ENDWELL — In the midst of a season in which the Chatham baseball team has registered 12 shutouts, the Panthers sure do thrive when an opponent pushes them to the brink. It happened again Friday afternoon.
Chatham, a squad that overcame a deficit to defeat Duanesburg in the Section II Class CC/C playoff for the chance to compete in the state tournament, built a lead against Section V champion Batavia Notre Dame in the third inning, only to see it disappear by the next inning. Undaunted, the Panthers bounced back to generate rallies in the fifth and sixth innings to secure a 7-4 victory over the Irish at Maine-Endwell High School.
“We love the adversity,” Chatham coach Scott Steltz said. “Most teams fold. We like to battle.”
The Panthers showed they can overcome anything. They led 4-0 through three innings Friday and watched the Irish (23-2) respond by scoring four times with two outs in the top of the fourth against senior starter Tyler Kneller.
“Like I said at the end of the game, I have full accountability and trust in my teammates,” Kneller said. “I was at my lowest in that fourth. They came through. We love this.”
The Panthers responded in the fifth inning and scored twice against Batavia Notre Dame starter Bryceton Berry. First baseman Cam Horton started the rally with a double. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Logan Smalley and Michael Pierro made it 6-4 with an RBI double that plated Matt Radley.
In the sixth, Tate Van Alstyne walked and he scored with two outs when a balk was called on reliever Jaden Sherwood.
“We had to keep battling the whole game,” said Kneller, who is headed to play his college baseball at Saint Rose.
Steltz said he had a good indication his players were primed and ready for Friday’s contest.
“I could tell when we got on the bus that they were relaxed. To them, it was like we were going to Greenville or…
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