TROY - On Friday, Saratoga was 6 outs away from pulling off the Class AAA Sectional Championship in Baseball. 

Then Shen's bats woke up.  Cooper Reinisch came off the bench as a pinch hitter and hit a grand slam as the Plainsmen reversed a 3-0 deficit and would go on to win Game 2, 10-3.

The win created a Winner Takes All Game 3 on Sunday at Joe Bruno Stadium in Troy.

And early on, you could tell who had the momentum.

Shenendehowa took advantage of some early singles and took a 4-0 lead in the 1st inning, and tacked on two more runs in the second inning.  Then every time Saratoga tried to claw back, Shenendehowa would halt the threat and add to their lead, as the Plainsmen completed the reverse sweep and claimed the Class AAA Baseball title over Saratoga by winning 9-4.

And it all started at the top of the Shen lineup, Evan Kochanskyj.  The Center Fielder was on base all four times, hitting singles and driving in runs.  He began rallies and capitalized on opportunities, as Shen built their leads.  But it wasn't just him.  Ian Oehschlaeger contributed as the #3 hitter, and Brad Curtis did what he could on both sides of the field - as batter and as pitcher. 

On the mound, Curtis had faced the minimum of batters going into the third inning, with the lone walk he gave up in the 1st inning wiped out as the following hitter grounded one to the shortstop who turned the 6-4-3 double play to retire the side. 

He would go 5 innings, only really getting into trouble in the 3rd inning when Saratoga would half the deficit from 6 to 3.

But the Shenendehowa lead was too much for Saratoga to overcome, as late game heroics would be squished by a fast delivering Collin Barry, who kept the Blue Streaks off the board in the 6th and 7th innings.

The win marks title #10 for the Plainsmen, the first in the newly created Class AAA.   Shenendehowa next goes on to the State Regionals, where they will travel to Onondaga Community College to face CBA Syracuse on Saturday, June 1st.   A trip to the state semifinals in Binghamton the following weekend will be on the line there.