BINGHAMTON – Oxford’s rise to prominence in Section IV baseball didn’t happen overnight. It was a steady climb for the Blackhawks who forged their skills on the baseball diamond at the beginning of this decade in Little League. A dream of a championship, born several years ago, became a reality for those one-time youngsters. Now young men, Oxford’s baseball team captured its first sectional baseball title since 1981 beating Candor, 13-8, Thursday at Conlon Field.
The Blackhawks will play Cooperstown Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Conlon Field or Union-Endicott High School in the first round of the state playoffs. The Redskins blanked Fabius-Pompey, 8-0.
“We’ve been working toward this goal for a long time,” said Ben Burdick, one of nine seniors on the winning Blackhawks. “Every time we stepped on the basketball court, we saw the banner from 1981. That was a long time ago, and we needed to win another one.”
Burdick was just one of several hitting stars for Oxford, who compiled a 14-hit attack in its most prolific offensive support in several weeks. It came at the right time with Candor’s hot-hitting lineup consistently pressuring Oxford starter Steve Locke. Locke earned his 10th win of the season needing 100 pitches over six innings, while giving up five runs – two earned – matching the high against him this season. “I know Steve wouldn’t admit it, but I think his arm had to be a little sore today,” said Oxford head coach Chris Palmer. “Candor is just a good hitting team. They hit the ball hard against us or put it in play with hard hits. Steve was able to gut it out for us.”
For the third straight playoff game, Oxford gave up the early lead. Two errors in the first inning led to RBI singles by Scott Williams and Ryan Cleveland.
Oxford (20-3) answered that deficit with expediency erasing the advantage after Burdick’s RBI double to score Pat Wade, and Nate Sortino’s fielder’s choice that plated Jake Vincent.
After Candor put across one in the second, the Blackhawks’ bats unloaded with a four-run, four-hit second to grab the lead for good.
