By Rob Centorani

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Star photo by Julie Lewis Edmeston’s Pat Norton slides into third as Gilbertsville-Mount Upton’s Nate Sloan catches a throw on May 8. The Panthers are looking to win their fourth straight Tri-Valley League title.

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Both baseball teams have a handful players hitting .400 or better, but Edmeston coach Mike Clark and Cherry Valley-Springfield coach Ed Dubben said they expect a low-scoring game today.

That’s because seniors Ryan Laymon of Edmeston and Hyde Clarke of CV-S are pitching.

The two will fight for the spotlight at 5 p.m. today at Oneonta State, where the Panthers and Patriots will meet for the third straight season in the Tri-Valley League championship game.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]Reigning Daily Star Player of the Year Laymon (6-2, 2.26 ERA) will play for Division II Mansfield University next year. Clarke (6-1, 0.81 ERA) is headed to Oneonta State next season.

"I think it’s going to be another pitchers’ duel," said Dubben, whose team has lost the last two T-V finals to the Panthers by scores of 4-0 last season and 3-0 in 2004. "I think (pitching) is going to be the main story."

On Friday, Edmeston won a sneak preview of the crossover, 4-2, in a regular-season finale at CV-S. Neither Laymon nor Clarke pitched in that one, though.

"We didn’t get a look at Hyde and we didn’t pitch Ryan," first-year Edmeston coach Clark said. "We were saving our aces for the championship."

The defending Class D state champion Panthers (16-2) are looking for their fourth straight league title. Edmeston’s two losses this season are one more than it’s had the last two seasons combined, when it went 50-1.

The Patriots (11-3) have lost in the title game three of the last four years, falling, 13-3, to Schenevus in 2002. The next season, Edmeston beat Schenevus, 16-4, in the T-V final.

Keeping Edmeston runners in check should be a key in this one. Last season, CV-S pitcher Scott Dubben — who plays for O-State — threw a three-hitter in the final. But Laymon had six of Edmeston’s 12 steals and scored three times.

"We’ve always been an aggressive base-running team," Clark said. "We want to make the other team make the play. Sometimes, it takes a perfect throw and maybe you make it, but we play the percentages and try to be aggressive."

Getting on base could be a problem for the Panthers, however. Clarke has allowed three earned runs and 11 walks in 34 innings this season.

"Most of the hitters in the league were overpowered by him this year," Dubben said of Clarke, who has 70 strikeouts.

Clarke, Scott Dubben’s cousin, is also one of the top hitters in the league. He’s batting .560 with one home run, four triples and 21 RBIs.

Junior third baseman Steve Herringshaw (.489) has 12 extra-base hits, including three home runs. Junior catcher Mathias Vanderwerker and sophomore first baseman Anthony Brant are each hitting better than .400, and junior shortstop Ben Halay is hitting .377.

"(Laymon’s) stats aren’t as good as last year," Dubben said. "We have to lay off his offspeed stuff."

Last season, Laymon went 7-0 with a 1.19 ERA.

His numbers this season were, no doubt, inflated by his most recent outing, a 9-5 loss to Laurens on Wednesday. He allowed all nine runs and struck out nine over five innings.

For the season, he has 36 strikeouts and 22 walks in 34 innings.

"We have to play good defense behind Ryan," Clark said. "He probably won’t have many strikeouts, so we have to be ready to field and not make mistakes. It’s going to be a low-scoring game. We have to take advantage when we get guys on base."

Right fielder Pat Norton has been on base the most for Edmeston this season. He’s hitting a team-high .474 and has an on-base percentage of .683.

Leadoff hitter Laymon is batting .431 with a .607 OBP and has team highs of 41 runs and 25 steals. Norton and Laymon each have walked 25 times this season.

The Panthers’ lineup also includes senior catcher Justin Plows (.441), sophomore first baseman Matt Laymon (.425), freshman third baseman Alex Stevens (.410) and freshman shortstop Nick Davoulas (.405).

"(The league title) is something we don’t want to give up," Clark said. "We’ve had it the last three years, and the kids take a lot of pride in that. It might set not set the right tone going into sectionals if we lost."

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Rob Centorani can be reached at rcentorani@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 209.