Victor overwhelms Greece Athena to win Section V baseball title

There is a saying that it's not how you start, but how you finish to get the results you want.

But the beginning of the Section V Class AA baseball championship game Sunday seemed to have everything to do with the tournament final's ending.

The Victor Blue Devils gave three runs to their starting pitcher, Weston Elkovitch, to work with in the first inning and cruised to an 11-1 win over Greece Athena.

Victor is a champion again, the first title won by the Blue Devils since 2018. There were chances to end the title drought the previous two seasons, but the Blue Devils lost in the championship games, also at Innovative Field, home of the Rochester Red Wings professional affiliated minor league baseball team.

"I would say that we definitely wanted to set the tone right from the get-go," Victor second baseman Mitchell Schalberg said.

Elkovitch's Sunday seemed to have a less-than-ideal start. Too nervous, and probably excited, the senior who pitches and bats left-handed said he skipped breakfast.

"No appetite, that never happens either," Elkovitch said.

Elkovitch's day would get better. Make that much better.

Player of the game

Weston Elkovitch, Victor pitcher/designated hitter. A senior in his third sectional final with the Blue Devils, he pitched a seven inning-complete game and drove in four runs as a hitter.

The choice for the tournament Most Valuable Player award was easy to see.

Play of the game

Garrett Clar added an RBI-single with two out during the bottom of the bottom first inning with Victor already ahead 2-0.

By the numbers

2 – Runs scored for Victor before Clar's run-scoring single in the first, on RBI-singles by Elkovitch, who was at No. 3 in the team's batting order, and Jameson Ricigliano.

1 – Earned run allowed by Elkovitch. Athena's Sammy Saucke smacked a RBI-triple to left-center field.

4 – Hits by Greece Athena, including a pair by Derrick Allen.

9 – Trojans struck out by Elkovitch, who also picked off a runner at first base during the first inning, when two of Athena's first three batters reached base.

3 – Hits by Elkovitch, all singles that drove in one or two runs.

2 - Hits by Schalberg, who played second base in the field.

3 – Runs scored by the Victor Blue Devils in the bottom of the fourth inning.

They said it

• "When you're the visiting team, you want to get runs on the board," Greece Athena coach Tim Sova said.
• "These boys wanted it starting in January," Victor senior second baseman Mitchell Schalberg said.
• "They keep the pressure on. They don't give away a lot, they make you battle for everything. Elkovitch threw strikes, they don't give anything for free. They played great baseball," Sova said.
• "I was a little nervous today. I wasn't after the first pitch. It all died down," Victor senior pitcher/designated hitter Weston Elkovitch said.
• "I didn't have much off-speed stuff (among my pitches) but I had my fastball. I knew I could locate it up and down," Elkovitch said.
• "I wish we could've won it last year. We wanted to win it for those boys too," Victor catcher Drew Stagnitto said.
• "Whenever he's got a lead we know we are in good hands," Stagnitto said about Elkovitch.
• "We're playing here . . . It's just amazing. You have to soak it all in," Stagnitto said about winning a championship in a professional stadium.

Victor advances into to the regional round of the Class AA state tournament. The Blue Devils face Clarence, the Section VI or Buffalo region champion, at 4 p.m. Saturday at Grand Island High.