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Pitchers, Perry carry LP into final

Gage Perry, center, is greeted by teammates Colin Hayes, left, and Scott Sharlow after he scored Lake Placid’s fourth run in the Blue Bombers’ 4-1 victory over Schroon Lake-Bolton in Tuesday’s Class D semifinal game at the North Elba Show Grounds. Perry rapped out a 2-run RBI double in the bottom of the fourth to help lead Lake Placid. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

LAKE PLACID — Following a masterful performance by three junior pitchers and a handful of key hits at opportune times, the Lake Placid baseball team is heading to the Section VII, Class D championship game.

On a wet Tuesday afternoon at home, the Blue Bombers punched their ticket to the final with a 4-1 victory over Schroon Lake-Bolton in a semifinal matchup.

Starting pitcher Scott Sharlow and Lake Placid hurlers Jake Coursen and Jesse Izzo gave up just one hit in the game to lead their team to victory in the field. And at the plate, Gage Perry came up big again, knocking in two runs with a double to right field in the bottom of the fourth that at the time gave the Blue Bombers a 3-0 lead. Perry went on to score Lake Placid’s fourth run later in the inning.

In what turned out to be a matchup with solid pitching performances by both teams, Sharlow threw one-hit baseball while working the opening four innings of the game. Lake Placid picked up its first run in the opening inning, and Sharlow was able to protect the lead and ultimately earned the win on the mound.

Coursen then took over in the fifth and sixth innings and was basically untouchable while facing the minimum of six batters. Mixing fastball and curve ball pitches, Coursen fanned the first five batters he faced and then ended the top of the sixth when he scooped up a dribbler hit to the mound and underhanded a throw to first baseman Jarrett Hathaway for the third out of the inning.

Lake Placid junior Jake Coursen sends a pitch to the plate during Tuesday’s Section VII, Class D semifinal game against Schroon Lake-Bolton. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

Izzo threw the final inning for Lake Placid. He walked one batter and struck out three to earn the save. Schroon Lake-Bolton got its lone hit of the game off the bat of Andrew Pelkey, who also had a standout day pitching in a losing effort.

Pelkey worked five-and-two-thirds innings, giving up five hits and striking out eight Lake Placid batters.

In a game that was stopped a handful of times due to standing water in the infield, Lake Placid got the runs it needed in the bottom of the fourth as Perry came up big to knock two runners home. The inning began when Coursen led off and was grazed by a pitch to reach first base. Freshman Matt Brandes then walked, and Perry then stepped up to the plate with runners on first and second. And the junior delivered. After swinging at and missing a pitch, and then fouling off a bunt, Perry launched a two-strike double to right field to push Coursen and Brandes across the plate. Perry then scored from third on a heads-up base running play. He reached home after tagging up when Noah Marshall popped up to first base.

Schroon Lake picked up its only run in the top of the seventh when Richard DeMeo reached on a walk and eventually scored on a passed ball.

Colden Lawrence, Colin Hayes, Brandes and Hathaway each singled to account for the rest of of Lake Placid’s hits.

Richard DeMeo of Schroon Lake-Bolton slides safely into home on a play that saw Lake Placid catcher Duncan Segger attempt to apply a tag on a passed ball play at the plate in the seventh inning of Tuesday’s game. (Enterprise photo — Lou Reuter)

The Blue Bombers improved to 8-8 and will now play for the Class D crown on Friday at SUNY Plattsburgh’s Chip Cummings Field. The game starts at 4:30 p.m. and Lake Placid will face either Moriah or Crown Point. Those two teams will tangle today on the Vikings’ diamond in Mineville.

Friday will mark Lake Placid’s fourth trip to the Class D finals in the past five seasons. The Blue Bombers were knocked out of contention a year ago by Keene in the first round of the playoffs, and lost in the championship game to Northern Adirondack in 2016. Prior to that game, Lake Placid had won the title for three consecutive years.

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