Friends Academy loses to Valhalla in state regional

Down to their last gasp, with a runner on first and down by a single run with two outs in the last of the seventh, Friends Academy's Peter Kaplan's hit a line drive into leftfield that appeared likely to score tying run Shon Butani.

The liner would be caught up in the wind and squeezed for the final out, as Long Island Champion Friends Academy lost, 6-5, to Valhalla Tuesday in the finals of the New York southeast regional at Farmingdale State College. A win would have given the Quakers their first state semifinal berth since 2005

After narrowing the lead to one in the seventh on catcher Chris Crowley's 6-3 double play groundout, a hit by Kaplan likely would have placed the momentum squarely in Friends' favor.

"I thought it would be a gapper," Friends coach Marshall Lindner said. "But the ball just held in the wind a bit."

Holtz would pitch the complete game, striking out two and allowing eight hits and 17 ground ball outs. "His pitches had some movement on it, and he had a great performance," said Crowley, who went 2-for-4 with a run.

Mark Demilio sparked the Valhalla offense with a two-out, two-RBI triple that broke a tie at 2 in the top of the fourth. Bob Ieraci was 2-for-4, including a two-out single to keep the fourth inning rally alive.