2026 STAC Baseball Playoffs
Varsity
Semi-finals and Championship on Saturday, May 16 at Mirabito Stadium
Admission: $5 (10/under and 60/over FREE)
Semi-finals (home team listed 2nd):
10:00 am - (Metro: 12-3, 13-4) Vestal vs. (Central: 15-0, 17-1) Waverly
1:00 - (East: 11-3, 13-5) Oneonta vs. (West: 12-2, 13-5) Horseheads
The first Semi-final matchup of the day will feature Metro champion Vestal defending their STAC Championship against first time Central division champion Waverly. These teams met up on April 18 in a non-league tilt, won by Waverly on the road 9-7. The Wolverines scored seven of their runs in the 3rd and 4th innings. A little bit of wildness on the mound and errors on defense led to some runs in the 3rd, and a Jack Pipher double brought in more runs in the 4th. With a 9-4 lead going into the bottom of the 7th, Vestal loaded the bases with one out, then Canyon Kalina cleared them with a double to make it 9-7 before a flyout ended it. Vestal didn’t let the loss linger, and they proceeded to win 9 of their last 11 games, including sweeps of Johnson City and Union-Endicott. The sweep over rival U-E was especially impressive, winning by a combined 28-0. Parker Terrell started things off with a one-hitter on 12 strikeouts, Josh Kweller and Keegan Magill combined to win the second game, and Landon Pancoast (6 innings) and Spencer Griffiths (1 inning) teamed up to throw a no-hitter in the last game. That’s about as dominate a week of baseball as you’ll find. The Golden Bears also won two of three from Maine-Endwell, a team that played for a State Championship a year ago. To top it off, the high point of the season came in an 8-0 win over Owego on Monday at Mirabito Stadium that featured a no-hitter by Terrell and Coach Tank Anderson’s 500th career win. Amazing! Waverly comes in red hot with seven consecutive wins. Their only loss of the season was a non-league game against Montoursville, Pennsylvania. They followed up that loss with a 4-0 week that included three wins over Owego and one over East champion Oneonta. In the Oneonta victory, #3 hitter Ronin Ault had three hits including a homer and drove in five. Sam Cheresnowsky, hitting in the last spot of the order, had a double and a pair of RBIs. An 18-2 win over Chenango Forks on Thursday was led by Hogan Shaw at the top of the order reaching base four times with four runs scored. That’s a sign of a well-rounded team when contributions can come from any spot of the order. Like their softball team, Waverly will look to win their first STAC Championship after joining the league in the 2023-2024 school year. Vestal seeks back-to-back titles for their 14th overall.
The second matchup of the day is a rematch from last year’s Semi-finals. West champion Horseheads, the defending Class AA State Champions, defeated East champion Oneonta 10-2 before falling to Vestal 3-2 in the Championship game. This season, the Blue Raiders have challenged themselves with games in Myrtle Beach over Spring Break in addition to the tough schedule vs. West and Metro opponents. After dropping a pair of games at the end of April, they’ve gone 5-0 in the month of May that includes a sweep of Ithaca and a 2-1 win over Maine-Endwell. In the M-E victory, Hunter Matkosky tied the game at one with an RBI single, and the winning run scored when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. Mason Markle was terrific in going the distance and allowing only one unearned run. Markle, AJ Sheehan, and Chase Mashanic all recently teamed up to blank Ithaca in consecutive games. Oneonta was tied with Horseheads 2-2 in the 3rd inning of last year’s game before a four-spot by the Blue Raiders helped them pull away. The Yellowjackets have won seven of their last eight, with their lone loss in that stretch to Waverly. Five of those wins were from allowing two runs or less, which shows the depth of their pitching staff. In a 6-inning mercy rule 12-0 win over Chenango Valley on Monday, Nolan Stark threw a no-hitter with nine strikeouts. Stark also pitched a complete game, two-hit shutout on May 4 in a 2-0 win over Susquehanna Valley. The offense can also carry the load, such as in a recent 13-4 win over SV. Stark hit leadoff and got on base all five times, scoring three times and driving in five. Chase Jervis and Grayson Brockington each had two hits and two RBIs. Oneonta will play as the road team, so perhaps a quick start could put some pressure on Horseheads. A victory by Oneonta would give them their 5th STAC title. Horseheads will look to make it back-to-back and 10 STAC titles overall.
