Lake Placid's Max Hyman, of Keene, swings at a pitch during the Section VII, Class D semifinal game against Bolton/Schroon Lake on May 20. (News photo — Parker O’Brien)

LAKE PLACID — The Lake Placid baseball team entered the season with high expectations — so far, the team is living up to them.

On Saturday, May 20, the Blue Bombers punched their ticket to the Section VII, Class D championship game with a 14-0 victory over the Bolton/Schroon Lake Wild Eagles on their home diamond.

The team will face Crown Point in the title game on May 24 at the Chip Cummings Field in Plattsburgh. The game will start at 4:30 p.m.

Lake Placid took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning, before plating four runs in the third inning. The Blue Bombers then scored two runs in the fifth and seven runs in the sixth.

Lake Placid’s senior pitcher, P.J. Colby, kept the Wild Eagles in check with a complete game shutout. Colby recorded 13 strikeouts while walking five batters and giving up two hits.

Bolton/Schroon Lake’s Isaiah Pelkey earned the pitching loss, while striking out eight Lake Placid hitters. Pelkey gave up five hits and four earned runs before being relieved in the fourth inning. Sully Eager and Jace Hubert pitched the final two innings.

“It’s the second game in a row that they have locked horns and it was a pitcher’s duel. But we started to time Isaiah,” Blue Bombers head coach Brian Brandes said. “We had a lot of bats on balls today and I’m very proud of them, I’m very proud of their defense and PJ Colby on the mound.”

In the last matchup between the two squads, Lake Placid struggled offensively and relied heavily on a small ball approach and its pitcher Colby, who tossed a no-hitter that day.

But on Saturday, May 20, the Blue Bombers had the bats rolling, recording 10 hits while limiting their defensive errors to just two in the field.

“We could feel it for the last couple of weeks that it was more of a business going into this — basically to take care of business,” Brandes said.

Vann Morelli, a sophomore, led Lake Placid with three hits, while fellow sophomores Jon Caito and Jarrett Mihill each had two hits. Colby had the game’s lone extra-base hit with a double in the bottom of the third inning.

Andy Morehouse and Tyler Trowbridge picked up the lone hits for the Wild Eagles.

With a 1-0 lead, Colby’s double was followed by back-to-back singles from Mihill and Morelli and an error from a Bolton/Schroon Lake player allowing Hyler Isham to reach first. All four baserunners were able to score in the inning.

After scoring two runs in the fifth inning on past balls, the Blue Bombers rattled off seven straight runs in the sixth, with Caito, Morelli, Mihill and Will Landriault earning RBI singles in the inning to close out the contest.

The team improved to 11-3 overall with the win.

The championship contest on May 24 will mark Lake Placid’s first trip to a sectional title game since 2019, when the Blue Bombers lost to the eventual state champions Ticonderoga Sentinels in the Section VII, Class C championship contest. It has also been five years since Lake Placid’s last Class D title victory in 2018.

“None of these guys have been there,” Brandes said. “It’s a brand-new team. We have a lot of young kids succeeding so it’s very nice to see.”

The Blue Bombers will take on the reigning Section VII, Class D champions the Crown Point Panthers on Wednesday after the Panthers defeated Chazy 12-7 in the other semifinal contest. Lake Placid defeated Crown Point in both of its matchups this season.