When the Bishop Grimes softball team started out on its Section III Class C playoff journey, the notion that it could win the whole thing was absurd with so many strong squads in the bracket.
And when the no. 6 seed Cobras took a 9-5 deficit to the bottom of the seventh inning of its first-round game against no. 11 seed Little Falls, it looked like things would end in a hurry.
But the Cobras rallied with five runs to stun the Mounties 10-9, and then the upsets started – top seed Cooperstown stunned by no. 17 seed Tully and no. 3 seed West Canada taken out by Herkimer, and in the next round, no. 2 seed Weedsport was gone, defeated by Cato-Meridian.
All of this made the Cobras believe that a championship was possible, and that belief got even stronger after it turned aside Herkimer 8-6 in last Tuesday’s Class C quarterfinal.
Fully aware of what Herkimer did at West Canada, Grimes was sharp from the outset, with a run in the first inning and two runs in the second to seize a 3-0 lead. The Magicians pulled within one, 3-2, in the top of the third, only to have the Cobras get three runs in the bottom of the third.
As it turned out, though, the single run Grimes tallied to make it 7-2 in the bottom of the fourth proved the difference. Herkimer got to Breanna Squier for four runs in the top of the sixth, cutting the margin to one, but Gronau escaped that jam and got the final three outs in the seventh.
KayLee Steiner’s post-season surge continued as she tripled, singled, scored twice and earned three RBIs. Meghan Vonden Steinen also scored two runs as she, along with Kendall Mancuso and Maria Gronau, drove in one run apiece. Jordan Vaught and Danielle Erwin added doubles.
Now, in the Class C semifinal Friday night at the Gillette Road complex in Cicero, Grimes took on Cato-Meridian, the no. 7 seed, who had stunned Whitesboro after getting no-hit by Abby Marsden for seven innings before Paige Mapley’s solo home run in the eighth broke up that no-hitter and also helped the Blue Devils pull off a 1-0 victory.
But even Cato fell victim to the Cobras’ magic, Grimes prevailing 6-3 as, once again, it came from behind, though a lot earlier in the proceedings than it did against Little Falls.
Again, Squier pitched, and surrendered two Blue Devils runs in the top of the first, but then settled down and didn’t have to wait long to get some help.
Grimes tied it, 2-2, in the bottom of the third, and leaped in front for good with three runs an inning later, tacking on a single run in the fifth. Squier, Steiner,Vaught and Alissa Warner each had one RBI, with Mancuso, Erwin, Juiliana Martin and Liz Wolaver scoring runs.
Protecting a 6-2 lead, Squier gave up a run in the top of the sixth, but nothing more, only surrendering one walk in a complete-game effort that included four strikeouts.
To win the sectional Class C title, the Cobras (13-5) would need to take down the reigning champions from Sandy Creek, who needed nine innings to survive its semifinal with South Lewis and prevail by a 5-4 margin. The Comets withstood all of the surprises that befell other challengers, and now must turn back another one as Grimes aims for glory.
