In Class D State Semis, Section III’s Oriskany pulls away from Eagles, evade last chance rally to end Fillmore’s amazing Spring with 5-2 win at Binghamton U; team concludes at 15-8

BINGHAMTON — The Susquehanna River is the longest river of its kind centralized from within the Eastern Seaboard, stretching from as far north as the birthplace of baseball in Cooperstown, to as far south towards a place where you will find many, many fishermen basking in the surrounding beauty on the water — the Chesapeake Bay.

Of the numerous twists and turns that the historic river completes in a nearly-450 mile elongation, the city of Binghamton was amongst one of many pit stops over the course of its travels. If you look on your typical geographical map, the river proceeds to split the Parlor City in half.

From within each section, a point of interest for baseball fans alike: Binghamton University on the southwestern side just as you exit off of Interstate-86, and further up the road, Mirabito Stadium — home of the Rumble Ponies, off to the northeast, occupying downtown. The two baseball institutions also serve as the final two destinations for many elite high school baseball teams across the Empire State this Spring.

This past weekend, it was the end of the line.

After an incredible run through the Sectional postseason that featured three victories right at the closure of the game’s book — two of them in extra innings, and their last in walk-off fashion against Franklinville in Newark last weekend, the Fillmore Eagles became one of Class D’s four teams left standing. They were now within a stone’s throw from capturing New York State glory in what was their first ever trip.

Allegany County’s last team standing has become as resilient of a bunch as any. With their backs against the wall, no matter the situation that arises, the Section V, Class D champion Eagles have figured out a way to work their way out of it, each and every time.

Because of their hard-working efforts right from the start, they received the golden ticket to grace the stage at the home of the Bearcats come Friday night, on the very last weekend of the sports year.

Their opposition? As tough as any foe they have crossed paths with all season — the Oriskany Skyhawks of Section III, a team that has held the top rank in Class D almost the entire length of the year. As the clock progressed onwards throughout the day, the Skyhawks and Eagles were the final two teams to be seated at the State Semifinal table, at Binghamton University under the lights.

Just a tad after 7 p.m. when warm-ups concluded, it was time.

The Eagles locked horns with the Skyhawks through much of their fierce fight, with both teams combining for just one run through a three-hit scatter in the first four innings of play. Getting the first run of the game was an important task, and it was one that Oriskany had fulfilled early on to gain the upper hand against Fillmore.

Despite it, the Eagles continued to battle, to fight, to claw, everything to keep themselves within reach. Although Oriskany doubled their advantage entering the homestretch, Fillmore escalated their resilience by assembling a late stage effort to tweak the pressure on the Skyhawks instantly, carving the deficit in half in the bottom of the sixth inning.

But just as soon as they opened the door, the Skyhawks swooped down and emphatically slammed it right shut.

With a seventh inning of epic proportions.

Up 2-1 and the game hanging in the balance entering the final at-bats for each side, Oriskany made the most of it entirely, scratching three gigantic runs across home plate — two of them on an inside-the-park home run from Sean Graziano that ultimately served as the dagger for the Skyhawks and their trip to the Class D State Championship game the following day, as they ended Fillmore’s amazing 2025 Spring season with a 5-2 victory.

“It’s hard to show up here and not get caught up in the moment,” said Eagles coach Kaiden Bowers. “Everyone says all year that you’re just lucky to be here, but the guys battled. And they knew, with it being a 2-1 game going into the seventh, we could play. The boys should be incredibly proud of everything they’ve done for the last three months. They have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about. This group was really, really special. Rarely does it take a first time trip to States to win it, and it takes losing these tough games to get that experience and feel comfortable for the next time we get here. There’s a lot to be so proud and be positive about with this group.”

It was a relatively quiet progression for both offenses through the first four innings, with Oriskany holding a 2-1 edge in hits. After a quick first inning between both teams was handled by their stud pitchers on the hill — Eddie Wright and Damon Potter, respectively, with Potter garnering a rapid-fire 1-2-3 of the Skyhawks in the top of the first before Wright sheltered the Fillmore bats in return with a quick 1-2-3 following Jared Boon’s lead-off single up the middle.

In the top of the second however, Oriskany was the first to reach the board following two quick outs by the Eagles defense, posting back-to-back clutch hits — the latter of the pair off the bat of Dawson Foss into right field that drove home Jack Mason to break the ice with a 1-0 advantage.

Although Fillmore went on to add two more baserunners, both via walk, through the next scoreless strand of frames, Oriskany continued to hold the Eagles offense at a standstill going into the homestretch of battle.

