Oxford playing for sectional title

Candor didn’t exactly use smoke and mirrors to eke out a semifinals win over Walton Tuesday. But the Indians were certainly opportunistic in manufacturing five runs on just two basehits.

The 5-4 win for the number four seed set up a Class C baseball finals matchup against Oxford (19-3), who upended number two seed Elmira Notre Dame, 7-3. The schools will play at 4 p.m. today, moved up from a 4:30 p.m. start, at Conlon Field in Binghamton.

In both of its sectional wins, Candor gave up double-digit hits – 10 to Walton and 11 to Seton Catholic Central. Cody Rose hit an RBI double to tie the game against Walton, and he scored the winner on Ryan Cleveland’s sacrifice fly. Rose, a sophomore, lashed a two-run double that propelled his team past the Saints, 13-11. It’s a return appearance to finals for Candor, who lost to Edison last year in the title game. “Experience in this type of game may be a factor,” said Oxford coach Chris Palmer Wednesday night. “Obviously they have been on this stage before, and we haven’t. It may play a bit of a role (experience), but hopefully not a big one.”

Rose isn’t the the lone Indians batter that has moved runners around the bases for a strong hitting lineup. Pete Ahart and Ryan Cleveland each had homers against SCC, and Dustin Quick is the table-setter for a prolific offense. Quick has also shown pop in his bat with a mulitiple home run game on his 2007 batting resume. “Typically, Candor has been a fairly good hitting team,” Palmer said. “They faced Fisher (Sean, from Walton) the other game, and he can be effectively wild at times.”