ON TAP TODAY: WAVERLY BASEBALL PLAYS FOR FIRST SECTION IV TITLE SINCE 2013 (2022-05-27)

Valley Sports Report
THE VALLEY — There’s only one game on the docket Friday as the 2022 spring season winds to a close, but it’s a big one as Waverly plays for its first Section IV baseball title since 2013.

Mother Nature, however, will likely play a factor as rain is in the forecast for the entirety of the day.

BASEBALL
Section IV Playoffs
Class B Championship
@ Mirabito Stadium, Binghamton
6-Waverly (12-9) vs. 4-Oneonta (12-6), 1 p.m.: The Wolverines are coming off an 11-1 six-inning win over seventh-seeded Chenango Valley in the semifinals Wednesday, while the Yellowjackets edged ninth-seeded Greene-Oxford, 8-7.

There is a great deal of postseason history between these two teams in the last 11 years, with Oneonta winning four of the five postseason meetings.

Oneonta eliminated Waverly from the Class B playoffs in the semifinals in 2011 and 2012. They ousted the Wolverines in the quarterfinals in 2016 and 2018.

In between — in 2013, Waverly won its first-ever Section IV title, topping Oneonta, 6-4, in the Class B finals. Dylan Perry, now an Athens assistant coach, pitched a complete game to earn the win. He allowed four solo home runs, including three by Chris Pindar.

The Wolverines opened the postseason with a 4-0 win over Susquehanna Valley in the quarterfinals. Patric Bronson, now the Waverly JV coach, fanned 13 in a four-hit shutout and hit a two-run home run.

Waverly rallied to beat top-seeded Chenango Valley, 9-6, in the semifinals, Bronson gave up five runs — two earned — in the first inning, then allowed just one run on two hits over the next 5 1/3 innings to earn the win. Perry picked up the save.