going back. This senior class is unbelievable. They set the tone as sophomores and they just keep bringing it every day. They’re extremely excited and for good reason, they’re 100 percent focused. They’re hungry for more, no doubt about it.”

Of course, at this stage every team is hungry for more and capable of winning after reaching the final four. Led by senior captains, Czernyk, Spolansky, Will Rudolph and P.J. Stonsby, the Foxes know what they are up against.

“We’ve been dreaming about this since we were little kids,” said senior catcher Logan Mammola. “We have the team to win it. That’s a great ball club over there (Garden City). Every team we’re going to play is going to be good, but we’re ready for it.”

Garden City came out fired up with the home crowd behind them at Hofstra and the Trojans jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning.

Fox Lane answered back in the fourth inning as the seniors in the middle of the lineup started bashing the ball for the Foxes. Mammola led off with a line drive single, and Stonsby drilled a single. Logan Provost then followed with a line drive single up the middle to score Mammola and cut the lead down to 2-1. The Foxes then executed a double steal with Stonsby coming home to score and tie it up at 2-2.

That rally gave Fox Lane new life as starting pitcher Jackson Carroll had settled in on the mound for the Foxes. Carroll mowed down 10 straight Garden City batters to keep it tied at 2-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.

“I didn’t have great control at the start, a big game and you just have to calm yourself down and start throwing strikes, Carroll said. “We knew coming into the season this was a special team. We’re just executing, we battled all the way to get here. We know if we play our game we can play with anybody.”

In the sixth inning, Garden City tried to rally as the lead off batter was hit by a pitch, but the Foxes came up with a big play on defense as Czernyk stuck with the play at second on an attempted steal and tagged out the Trojan runner that slid past the base. After an infield hit, Will Rudolph came on in relief for the Foxes and got two outs to get out of the jam. Garden City pushed across one run in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly, but Rudolph was able to record the final out on a fly out to Provost in center to close out the victory and send the Foxes to Binghamton.

“I’ve been in tough situations before coming in with guys on base, I just had to pound the zone and get some outs, and I knew this team could do it,” Rudolph said of the final innings. “This is awesome, to be able to keep playing, a chance for two more games with my friends, this means everything to us. We know what we’re capable of doing, and we just have to keep working hard every day and make good things happen.”

After Provost squeezed the ball for the final out, the Foxes were able to celebrate once again with another title. A Section 1 title, a state regional title, and a road trip to Binghamton with a chance for one more title.

“We got our section title, now we’re just trying to have as much fun as possible,” said Provost. “I have full confidence in this team to get the job done. I’m so grateful for this team, our coaches, to have the chance to keep playing. It’s just amazing. I’m having the time of my life, something I’ll never forget.”

Fox Lane was set to face West Genesee in the state semifinals on Friday, June 13, with the winner advancing to the New York state championship game Saturday, June 14, at SUNY Binghamton.