HOLYOKE — All good things to those who wait.
In a never-give-an-inch Western Mass. championship, Greenfield and Lenox battled through three hours and 33 minutes of pulsating postseason baseball Saturday before the Green Wave pushed across the game-winning run in the bottom of the 17th inning, good for a 4-3 victory and the PVIAC Class C title at Mackenzie Stadium.
Malik Moore’s single scored Luca Siano with the winner for the second-seeded Wave (15-5), which copped its first sectional title since 2013.
Three times in extra innings Saturday, Greenfield fell behind and was forced to rally to prolong the action. Regulation play went scoreless before both teams plated single runs in the eighth, 12th, and 16th innings.
In the end, a simple rally did the job for the Wave in the home half of the 17th. Siano led off with a single down the right-field line and Arthur Fitzpatrick moved him along with a sacrifice bunt. Urijah Jenness then flied out to center as Siano took third, and Moore finished off the marathon with an RBI single to right-center.
“My first thought was to just put the ball in play, especially with a guy at third,” said Moore. “To do this as a senior, it’s just so crazy.”
Both starting pitchers, Arthur Fitzpatrick of Greenfield (8 2/3 innings) and Mason Daley of Lenox (9 2/3), threw 117 pitches in their outings. Then the two relievers were extended nearly as much, with Conner Bergeron going 8 1/3 for the Green Wave and Seamus Cooney seven for the Millionaires, and each threw 98 pitches.
“I’ve played extra innings, but I’ve never played 17. Either team could have won that game,” said Greenfield coach Tom Suchanek. “I haven’t seen it where three times (in extra innings), one team would score and then the other team would score. We happened to get the right hit at the right time.”
Prior to Saturday, the longest known Western Mass. baseball final by innings came in 1980, when Chicopee edged Taconic 4-3 in 15 innings to win the Division 1 crown.
Through the first seven scoreless innings, Lenox had the better and more dangerous chances but couldn’t cash in, leaving two men on base in the fourth, sixth, and seventh.
The breakthrough for the fifth-seeded Millionaires (12-7) came in the top of the eighth on a one-out single by Gavin Winger and an RBI double to deep left by Blake Hoff, before Fitzpatrick set down the next two hitters. Stung into action, the Wave then got a one-out single from Bergeron, who stole second and came in with the tying run when Zraunig doubled to deep left. Zraunig then went to third on a wild pitch, but was stranded 90 feet away when Daley recorded the last two outs.
Both teams put runners on in the ninth and 10th, with Greenfield barely missing out in a bases-loaded situation. Zraunig reached on an infield hit with two out, Siano doubled to left, and Fitzpatrick was intentionally walked before Jenness grounded out.
Lenox jumped back in front in the 12th after Bryce Hoff walked, stole second, and came in on Rob Bazinet’s base hit to right. The Green Wave then had to wait until two were out in their 12th to rally, thanks to a double by Zraunig and a throwing error on Siano’s ground ball to short.
Relievers Bergeron and Cooney then kept things fairly well under control in innings 13 through 15, but the Millionaires struck in the 16th on a leadoff walk to Kody Lesser, Jason Sibley’s sacrifice bunt, and a booming triple to right-center by Bryce Hoff, narrowly out of the reach of the diving Moore as he tracked back toward the fence.
Not to be outdone, Greenfield got a one-out walk for Bodie Burke, who stole second and continued to third on a wild throw. Bergeron then lifted a fly ball to center field to bring in Burke and make it 3-3.
A total of 430 pitches were thrown through 17 innings. Greenfield outhit Lenox, 16-9, and left 16 runners on base to the Millionaires’ 14. Zraunig and Nico Siano each had three hits for the Wave, with Moore, Luca Siano, and Jenness each contributing two. Bryce Hoff, Blake Hoff and Bazinet paced Lenox with two hits each.
“You go 17 innings, and you lose on a (single) after working that hard. It’s a tough loss,” said Lenox coach Bryan Maloy. “We were in it the whole way. One thing happens and it changes the game.”
“It’s one of the better high school games I’ve been involved with,” said Suchanek. “We lost in the final last year. It’s a good win, we’ll take it, and we’re gonna go home and enjoy it. Hopefully we’ve still got a bunch of games coming up.
Both teams have upcoming trips to the Division 5 state tournament to prep for. In the most recent power rankings, Greenfield checked in at No. 6 in the state and Lenox was 14th. State pairings will be released Monday.
Greenfield players celebrate their Western Mass. Class C baseball championship win against Lenox on Saturday at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke. 
Luca Siano (3) rushes the field with fellow Greenfield players after scoring the go-ahead run in the bottom of the 17th inning to win the Western Mass. Class C baseball championship 4-3 against Lenox on Saturday at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke. 
Greenfield players pose for team photos after their Western Mass. Class C baseball championship win against Lenox on Saturday at Mackenzie Stadium in Holyoke.