In the top of the fifth, the momentum shifted for the Skyhawks in their appearance at the plate. With runners at second and third, a hard hit shot from Dean Koenig clipped the waiting glove of Brayden Hennard at third base and into left field to plate the lead runner, doubling their advantage.

With the deficit growing larger, the Eagles needed to act quickly.

Despite Wright striking out the Fillmore side for a second time in the bottom of the fifth, the Section V champions rebounded in a big way, by way of James Hillman’s at-bat in the sixth, as he leveled a full-count pitch right through third base gap and into left field. With Jared Boon already occupying second base, he rode his high horse all the way home to trim the Oriskany lead straight in half.

But just as Fillmore inched closer to the Skyhawks, the Section III Champions instantly restored their buffer zone. And much more.

The devastating blow was delivered in the top of the seventh for Oriskany, with a series of errant throws from the Fillmore defense amidst the light rainfall granting access to third base for their lead runner. On the next at-bat, Wright delivered with an RBI single up the middle to hand the Skyhawks their two-run lead back again.

Later on, Sean Graziano then took care of business with perhaps the most damaging swing of them all — an inside-the-park, two-run home run that dropped to the base of the right field wall behind Braylon Hatch, sending the Oriskany dugout into an absolute frenzy with a 5-1 lead. The largest advantage of the night.

Fillmore was not even close to being down and out for the count despite the tremendous sequence from the Skyhawks, as they remained poised to climb back into it with their heart of the order coming to hit. With a Jack Boon walk and a single from Connor McCumiskey placing two quick runners on base, Kalen Beardsley delivered the team’s second RBI on a pinch-hit grounder to the left side of the Oriskany infield.

But the one seventh inning run ultimately did not suffice for the Eagles, as Oriskany held on to conclude Fillmore’s incredible postseason run with the eventual three-run victory.

“Everything in the last three weeks has prepared us for this,” said Bowers. “Even when we were down, we knew that we were continuing to have good at-bats. I’ve said the whole time, we’re a team that’s going to continue to go pitch-by-pitch. Even though he held us to one hit for most of the game, it felt like that Arkport-Canaseraga game. We were still in it. When a guy gets on base, we start to roll with that momentum a little bit. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough. It was too big of a hole in the end.”

The following day, the Skyhawks went on to become Class D State Champions with a dominant 9-2 victory over Section II’s North Warren downtown at Mirabito Stadium.

As for the Eagles, they totaled their two runs off three hits. On the mound, Damon Potter went all seven innings in what was his very last time on the mound for the green and black, striking out four and walking three.

The magical postseason ride, and the Spring season on the diamond is now officially history for Fillmore, as they wrap up with a record of 15-8 overall. In just two seasons with Bowers at the helm, the Eagles soared from a 9-9 finish last season to a State Final Four appearance in the next. When he looked back, the second-year Eagles coach remained in utter disbelief at the turnaround.

All despite a similar finish perhaps looming in the distance, at the closure of the regular season.

“What’s crazy is that at this point of the season, with three or four regular season games to play, we could have very well finished 9-9 again,” Bowers said. “We were at the point where we had some tough games to end the year, and I’m thinking back at how unbelievable this has been. It could have gone one or two ways, and that’s when the team dug in and showed that they didn’t have any quit in them. They weren’t ready to be done playing baseball. It has been absolutely amazing to watch.”

The Eagles will go on to graduate just four seniors when the time to walk across the stage arrives in two weeks, bidding farewell to Jack Boon, Brayden Hennard, Kalen Beardsley and their ace on the mound in Potter — a pitcher that Bowers says, will be irreplaceable.

But despite the losses, the program remains confident in continuing where they will leave off from this Spring, with a tremendous youth presence featuring eighth grader Liam McCumiskey, two freshmen: Avery Potter and Jared Boon, as well as a bushel of sophomores in a return back into the fold once again.

“He’s just a competitor. Everything he had out there for the last three, four starts for us, he’s put it all out there. His arm is probably hanging, but he would never tell me that. He wants the ball. That’s just who he is. He is an absolutely irreplaceable athlete,” said Bowers. “Your seniors are always your leaders, right? They’re the ones who have the most experience, and those guys are like my steady guys. It’s crazy that none of them are the raw, raw high energy type of being. They lead by example. Those four guys are the glue that kind of keeps everybody not too high, not too low. There’s a lot that can be said about that leadership. We had an eighth grader in the starting lineup, two freshmen and a handful of sophomores. I’m really excited. The best is still yet to come.”

Oriskany 010 010 3 – 5 6 0

Fillmore 000 001 1 – 2 3 2

ORI – Eddie Wright (WP) (CG, 8K, 4BB) and Nick Hays.

FIL – Damon Potter (LP) (CG, 4K, 3BB) and Connor McCumiskey.