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No baseball team in Section 4 has been hotter than Elmira High School over the last month. The Express upped the temperature in the Section 4 Class AAA championship series, completing a 2-0 sweep against Corning that took a total of 10 innings.
Elmira put away back-to-back sectional titles Thursday, May 28 with a 12-2, five-inning win at Corning-Painted Post High School. That came two days after a 10-0 opening win that also was called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
The top-seeded Express improved to 15-5 under first-year head coach Justin Fuchs while extending its winning streak to 13.
Elmira earned a third Section 4 title in the last four seasons and fourth overall since its inaugural season in 2012 following the mergers of teams at Elmira Free Academy and Southside.
Fuchs had a big smile after he was doused with a bucket of water while doing a postgame interview.
"This was the goal right from day one. We’re going to hopefully continue this on next week," he said a few minutes later.
"It was really nice to see the boys perform as well as they have, especially this second half of the season, when they really turned it on."
More: Top performers and results for Section 4 high school baseball in 2026
Left-hander Aedan Palmer tossed a 1-hitter with 10 strikeouts in Game 1. Logan DeMember dominated from the right side Thursday, also tossing a 1-hitter while allowing two unearned runs, striking out 11, and walking 3.
Fuchs said DeMember threw "a great game."
"I was really hoping they would let me go and do the whole game, and they did," DeMember said. "I was really happy because pitching, you get to be in on every single play. That’s really why I love pitching."
It was the ninth time during the winning streak Elmira limited its opponent to two runs or fewer.
"We know that we have two guys that we can roll out there anytime and a third that is probably a hair less intimidating, but just about as effective," Fuchs said. "We’re pretty fortunate this year to have some really good pitching."
More: Horseheads lacrosse stars eye title together before pursuing DI dreams
Elmira took control with a five-run second inning highlighted by a 3-run double that DeMember pulled into the right-field corner.
"When I went up to the plate I knew with two outs, bases loaded I had to do something," DeMember said. "I knew if he gave me a pitch I wasn’t going to miss it, and unfortunately he missed his spot."
The Express scored three runs with two outs in the top of the fifth to get into position to secure the title in the bottom of the frame. Aiden Ranck's 2-run double made it a 12-2 score.
Ranck finished 3-for-4, DeMember went 2-for-3 with 2 runs, and Jackson Cavalier was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Fuchs said a lot of players have come up big offensively in different games. Tuesday's win included a homer and 3 RBIs from Frankie D'Angelo. Noah Cain went 2-for-2 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs in that one.
More: Matchups and scores for the 2026 Section 4 baseball tournament
Fuchs pointed to a 9-5 loss to Ithaca on a day the Express came out flat as a game Elmira should have won. The Express started its 13-game streak two days later with a 10-1 victory over Ithaca, then posted a 2-0 win over defending Class AA state champion Horseheads.
DeMember acknowledged there was some frustration with Elmira's record sitting at 2-5, but nobody was down.
"Our coaches never gave up on us," he said. "Nobody on the team gave up. We all showed up to practice early, got extra work in."
Fuchs had been JV coach for 10 years before taking over the varsity program when longtime coach Jason Manwaring became assistant principal at Broadway Academy.
Elmira's collective work ethic is one thing that has stood out in Fuchs' first season.
"We started out in January working out at 6 o’clock in the morning. Every single one of them was there every single time," Fuchs said.
"They have no qualms about working hard and doing what they have to do to perform and get the results they want. The big thing was the resiliency this year when we hit that little rough spell. Coming back from Myrtle Beach they were resilient and came right back."
Elmira will take on Section 3's Liverpool or Syracuse Christian Brothers Academy in a New York State Public High School Athletic Association regional semifinal at 5 p.m. June 2.
While the site is listed as Waverly on the New York State Public High School Athletic Association website, Elmira athletic director Gary Mosher said after the game that was not finalized and the game could be played at another field in the Elmira-Corning region.
Last year Elmira lost 9-1 to Roy C. Ketcham in a sub-regional at Waverly.
"I really think that we can play with anybody, especially in the state, when we’re pitching and playing defense," DeMember said.
Follow Andrew Legare on X: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at [email protected]. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira dominated Corning in Section 4 AAA baseball championship series
Continue reading...
