Cold, wet, weather, a venue change, a pitching role reversal – any of these things may have derailed the Solvay softball team. But nothing would keep the unbeaten Bearcats from rising to the top of the Section III Class B ranks for a third consecutive year.
Solvay earned the title Monday afternoon at Onondaga Community College, where no. 2 seed Altmar-Parish-Williamstown offered a stout challenge until a fourth-inning outburst pushed the Bearcats to a 7-2 victory over the Rebels.
“These kids are fearless,” said Solvay head coach Phil Merrill.
APW had a history of giving the Bearcats problems, from last year’s sectional semifinal thriller to a 7-4, 10-inning battle earlier this season.
Though senior Jackie Gardner had pitched both of Solvay’s post-season games (and had thrown a no-hitter against South Jefferson in the quarterfinals), Merrill tapped sophomore Lauren Nichols for the final – not a big surprise, since she had shut out the Rebels 3-0 on May 13, tossing a two-hitter that included 12 strikeouts.
Still, Gardner, who had never relieved in her long and storied career, said that she was prepared to take on a new role, if needed.
“Coach (Merrill) told me to get ready for anything,” she said.
And anything seemed possible in the raw conditions that forced all of the sectional finals to get moved from the Gillette Road complex in Cicero to OCC, which has an artificial, all-weather surface.
All through the early innings, as a steady, misty rain flew, both pitchers, Nichols and APW’s Amber Rice, struggled to find their control and footing, and the game was briefly delayed in the top of the fourth while some quick-dry material was put in the pitcher’s circle.
By that point, Solvay had a 2-1 lead. APW had poked across a run in the top of the second, but the Bearcats countered with two runs in the bottom of the third, aided by an APW throwing error on a bunt that was followed by Molly McGuire’s two-run single.
Unfazed by this, the Rebels pulled back even, 2-2, in the top of the fourth when, with two on and two out, an error Lacey Saucier’s grounder allowed Whitney Gaffey to race home.
The big moment came in the bottom of the fourth. With the bases loaded and one out, Brandi Pidkaminy was at the plate and popped it up in foul territory – but the Rebels’ catcher and first baseman collided, and the ball fell to the ground.
Given a big reprieve, Pidkaminy drew a walk that scored Jordyn Everett with the go-ahead run. Seconds later, Chelsie Delperuto drove a double to the fence that cleared the bases, scoring Pidkaminy, Aleah Yiazzo and Nicole Antonacci, who walked four times.
That made it 6-2, and Gardner singled home Delperuto for another run, driving Rice from the game. DeShae Jones took over in relief, but the damage was rendered.
And in the top of the fifth, Gardner was, for the first time, a relief pitcher. Working quickly, Gardner only allowed one hit and two baserunners in her three-inning shutout stint, blanking the Rebels and nailing down yet another sectional title.
Now it’s back to the state Class B tournament, and a return to Gillette, too, to meet a familiar opponent in Friday night’s regional final – Section IV champion Windsor, the state’s top-ranked team.
Solvay beat Windsor 6-3 in last year’s regional final, and the rematch will determine who gets to the June 13 state final four in South Glens Falls.
