Xander Burch strikes out 15 as Edison hands Lansing first loss in baseball

One of the top Class C baseball rivalries in New York state resumed Thursday afternoon in Elmira Heights and this time it was Thomas A. Edison that got the best of Lansing thanks largely to the arm and bat of sophomore Xander Burch.

Burch, a left-hander, struck out 15 in pitching a three-hitter and delivered a two-run single in the fourth inning to cap the scoring as the Spartans earned a 5-1 victory to remain unbeaten through five games.

Last season Lansing won two of three games against Edison, including a 3-1 triumph in the Section 4 Class C final on its way to the state final four. The Spartans' win came 2-1 in eight innings in the Interscholastic Athletic Conference Small School championship game.

"Any time you beat a program like Lansing it’s a good day for us," TAE head coach Mike Bennett said. "We know we’re going to face them a couple more times this year. We’ll battle and I know they’re going to battle. They should be epic games, just like we’ve had over the years.

"We take the win, get excited about it for a day and get back to work."

Edison is two years removed from its seventh sectional championship, with five of those coming with Bennett as head coach.

Lansing dropped to 3-1 under first-year head coach Brett Hotchkiss, a former assistant who took over the program after veteran coach Stuart Dean retired. Hotchkiss, who was a standout athlete at Lansing, also coaches Lansing's varsity football team.

The Bobcats will get another shot at Edison on May 3 at home.

BURCH DOMINATES: Lansing's offensive output against Burch was limited to three hits and a hit batsman. Brad Lehr drove in the lone run on a single in the fourth inning that cut the Spartans' lead to 2-1.

Burch is the nephew of Kansas City Royals 1998 first-round draft pick Matt Burch, a pitcher who led Edison to the state final four.

Xander threw 103 pitches Thursday, saving some of his best for last in his second start of the season.

"The thing about Xander is he struck out the side in the sixth and the seventh," Bennett said. "He got stronger as the day went on. He looked sharp from the first pitch of the game to the last pitch of the game."

POTENT COMBO: With Burch and senior right-hander Tom Kane, the Spartans have the rare benefit of having two aces on their team. On Monday, Kane threw a four-hitter as the Spartans downed Tioga, another perennial IAC power, 4-1.

"They’ve been pretty dominant in their starts so far," Bennett said. "I’d like to see a better 1-2 punch in Class C. It’s a really good 1-2 punch for Class C, without a doubt."

BOBCATS ACE WENT A DAY EARLIER: Lansing senior right-hander Garrett Bell wasn't on the mound Thursday after he pitched Wednesday in a 4-1 win over Trumansburg. Bell gave up one run on two hits in 6 2/3 innings while striking out 13.

Last season Bell was a first-team Class C all-state pick after posting a 9-2 record that included a five-hitter in Lansing's win over Edison in the Section 4 final.

BIG HITS FOR SPARTANS: A dropped fly ball with two outs in the opening inning produced Edison's first run. Josh Tryon, whose three-run homer was the big blow in the win over Tioga, sliced an RBI double into the right-field corner in the third for a 2-0 advantage.

A bases-loaded walk in the fourth by Jack Hourihan preceded Burch's two-run single, which made it a 5-1 game.

UP NEXT: Next week is spring break for area schools, which means Edison won't play again until a doubleheader April 20 at Towanda. Lansing is in action at 4:30 p.m. April 18 at Tioga.

BOX SCORE

Edison 5, Lansing 1

Lansing ..... 000 100 0 - 1 3 2

Edison ..... 101 300 x - 5 7 1

Lansing (3-1): Sean O’Callaghan (L) and Garrett Bell.

Edison (5-0): Xander Burch (W, 1-0) and Tyler Korsky.

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