Four area softball teams plunged into the Section III Class B playoffs with various degrees of expectations, determined to go as far as possible – which, as it turned out, was the quarterfinal round.
Marcellus held the no. 4 seed and championship ambitions, and was solid in last Tuesday’s opening round against no. 13 seed Sherburne-Earlville, defeating the Marauders 7-1.
S-E went ahead 1-0 in the top of the first inning, but from there Aubrey Fraher kept the Marauders quiet, only allowing four hits overall as she amassed seven strikeouts.
Two-run rallies in the second and fourth innings put Marcellus in charge as it added three runs in the sixth. Ellie Mahoney and Hannah Durand each had two RBIs, with Fraher and Emma MacLachlan also driving in runs. Fraher and Caroine Trytek had two hits apiece.
Against no. 5 seed Holland Patent in Thursday’s quarterfinals, the Mustangs were three outs from another playoff victory, only to get upended in a 4-2 defeat to the Golden Knights.
After allowing a second-inning run, Fraher blanked HP over the next four innings. Meanwhile, the Mustangs tied it in the fourth and went ahead 2-1 in the sixth as MacLachlan and Evelyn Webster drove in those runs.
Now Fraher, who recorded seven strikeouts, tried to end it – but in the top of the seventh the Golden Knights had Taylor Koenig walk and, on Arianna William’s bunt single and error, race home with the tying run.
Not stopping there, HP loaded the bases, after which Anna Healy singled home the go-ahead run and Reigan Lines’ sacrifice fly brought home another. Golden Knights pitcher Makenna Reinold then recorded the final three outs to end the Mustangs’ season.
Of the local sides, Jordan-Elbridge had the worst record at 7-10 and a no. 11 seed, but it didn’t keep the Eagles from stunning no. 6 seed Cazenovia 2-0 last Tuesday after it was shut out by these same Lakers 5-0 earlier in the month.
Alexis Delfavero personally delivered this win, first with her arm as she pitched a complete game, holding Cazenovia to three hits while amassing nine strikeouts.
Elora Wilmot got the pitching nod for the Lakers, and for four innings she kept J-E quiet. But in the top of the fifth, Emma Morrell and McKayla Rohmer both reached base and Delfavero, now doing damage at the plate, brought them home with a single.
All told, the Eagles had just three hits, the others going to Meghan Whalen and Mollie Yard, but Delfavero never let Cazenovia answer, and J-E advanced to face no. 3 seed Adirondack in the quarterfinals at Boonville.
Here, it ended for the Eagles as it lost, 14-3, to the Wildcats, who scored in every inning, capped by five-run rallies in the fifth and sixth to break it open.
J-E did come up with three runs in the top of the seventh as Meghan Whalen earned an RBI, with Emily Bard, Ranait McGuire and Gabriella Bard crossed the plate. Emma Hennessey and Hannah Miller led Adirondack with three hits apiece.
More drama came from Westhill, the no. 7 seed, who needed nine innings to outlast no. 10 seed General Brown 7-6 as Cassidy Belle raced home with the winning run in the bottom of the ninth, finishing with three hits and three runs scored.
So ended a wild battle where the Warriors blew an early 4-0 lead, with the Lions going up 5-4 before Westhill tied it in the bottom of the fourth and went back in front, 6-5, in the sixth.
GB pulled even again in the top of the seventh, but Warriors pitcher Ariel Cassidy, who had a double and three RBIs, blanked them from there and Westhill produced the winning run two innings later. Janae Ricks, Vitoria Militi and Janae Ricks each had two hits and one RBI.
Now trying to upend no. 2 seed South Jefferson in the quarterfinals, the Warriors could not do so, taking a 5-2 defeat as the Spartans built a 3-0 lead before Westhill cut the margin to one with a pair of fifth-inning runs, only to see South Jefferson restore the margin with single runs in the fifth and sixth frames.
Only Solvay was unable to make it out of the round of 16, the no. 9 seed Bearcats ousted by no. 8 seed Camden 14-6.
A trio of first-inning runs had Solvay in front early, and they traded runs from there, the game tied 5-5 until the Blue Devils struck for a run in the fifth and batted around in the bottom of the sixth, scoring six times to pull away.
Caitlin McCann had a memorable conclusion to her season with a home run, double and four RBIs. Sidney Chaffee and Bri Kuhles also drove in runs as Aislynn Rose led Camden with two doubles, a triple and three RBIs.
