CHANTILLY- Hanover lead-off hitter, senior third baseman Bryson Kemler, came into the state semifinals with a recent hitting record of two-for-the-postseason. In fact, Kemler had not reached base since picking up hits during the Capital District tournament. However, it was Kemler who blasted a pair of homeruns to create all of the scoring in a 3-0 Hawks’ win over Frank W. Cox High School.

“Going into it I had like two hits out of the whole post season,” Kemler said. “But that third at-bat I wasn’t thinking about it at all. I had a lot of confidence and was just able to get it done.”

Though Kemler had been struggling at the plate, Dragum said he hadn’t contemplated putting someone else in the lead-off slot. “You know it’s kind of funny, when you’re winning you don’t change the lineup a whole lot,” Dragum said. “This team has just kept winning so we just kept it the same, and leaving Bryson in that lead-off spot really helped us out.”

Though Kemler was not producing at the plate, his glove continued to prove deadly to opposing offenses throughout the tournament and he said the two do not correlate with one another. “It’s two different games at the plate and in the field,” he said. “You have to turn on different switches at different times. I’ve never had too much trouble getting my head cleared and shaking off things like that. This slump was kind of…I used it as motivation for tonight. I had to come through. I knew we needed this win to get to tomorrow, which is what we’ve been talking about forever.”

Ironically, Kemler looked as if he was going to continue his streak from the onset of the game. In his first two at-bats, Kemler flew-out to center and grounded-out to short.

But not to single out Kemler, no other hitter on either team was doing much. Through four innings of play, Falcon’s pitcher Ryan Matte had limited Hanover to a mere two hits.

Likewise, Hawks starter Jake Mayers was also holding the Falcons in check. Through three innings, Mayers had ceded two hits and carded four strikeouts.

But Mayers performance in the fourth and fifth innings was probably as demoralizing to Cox as it was nail-biting for Hanover.

Playing on a nearly all-turf field at Westfield High School, dew became a factor and Mayers had trouble containing control of the ball.

“When you’ve got this kind of moisture in the grass, as soon as it gets dark the moisture comes right up,” Dragum said. “We told our guys you’ve got to stay up. Keep your feet underneath you, stay on your feet.

“We didn’t bring our rosin bag, a bonehead play on us,” Dragum said. “But he (Mayers) was having a tough time gripping it tonight.”

“I don’t know, its slick,” Mayers said. “I’ve been having trouble with my curve ball, it wasn’t getting over because my finger was slipping. It was like straight. That ball felt slick to me.”

Chase Kyriacoi started a Cox rally by leading off with a single to short. Next Ryan Muncy sent a dribbler to short for a single when Beau Flinchum slipped on the dewy grass.  Then to make matters worse, Mayers hit the Falcon’s Austin Erb with a pitch to load the bases.

Cox gave every indication that they smelled blood in the water with the bags filled and no outs.

But unfortunately for the Falcons, they were still facing Mayers, who has been known throughout his career for his steel on the mound when in trouble.

Tyler Knight grounded a shot to third that Kemler scooped up and fired home to catch Kyraicoi. When Matte attempted a bunt, Hanover first baseman Austin Erb raced in out of nowhere to catch the bloop for out number two. Then Mayers got Brian Lee to go down swinging and the Falcons’ looked deflated at not picking up a single score out of the situation.

Cox was further discouraged in the top of the fifth when the Hawks’ Jared Lipscombe led off with a walk. But a strikeout by Flinchum and a fly-out to center by Thornton Glazebrook brought Kemler back to the plate. And with his recent batting history the prospects of Hanover extending the inning looked slim. But Kemler sent a shot blasting over the tall wall extension in center to push Lipscombe home and give Hanover a 2-0 lead.

For Kemler, it advice from Weymouth prior to going to the plate helped him out. “He said, ‘man on second, get the job done, get a run in,’ that’s what I was trying to do,” Kemler said. “The ball ended up going out.

“As I rounded first I saw the big fence and I thought, ‘Ooo I don’t know,’” Kemler said. “But after that it definitely felt good.”

But in the bottom of the inning, Mayers once again got into a jam. With one out, Kyle Profilet sent a shot to the wall in center for a double. Then Mayers hit Zac Bach with a pitch to put two Cox runners on base. But when Profilet attempted to steal third, Hanover catcher Jeb Weymouth sent a bullet to Kemler to make the tag.

Yet, Mayer got back in trouble when he walked Kyriacoi to put two runners on. But just like any pitcher of his experience should, Mayers got himself out of the pinch by striking out Muncy to end the inning.

With the score the same in the top of the seventh, Kemler came to the plate once again. This time facing reliever Richie Salter, Kemler ripped a shot over left for his second homer of the game and a 3-0 Hawks lead.

With closer Justin Thorn on the mound in the bottom of the seventh, Hanover quickly closed out the inning for the win and their first trip to the state championship game. There, Hanover will face a Menchville team that was ranked No. 1 in the nation earlier in the season.

Prior to Hanover’s game, Mayers got a chance to watch a few innings of Menchville’s 6-5 win over West Springfield. “From what we know they have some good pitching,” Mayers said of Sunday’s opponent. “There’s a reason why they’re here and why they’re in the state championship too. We’re just going to have to play tough, smart and hopefully score some runs.”

Dragum summed up the championship matchup. “I think we’re probably equal to them offensively, maybe have the edge offensively but I think they’ve got a big edge on the mound.”

The Hanover Coach said his team will face a tall task in beating Menchville but he did find and edge after the Hawks win over the Falcons. “They (Menchville) were ranked No. 1 in one poll, but Cox beat them.”

For Kemler, reaching the state championship game is a fitting culmination to a productive career. “It’s great. It’s unbelievable,” he said. “I’ve been to this point in football. We got to the state semis in ‘07 and got completely crushed. But it’s great getting over that hump and getting in the state championship game. It’s cloud nine right now.”

The two teams will face off on Sunday at 4 p.m. and the game can be heard live online at www.gamedaymagazine.com.

Hanover….......................... 000 020 1—3 5 1
Cox….................................. 000 000 0—0 6 0
J. Mayers, Thorn (7) and Weymouth. Mattes,
Salter (7) and Plymette. W: J. Mayers. HR:
Kemler 2 (H), fifth, one on, seventh, none on