SYRACUSE — Jacob Skarlis was born in 2004, the same year as Columbia’s latest baseball state championship. On Saturday evening, he pitched and hit like a player who would like to help win another one for the Blue Devils,
Skarlis pitched a complete game and drove in two of Columbia’s three runs to beat Jamesville-DeWitt 3-2 in eight innings in the Class A state quarterfinals at Onondaga Community College. The Blue Devils move on to the state semifinals, where they face West Babylon.
“My guys picked me up when they needed to, scoring that last run,” Skarlis said. “And the defense was terrific all day.”
With two outs in the bottom of the seventh, Skarlis threw a potentially game-ending throw over the first baseman’s head and Red Rams pinch-hitter Nasir Williams scored from second to tie the game at 2.
“When you’re in that position as a player, you want to make that last out, you want to make that play,” Columbia coach Chris Dedrick said. “Unfortunately one got away a little bit.”
The miscues continued for the Blue Devils. After a leadoff triple by Andrew Gabriel in the top of the eighth, the Blue Devils attempted a suicide squeeze, but Kyle Blake couldn’t get the bat on the ball and Gabriel was thrown out in a rundown.
However, Jamesville-Dewitt bailed out the Blue Devils. Relief pitcher Luke McQuaid threw two wild pitches in the next at-bat, and pinch-runner Caleb Welcome scored the go-ahead run with two outs.
Section III team Jamesville-DeWitt put up a run in the first inning, but Columbia took the lead back in the third inning on a two-run, two-out triple down the first-base line from Skarlis.
Skarlis, who plans to play baseball at Catholic University next year, came into the matchup ranked second on the Blue Devils in average (.394). He’s also been Columbia’s ace all year, pitching to a 5-2 record with a 2.18…
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