Championship at 4:00 with larger enrollment as home team!
JV
Semi-finals at the higher seeds
Semi-final #1 on Thursday, May 14 - (Metro) Vestal 14 - (East) Susquehanna Valley 2
Semi-final #2 on Friday, May 15 - (West: 10-3, 11-3) Corning at (Central: 15-1, 15-2) Owego, 5:00
Championship at the larger enrollment (Date TBD)!
Varsity Previous Champions:
2025: Vestal d. Horseheads 3-2
2024: Owego d. Oneonta 8-0
2023: Union-Endicott d. Oneonta 18-3
2022: Horseheads d. Union-Endicott 10-6
2021: No playoffs due Covid-19
2020: No playoffs due to Covid-19
2019: Horseheads d. Vestal 2-0
2018: Corning d. Union-Endicott 6-3
2017: Vestal d. Ithaca 2-1
2016: Horseheads d. Union-Endicott 6-1
2015: Vestal d. Corning 8-3
2014: Corning d. Union-Endicott 7-4
2013: Horseheads d. Vestal 10-1
2012: Oneonta d. Johnson City 10-2
2011: Oneonta d. Ithaca 7-2
2010: Horseheads d. Maine-Endwell 22-9
2009: Vestal d. Ithaca 16-2
2008: Horseheads d. Maine-Endwell 6-4
2007: Vestal d. Horseheads 6-2 (9 inn.)
2006: Chenango Valley d. Vestal 3-2
2005: Horseheads d. Binghamton 8-7
2004: Union-Endicott d. Susquehanna Valley 11-4
2003: (No playoffs)
2002: Chenango Valley d. Vestal 2-1
2001: Horseheads d. Union-Endicott 7-5
2000: Horseheads d. Union-Endicott 13-11
1999: Owego d. Union-Endicott 8-7
1998: Vestal d. Owego 8-7
1997: Vestal & Union-Endicott (no game)
1996: (No playoffs)
1995: Maine-Endwell d. Vestal (extra innings)
1994: Ithaca d. Vestal 3-2
1993: (No playoffs)
1992: Union-Endicott d. Vestal 4-2
1991: Vestal d. Union-Endicott 7-6
1990: Oneonta d. Union-Endicott 6-4
1989: Union-Endicott d. Maine-Endwell 9-3
1988: Union-Endicott d. Chenango Forks 9-7
1987: Vestal d. Seton 7-6
1986: Union-Endicott d. Vestal 18-5
1985: Oneonta d. Union-Endicott 5-3
1984: Seton d. Union-Endicott 4-3
1983: Union-Endicott d. Vestal 10-7
1982: Union-Endicott d. Johnson City 12-3
1981: Union-Endicott d. Binghamton North 14-6
1980: Seton d. Union-Endicott 4-2
1979: Union-Endicott d. Oneonta 4-2
1978: Johnson City d. Ithaca 8-4
1977: Ithaca d. Johnson City 2-1
1976: Vestal d. Chenango Valley 6-5 (8 inn.)
1975: Ithaca d. Chenango Valley 3-2
1974: Maine-Endwell d. Oneonta 5-3
1973: Ithaca d. Johnson City 3-2 (9 inn.)
1972: Vestal d. Catholic Central 6-5
1971: Vestal d. Catholic Central 2-0
1970: Ithaca d. Owego 9-0
1969: Ithaca d. Chenango Valley 1-0 (10 inn.)
1968: Maine-Endwell d. Catholic Central 4-3 (8 inn.)
1967: Vestal d. Maine-Endwell 7-6
Championships by School:
Vestal: 13
Union-Endicott: 11
Horseheads: 9
Ithaca: 6
Oneonta: 4
Maine-Endwell: 3
Owego: 2
Corning: 2
Chenango Valley: 2
Seton: 2
Johnson City: 1