Rye and Yorktown entered the final inning tied on Wednesday before the Garnets exploded for eight runs in the seventh for an 11-3 road win.
The victory was the first against a Class AA opponent since Rye (2-2) moved up from Class A this year. The seventh-inning meltdown adds to the woes of Yorktown (1-4), which is off to a slow start after going 19-4 and earning the top seed in the Section 1 Class AA bracket a year ago.
Rye’s big inning started with a single by Michael Bubeck, who scored the go-ahead run after Yorktown walked the next three batters, giving Rye a 4-3 lead. Junior Luke Ontaneda, senior Jackson Pineault, senior Lucas London, and junior Ben Fineberg all singled to suddenly push the lead to 10-3.
The Garnets batted around in the inning, and Bubeck got on base once again with a walk. Senior Michael Talbott doubled to drive in Rye’s final run, and the inning finally ended when Bubeck was thrown out at home.
Despite the eight-run margin of victory, Rye actually trailed early on, falling behind 2-0 before tying the score in the second. Sophomore pitcher Clayton McCarthy allowed two runs in the first inning, one earned and one unearned, before blanking the Huskers in the second and third.
Yorktown reclaimed the lead, 3-2 in the fourth. Rye quickly evened the score in the top of the fifth, when senior Nolan Hutson doubled and was driven in on a sac fly by senior Jamie Morris.
London got the final seven outs of the game, allowing just one hit and two walks with two strikeouts.
Rye plays again at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday at Byram Hills, which is off to a 3-1 start after going 11-9 last year. The Garnets’ home opener is 2 p.m. Saturday against New Rochelle, a Class AAA team that is 0-2.
