Despite a number of impressive regular seasons, just a trio of local teams have advanced to their respective sectional title games and all three will try and bring home the block on Saturday.
Here is a look at those sectional championship contests featuring Hornell in Class B1, Bath-Haverling in Class B2 and Notre Dame in Class C2:
CLASS B1
NO. 4 HORNELL (14-5) vs. NO. 2 PALMYRA-MACEDON (19-2)
At Dwyer Stadium, 4 p.m.
Fourth-seeeded Hornell has won five of its last six games and it will meet a red-hot Pal-Mac team that has won 16 consecutive games, with its only two losses coming to Walhalla (South Carolina) and to Geneva.
Pal-Mac will be playing for its third straight Section V title.
Hornell is pitching to a team ERA of 2.40 this season, led by Gates Miller and Charlie Oyer. Miller has gone 6-1 with an ERA of 1.78, while in 52 innings he has allowed just 32 hits and 13 walks, while he has struck out 44. In six games, Oyer is 3-1 with an ERA of 2.15, while he has allowed just 26 hits and just four walks with 18 strikeouts in 26 innings on the hill.
Jake Ponticello has paced Hornell at the dish, hitting .353 with five doubles, 11 runs scored and 18 runs batted in. Wyatt Argentieri is also over .300 at .328 with five triples, 13 runs and 14 RBI, while Miller is hitting .286 with three doubles, a team-high 20 runs scored and 11 runs driven in.
Hornell ousted Batavia and Waterloo by identical 6-5 scores to reach the title game.
Pal-Mac has outscored its opponents 148-53 on the season and blasted Bishop Kearney in the quarterfinals before it escaped with a 5-4 win over Livonia in the semifinals.
Senior Ian Goodness has gotten it done both on the hill and at the plate for Pal-Mac. Goodness has pitched to a 0.24 ERA with a .099 batting average against and 104 strikeouts, while he is also hitting .407 with 12 RBI and 19 runs scored.
Senior Noah Brooks has also been outstanding with the bat, hitting .393 with 28 runs scored, four home runs and 15 runs driven in.
CLASS B2
No. 3 BATH-HAVERLING (10-9) vs. NO. 4 PENN YAN (10-11)
At Hornell, 4 p.m.
The Rams limped into the postseason losing four straight games before turning it on at the right time, beating Arkport-Canaseraga to close the regular season before taking care of Attica and Wellsville in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively.
Zach Musso has been the leader for Bath-Haverling on both sides. While he is just 4-5 on the mound, he has a 1.39 ERA; meanwhile, he leads the team with a .375 batting average to go with 22 runs scored and 10 RBI.
Also on the hill for Rams, Gage Thomas is 3-2 with a 2.60 ERA in six games, Eric Carney-Hendrix is 1-0 in eight games with an ERA of 2.94 and Dylan Wenban is 1-0 with an ERA of 0.87 in three games.
Bath-Haverling is pitching to a team ERA of 2.66.
At the plate for the Rams, Even Pendle is hitting .310 with six doubles, a triple, eight runs scored and 18 RBI, Ethan Brotz is at .308 with seven doubles, 10 runs scored and 14 runs batted in and Wenban has 12 runs scored and nine runs batted in with an batting average of .241.
The Rams are hitting just .241 as a team.
Junior Brady Bouchard has been the top player all season for Penn Yan.
Bouchard has an ERA of just 0.87 with just nine walks with 109 strikeouts in 48 innings pitched, while he is batting .326 with a pair of home runs and 15 runs batted in.
Penn Yank has escaped with a pair of postseason wins, 8-6 over Dansville and 6-5 over Le Roy to reach the championship game.
CLASS C2
NO. 1 NOTRE DAME (20-1) vs. NO. 3 BOLIVAR-RICHBURG (19-4)
Noon, Wayland-Cohocton
The Fighting Irish have been one of the most dominating teams all season in Section V and they will, arguably, get their biggest test with an almost equally strong Wolverines team that has won seven in a row and has outscored their opponents 204-58 this spring.
Notre Dame has outscored its opponents 233-21 and won 17 games to begin the regular season before a loss to Akron.
Pitching has guided the Fighting Irish all season as they are pitching to an impressive 0.54 ERA. Bryceton Berry has been outstanding as he is 7-0 with a 0.51 ERA in nine games; in 41 IP, Berry has four shutouts and has allowed just 17 hits and walked just nine with 78 strikeouts.
Ryan Fitzpatrick, Jaden Sherwood and Jay Antinore have also been impressive on the mound for Notre Dame. Fitzpatrick is 6-1 with three shutouts and 59 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings pitched, while he has allowed just 18 hits and eight walks. Sherwood is 4-0 with an ERA of 0.91 in nine games with two shutouts, 16 hits allowed, six walks and 62 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings. Antinore has yet to allow and earned run and is 3-0 in six games, allowing just one walk and eight hits in 20 2/3 innings, while he has struck out 32.
Fighting Irish pitchers have struck out 248 and walked just 24 this season.
Offensively, Notre Dame is hitting .341, paced by Antinore and Berry. Antinore is at .444 with seven doubles, 43 runs scored and 15 RBI, while Berry is also hitting .444 with four doubles, 34 runs scored and a team-high 32 runs driven in.
Jimmy Fanara and Chase Antinore are also hitting over .300 with Fanara at .340 with 19 runs scored and 14 batted in, while Chase Antinore is hitting .333 with 15 runs scored and 13 RBI.
Chase Cummings (.298, 10 R, 14 RBI) and Sherwood (.292, 15 R, 15 RBI) have also been solid with the sticks.
Bolivar-Richburg hasn’t loss since a setback to Fillmore on May 11.
As a team, the Wolverines are pitching to a 1.47 ERA, led by Caden Allen, who is 5-0 in nine games with 37 strikeouts, 12 walks and 29 hits allowed in 36 innings.
In 13 games and 36 1/3 innings pitched, Trey Buchholz is 5-2 with a 2.70 ERA and 46 strikeouts, with 13 walks and 26 hits allowed. Meanwhile, Landon Barkley is 5-1 with a 1.17 ERA in eight games, allowing just 18 hits and nine walks with 39 strikeouts in 30 innings.
Reiss Gaines has appeared nine game games and is 1-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 26 strikeouts in just 14 innings pitched.
For a team that is hitting .292, Buchholz is leading the way with a .435 average, seven triples, 41 runs scored and 14 RBI, while Barkley is hitting .400 with two doubles, two triples, 19 runs scored and 21 runs batted in.
James Margeson has also been solid with a .333 average, 24 runs and 10 RBI, while Aydin Sisson is at .297 with two doubles, 27 runs scored and 23 RBI for the Wolverines.
Two of B-R’s losses came to teams from Kentucky during spring training, while another was to Class B1 finalist Hornell.