The Columbia baseball team won the Class A State Championship on Saturday afternoon, defeating Walter Panas 5-1 at Binghamton University. The team’s bus was welcomed home later in the day with an impromptu parade led by East Greenbush police and firetrucks.
Blue Devils pitcher Elias Conway controlled the game, tossing six innings and allowing just one unearned run on five hits. He struck out seven.
The Blue Devils offense provided run support early with two runs in the first inning off a single from Jacob Skarlis and a double by John DelGrosso. Steven Heller drove in two more runs with a double in the second inning.
“The seniors are the heart of the team,” Columbia head coach Chris Dedrick told the Times Union after the game. “We have a lot of senior starters, and we have role guys who’ve been on our bench all year, who understood their role, cheered our team on, and they become maybe some of the most important players on our team. This is what happens when you stick together.”
Congratulations!