Eastchester may not have played its most dominant game of the year on Wednesday afternoon, but it very well might have played its gutsiest. In a do-or-die Class A quarterfinal contest against No. 11-seeded Yorktown, the No. 3 Eagles staved off a fierce challenge from the upstart Huskers, getting timely hits and a big-time pitching performance to pull out a 5-4 victory and earn a spot in the Class A final four.

Sophomore third baseman Aidan Schultz collected the game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth inning, lacing a single to left field to bring in Mike Rinaldi from second, breaking a 4-4 tie and ultimately putting the Eagles on top for good.

For Schultz, who also dazzled with his play in the field, excelling in high-pressure situations—especially as an underclassman—ultimately came down to never letting the big moments become too big. 

“Late in the game, runner at second base, I’m trying to get him in, but I’m not trying to do too much,” explained Schultz. “I just tried to keep my hands back and adjust to the one I saw; I got one I liked and drove it through the six-hole.”

That mental toughness wasn’t limited to Eastchester’s plate appearances, either. Despite jumping out to an early 4-0 lead—thanks in part two a two-RBI day from AJ DiBenedetto—the Eagles found the Huskers to be unwilling to go down quietly. In the top of the fourth inning, Yorktown—which had advanced to the quarterfinals by outlasting No. 6-seeded Harrison in a 1-0 extra-innings affair on Tuesday afternoon—rallied to knot the score on a combination of hits and Eagle miscues. 

From that point on, however, senior right-hander Chris Howard—who earned the win with a complete game, 85-pitch, six-hit outing—managed to buckle down and escape any further damage, including a seventh-inning scare that saw the Huskers load the bases. 

Howard acknowledged that his faith in the Eastchester defense allowed him to navigate through the pesky Yorktown lineup with confidence.

“They were hitting me all day, but I knew I had seven good guys behind me,” said Howard. “I knew I just had to keep the ball down and not give up the big hit.”

With the win, Eastchester (16-3-1) has earned a trip to the Class A semifinals, a double-elimination affair that will begin with them facing familiar foe Rye on Saturday afternoon at Disbrow Park. Eastchester topped the No. 2 Garnets for a league title this year, beating Rye twice during the regular season, something Howard believes should give the team some confidence heading into its next challenge.

“We know who’s going for us, our other ace Joey Sabia, and we know what we’re going to get out of him; I’m assuming they’re going to throw [Derek] Woods, and if they do, great,” said Howard. “We’ve beat them twice already, we can do it again, and we’re ready.”

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