Green Wave First in League, Eliminated from Tourney
By WRILEY NELSON
ONEONTA
The Oneonta Green Wave was eliminated from the American Legion District 6 tournament with a tough loss to Endicott at Binghamton’s Conlon Field on Wednesday, July 19. The contest was a tight pitchers’ duel, but Endicott broke away with three runs in the final two innings to win 4-0.
Asa Dugan suffered a tough loss, his only one of the season, throwing five and two-thirds innings. He allowed only four hits, walked four and struck out five.
Oneonta outhit Endicott throughout the game but was unable to cash in with a clutch hit; 12 Green Wave runners were left on base over the course of the afternoon. The Oneonta offense went zero-for-nine with runners in scoring position. Britten Zeh and Adam Champlin led the offense with a pair of hits each. Endicott pitcher Caleb Clark struck out seven batters in six innings.
The Green Wave finished their regular season 10-10-1 overall and 7-3-1 in District 6 league play, earning the number one seed in the tournament. The four-seeded Windsor Knights won the tournament with a 3-0 record but were eliminated from the state playoffs in three games.
“We had a great season and a young team,” said Green Wave Head Coach and General Manager Michael Jester. “We played out of the league against some of the hardest teams in the state. We have a lot of good underclassmen and the future is looking really bright.”
Jester praised leading hitter Brady Carr, who set the pace offensively with a .322 batting average and the most home runs and RBI. He was also optimistic about Dugan, the team’s star pitcher. Dugan is a rising senior at Morris High School.
Although the Green Wave is a young team, it will lose three of its stars for next season. Owen Burnsworth, Aidan Gelbsman and Adam Champlin all graduated this year. Still, Oneonta is assured a strong American Legion 19U team for years to come.
Pictured above are: front row, kneeling, Asa Dugan, Jameson Brown, Matt Rigas, Aidan Gelbsman, and Maddox Imperato; back row, standing, Grayson Brockington, Adam Champlin, Brady Carr, Britten Zeh, Seamus Catella, and Coach Mike Jester.
