Knights Knock Off Falcons, Advance to State Semis

The Frontier Falcons’ run through the postseason came to an end on Saturday as they fell to the McQuaid Jesuit Knights in the Far West Regionals.

The 2-1 final score did nothing to dampen the Falcons’ spirits, however. Despite the loss, the team had a lot to be proud of – notably defying their status as a sixth seed to win a sectional title – and coach Mike Morlock said that he couldn’t have been prouder of a team that he had coached.

“We hadn’t been in that sectional title game in 10 years,” coach Mike Morlock said. “Probably three or four games into the season absolutely nobody thought that we would be in this game, much less win Section VI. We did both and almost moved on to states.

“Our players did exactly what we asked them to do and played the game with respect to their opponent and the game. I’ve got four great assistant coaches who take care of almost everything for me and let me basically manage. Those guys do everything from calling pitches to setting lineups. They’re fantastic and they make my job much easier. Our seniors gave us some really good leadership too.”

The first five innings of the contest saw hurlers Connor Eisenmann and Hunter Walsh engage in a pitcher’s duel. Neither side was willing to give in, as Walsh finished with nine strikeouts and one walk – allowing just one run on five hits – and Eisenmann gave up two runs on five hits with five strikeouts of his own.

“Connor has come leaps and bounds from the beginning of the season,” Morlock said. “Right now, he’s one of the best righthanders in Western New York. I think any college coach who watches him could tell you that. He’s only going to get better because he’s a workaholic and that’s how he’s gotten to where he’s at right now.”

No one was able to get on the board until Ben Beauchamp recorded an RBI single in the top of the sixth inning. After Beauchamp stole second base and moved up to third on a flyout to right centerfield, Tyler Griggs laid down a suicide squeeze bunt to score the eventual game-winning run.

Dan Dlugosz walked in the bottom of the sixth and got the Falcons to within one when Ben Taylor singled and drove him home, but the Falcons couldn’t muster any more offense afterwards. Still, Morlock was looking forward to the upcoming spring and joked that he was already thinking about possible batting orders.

“I’m ready to go for next year,” Morlock said. “I’ll have a lineup down on paper tonight… We had three of our younger kids up from JV so they got the experience of the playoffs. We’re going to be fine.”