Elmira put away back-to-back sectional titles Thursday, May 28 with a 12-2, five-inning win at Corning-Painted Post High School. That came two days after a 10-0 opening win that also was called after five innings because of the 10-run rule.
The top-seeded Express improved to 15-5 under first-year head coach Justin Fuchs while extending its winning streak to 13.
Elmira earned a third Section 4 title in the last four seasons and fourth overall since its inaugural season in 2012 following the mergers of teams at Elmira Free Academy and Southside.
Fuchs had a big smile after he was doused with a bucket of water while doing a postgame interview.
"This was the goal right from day one. We’re going to hopefully continue this on next week," he said a few minutes later.
"It was really nice to see the boys perform as well as they have, especially this second half of the season, when they really turned it on."
More: Top performers and results for Section 4 high school baseball in 2026
DeMember continued Express pitching excellence
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Left-hander Aedan Palmer tossed a 1-hitter with 10 strikeouts in Game 1. Logan DeMember dominated from the right side Thursday, also tossing a 1-hitter while allowing two unearned runs, striking out 11, and walking 3.
Fuchs said DeMember threw "a great game."
"I was really hoping they would let me go and do the whole game, and they did," DeMember said. "I was really happy because pitching, you get to be in on every single play. That’s really why I love pitching."
It was the ninth time during the winning streak Elmira limited its opponent to two runs or fewer.
"We know that we have two guys that we can roll out there anytime and a third that is probably a hair less intimidating, but just about as effective," Fuchs said. "We’re pretty fortunate this year to have some really good pitching."
More: Horseheads lacrosse stars eye title together before pursuing DI dreams
DeMember's double keyed 5-run second inning
Elmira took control with a five-run second inning highlighted by a 3-run double that DeMember pulled into the right-field corner.
"When I went up to the plate I knew with two outs, bases loaded I had to do something," DeMember said. "I knew if he gave me a pitch I wasn’t going to miss it, and unfortunately he missed his spot."
The Express scored three runs with two outs in the top of the fifth to get into position to secure the title in the bottom of the frame. Aiden Ranck's 2-run double made it a 12-2 score.
Ranck finished 3-for-4, DeMember went 2-for-3 with 2 runs, and Jackson Cavalier was 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI.
Fuchs said a lot of players have come up big offensively in different games. Tuesday's win included a homer and 3 RBIs from Frankie D'Angelo. Noah Cain went 2-for-2 with a double, 2 runs, and 2 RBIs in that one.
More: Matchups and scores for the 2026 Section 4 baseball tournament
Lucky No. 13 for Elmira
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Fuchs pointed to a 9-5 loss to Ithaca on a day the Express came out flat as a game Elmira should have won. The Express started its 13-game streak two days later with a 10-1 victory over Ithaca, then posted a 2-0 win over defending Class AA state champion Horseheads.
DeMember acknowledged there was some frustration with Elmira's record sitting at 2-5, but nobody was down.
"Our coaches never gave up on us," he said. "Nobody on the team gave up. We all showed up to practice early, got extra work in."
Fuchs had been JV coach for 10 years before taking over the varsity program when longtime coach Jason Manwaring became assistant principal at Broadway Academy.
Elmira's collective work ethic is one thing that has stood out in Fuchs' first season.
"We started out in January working out at 6 o’clock in the morning. Every single one of them was there every single time," Fuchs said.
"They have no qualms about working hard and doing what they have to do to perform and get the results they want. The big thing was the resiliency this year when we hit that little rough spell. Coming back from Myrtle Beach they were resilient and came right back."
Up next
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Elmira will take on Section 3's Liverpool or Syracuse Christian Brothers Academy in a New York State Public High School Athletic Association regional semifinal at 5 p.m. June 2.
While the site is listed as Waverly on the New York State Public High School Athletic Association website, Elmira athletic director Gary Mosher said after the game that was not finalized and the game could be played at another field in the Elmira-Corning region.
Last year Elmira lost 9-1 to Roy C. Ketcham in a sub-regional at Waverly.
"I really think that we can play with anybody, especially in the state, when we’re pitching and playing defense," DeMember said.
Follow Andrew Legare on X: @SGAndrewLegare. You can also reach him at [email protected]. To get unlimited access to the latest news, please subscribe or activate your digital account today
This article originally appeared on Elmira Star-Gazette: Elmira dominated Corning in Section 4 AAA baseball championship series
Continue reading...
