05/24/06
Edmeston, Afton earn top seeds in Class D
Staff Report
Defending Class D state baseball champion Edmeston and 11-time defending Section Four Class D softball champion Afton earned top seeds for the upcoming Section Four Tournaments.
The seeds for 10 tournaments — five classifications in baseball and softball — were released Tuesday by Section Four.
The Panthers, who have won two straight Class D titles, are looking to bounce back from Monday’s 9-7 loss to Cherry Valley-Springfield in the Tri-Valley League title game.
"It’s a new season," said Edmeston coach Mike Clark, whose 16-3 team opens at home against 16th-seeded Milford (6-10) on Thursday in a first-round game. "We won’t have the league championship banner, so we’ll have to go fo[an error occurred while processing this directive]r the section. Our boys are good at bouncing back. I look forward to good things in sectionals."
Fifth-seeded CV-S (12-3) plays host to No. 12 seed Schenevus in a first-round Class D game Thursday.
Delaware League champion Roxbury is seeded third and plays 14th-seeded Afton (3-13) at home Friday.
Perhaps the most interesting bracket is Class A, where Oneonta High (15-5) is seeded fourth and plays host to fifth-seeded Owego (8-15) on Thursday.
The Indians dealt Chenango Valley — the state’s top-ranked Class B school — its lone loss this season.
Johnson City (15-5) is the top seed, but the Jackets beat the Wildcats, 8-4, early in the season.
Oneonta coach Joe Hughes said he feels comfortable with starting pitchers Kyle Donnelly and Donny Potter.
"We have two one-and-a-halves," Hughes said of his top two pitchers. "You have to have good pitching and I feel very confident with Kyle and Donny. They’ll certainly give us a chance to compete."
In Class B, Midstate Athletic Conference Division I champion Unatego (15-5) is the highest-seeded area team at fourth. Sidney (14-6) is sixth.
The Spartans have a first-round bye. The Warriors open Thursday at home against 11th-seeded Newark Valley (6-10).
MAC champion Walton (13-2-1) is seeded fifth in Class C and plays host to No. 12 Newfield (7-11) on Thursday.
Delhi, the No. 10 seed, faces No. 7 Groton (13-8) on Thursday at Greene.
In softball, the Crimson Knights (19-2) are looking for their 12th consecutive Section Four Class D title. They have a first-round bye and will play either eighth-seeded Roxbury or ninth-seeded Laurens in a quarterfinal on May 30.
Tri-Valley champion Edmeston (14-3) earned the fourth seed. It opens against 13th-seeded Downsville (9-8) on Friday.
Delaware League champ Davenport (13-3), the fifth seed, plays Friday against visiting Schenvenus (8-7), which is seeded 12th.
Third-seeded South Kortright (14-2), which lost to Afton, 3-0, in the semifinals last season, opens at home Thursday against No. 14 Morris (7-7).
"We look pretty good for sectionals and I’m looking forward to that," South Kortright coach Jim Austin said after losing to Davenport in the Delaware League championship on Tuesday. "It’s a whole new season. We’ll be OK."
The lone area teams in the Class C bracket are No. 8 seed Bainbridge-Guilford and No. 9 Delhi, and they play each other in a first-round game Friday at B-G.
The winner gets top-seeded Harpursville in a quarterfinal May 30.
In Class B, Sidney (13-5) is seeded ninth and Unatego (9-8) is 13th.
